Ambrosia

[The Drone Ranger]

Can anybody tell me the best place to buy maybe 250ltr or 500ltrs of Ambrosia
Is Britishbeefeeds still around ?
They still advertise in SBA mag and have a website


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[Mellifera Crofter]

Yes, British Beefeeds (http://british-beefeeds.co.uk/) are still here, DR - but they sell Apiinvert, not Ambrosia. I think you have to contact Lyle directly to find out about prices. Our association used to sell Ambrosia, but I don't know whether they bought it directly from Nordzucker (http://www.nordzucker.com/en/business/products/ambrosia-bee-food.html) or from where.
Kitta

[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks Kitta it is Apinvert right enough not ambrosia that's where I'm going wrong
Got the details now

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[gavin]

Sad that this guy has lost so much syrup through vandalism.

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/fife/256940/hunt-fife-vandal-may-killed-off-400000-honey-bees/

I don't see the need to exaggerate numbers though. Did he really import American syrup - is that what Mann Lake UK supplied?

[The Drone Ranger]

12 hives ? That's a lot of American corn syrup

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[The Drone Ranger]

There was a program on BBC Scotland radio Friday about plan B did anyone else hear it ?

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[gavin]

There was a program on BBC Scotland radio Friday about plan B did anyone else hear it ?

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Yes, although it was Thursday.

Not sure I should really say what I think on here though.

[Feckless Drone]

There was a program on BBC Scotland radio Friday about plan B did anyone else hear it ?

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I caught a snippet from a food program but thought it was on Sat. To get a flavor of what Plan Bee get up to; here is some text from their web site where they explain how their services help the grouse shooting estates.

"Plan Bee offers a natural alternative for protecting the heather, gorse, broom and rowan, thereby helping to maintain grouse and hen-harriers’ food source and habitat.

The hives will be removed at the end of June and we charge on a per-acre basis. (This trouble-shooting pollination is already common practice in the US, particularly with almond trees that have a three-day pollination window. In the UK, Plan Bee is probably three to four years ahead of the game."

That's right. You remove the bees from the estates before the heather flowers. There must be something I am missing here -actually, reading the website does make me wonder about trading standards and advertising regulation.

[The Drone Ranger]

There were some novel concepts
Apparently it was Thursday right enough driving back from Edinburgh
I was at Thornes sale on Friday and back in Edinburgh on Sat so got out of sync
I hadn't heard much about plan B before (I thought they were a pop group)



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[Feckless Drone]

There were some novel concepts


Certainly novel concepts, some absolutely unique!

[gavin]

There must be something I am missing here -actually, reading the website does make me wonder about trading standards and advertising regulation.

The BFA runs a pollination service programme and actually does know what it is doing.

I was going to comment on the sustainability credentials of a company that relies so heavily on repeat imports ..... but ... I did say I wasn't going to get into this. What is clear is that the Kitchen Cafe piece (Thursdays repeated on Sunday) was great advertising for them.

[The Drone Ranger]

What does the B stand for ?

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[alclosier]

Bollocks

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[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks alclosier that makes sense :)

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[The Drone Ranger]

Actually I may still be confusing two things
The tone-deaf crooner plan B, and the crafty exploitation experts plan bee
I wondered why there were so few songs on the Thursday broadcast
I presumed the interviewer wanted to protect us B's unique style of musical torture
There was quite a bit about beekeeping in la la land which I didn't fully understand


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[Feckless Drone]

There was quite a bit about beekeeping in la la land which I didn't fully understand


This is exactly where I'm going wrong as well - stuff I don't understand. I tried reading the plan bee web site and came away understanding even less about bees but starting to get a grip on marketing and selling.

[Greengage]

I know yea folks are in Scotland and have your own concerns, but was at an agricultural show last weekend, chap selling Bumblebee honey cakes, Now how about that for initative in marketing.

[The Drone Ranger]

I know yea folks are in Scotland and have your own concerns, but was at an agricultural show last weekend, chap selling Bumblebee honey cakes, Now how about that for initative in marketing.

How many bumblebees were in each cake ?
I think that might be a sending off offence

[Greengage]

Another Plan Bee written by a Journalist who got the wrong end of the stick.
“We have a subspecies in Ireland that is endangered"
Finding these native bees could be more important (So we have not found them yet) and "A possible solution to this problem would be to find wild bee colonies that are naturally resistant to this and other infections"
“By increasing the numbers of bees living in the wild, we can increase biodiversity,”[/I[I]]"Once these wild bees are found" ( Still have not found them??)
“We are trying to develop a bee in Ireland that doesn’t need treatment,” Prof McCormack said. So is this another new strain of bees “If we can find wild colonies escaped from whenever, they will not necessarily be the original stock but they are important as they managed to survive without treatment.” (So what happened the subspecies we had at the begining of the article.
Ah here read the article.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/nuig-researchers-come-up-with-plan-bee-for-survival-1.2757114
Maybe this should be a new thread. Im looking for a DNA kit for the kitchen table in case I fall across them.

[The Drone Ranger]

Quite a few`times I have read people suggesting that feral bees will be a valuable source of varroa resistance while conveniently ignoring the fact they might also be a repository for AFB and EFB
In fact I think I read an article in a recent SBA magazine that in passing suggested that escaped swarms have a positive influence on bee health
Cant say that makes much sense to me :)

[prakel]

Quite a few`times I have read people suggesting that feral bees will be a valuable source of varroa resistance

When these people stop treating their dogs for fleas and their children for head lice, they'll be worth listening to.

[fatshark]

In fact I think I read an article in a recent SBA magazine that in passing suggested that escaped swarms have a positive influence on bee health
Cant say that makes much sense to me :)

I suspect the 'positive benefit' is due to the swarm disappearing with 35% of the varroa load of the parent colony. Alternatively, the inevitable (at least partial) brood break that results from the swarm clearing off is also likely to benefit the parent colony.

Kate Thompson clearly showed that feral bees are a great source of high DWV levels ... about the same as seen in untreated 'managed' (and I use that in the loosest possible sense of the word) colonies. Luvverly.

Not.