Advised to post in this thread by a forum member - Bees

[sfe4r]

Hello All

I have just registered and please excuse me if my post is in the incorrect area as I do not want to spam the forum.
Quick introduction
My name is Simon I am an experienced beekeeper and am running a proof of concept moving my best bees allowing for diversification of bee forage. It is not a commercial project (I.e I plan to sell honey etc, only to see if this concept is viable).
The request is would any farmers be interested or want to have local bees onsite to be part of this informal proof of concept.
I appreciate there are organisations out there who provide a pollonation service however I want to try something different.

It would involve a modified trailer (The size of a 2 horse trailer) with a approx 9 hives (this may grow if successful) inside. All I would need is access and a location to site the trailer, no water or electrics needed. I will manage and maintain the bees. As the colonies grow if located in an area where there is plenty of forrage they emit a scent that is benificial for respration which is what I am interested in pursuing. Of course the nature of bees will produce honey/pollen and wax as the season goes on which I am more than happy to share as I hope you agree this a symbotic relationship.

If anyone or you know anyone in the Surrey/Hampshire area who may be interested I am happy to have a zoom/teams/phone call/face to face (socially distanced ofcourse when we are out of lockdown)

Kind regards

Simon

 

[Nick Adams]

Bring them to Derbyshire

 

[Hampton]

What area are you in?

 

[ploughman1963]

Do you know of anyone doing similar in Shropshire? I have offered to host beehives locally but have had no takers

 

[sfe4r]

Hello Nick, Hampton and Ploughman1963 thank you for responding, currently I am based in Surrey and am looking for Surrey / Sussex /Hampshire area, however please bear me in mind for 2022 as I will expand next year but this year I am keen to be close to the bees for monitoring and any issues that occur so these can be eliminated moving forwards.

 

[steveR]

Best of luck with your new venture @sfe4r

With a lot of herbal leys and bumblebird mixtures being planted across the country, you will have some stunning honey if you find a farmer planting these. Good yields too in teh right locations with some flowering into Oct/Nov.

Don't the Americans use big trailers full of hives and take them for Orchard ferilisation?

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Good luck, sounds like a good idea.

Be careful where you park the trailer though as trailers are often stolen.

 

[sfe4r]

Good luck, sounds like a good idea.

Be careful where you park the trailer though as trailers are often stolen.

While you can never stop someone who wants to steal there are counter measures which are in place and stealing a trailer full of bees leaves it to a specialist person or a person who will have a nasty surprise at the end of thier journey being greated by couple of thousand pi$$ed bees. Arson is my main concern

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

While you can never stop someone who wants to steal there are counter measures which are in place and stealing a trailer full of bees leaves it to a specialist person or a person who will have a nasty surprise at the end of thier journey being greated by couple of thousand pi$$ed bees. Arson is my main concern

The thieves I'd be worried about are stupid enough not to notice the bees until the damage was done.

It's a good idea but be careful.

 

[steveR]

The thieves I'd be worried about are stupid enough not to notice the bees until the damage was done.

It's a good idea but be careful.

Like taking the wheels off, and putting the steel triangles on instead.

 

[farmgineer]

Put me on your list for when you expand please, I'm in Cheshire unfortunately or you could have started here. Best of luck with it all and keep us informed

 

[onesiedale]

Well, looks like i better join the queue. But here's my offer of being a host. Also some basic expertise up here and an outlet too.
Looks like Derbyshire is the place ( @Rob Garrett )
I'm intrigued at your interest in the scent emitted for respiration. Could you tell us more?

 

[awkward]

@sfe4r good to see your getting so many replies, it will be interesting to hear about what your project is and the outcomes you are looking for.

 

[martian]

It's well worth talking to your local bee keepers club, those of you that live too far from Surrey and can't wait...we've got dozens of hives dotted about the place now, beekeepers love the fact that we don't use insecticides and that there are, as @steveR says, so many plants flowering throughout the year. Everyone's a winner: lots of honey, pollinated plants, village shop sells local honey, good PR and rent comes in jars...

 

[sfe4r]

Do you know of anyone doing similar in Shropshire? I have offered to host beehives locally but have had no takers

As Martian has said look for local beekeeper groups to approach. They may not take you up this year but they will be more than grateful to know there is an area that the owner is willing to have hives. I am happy to help there if you would like

 

[ploughman1963]

As Martian has said look for local beekeeper groups to approach. They may not take you up this year but they will be more than grateful to know there is an area that the owner is willing to have hives. I am happy to help there if you would like

I have contacted the Shropshire beekeepers group and they have been back in touch. Thank you.

 

[Chris F]

As Martian has said look for local beekeeper groups to approach. They may not take you up this year but they will be more than grateful to know there is an area that the owner is willing to have hives. I am happy to help there if you would like

@sfe4r Would you be able to post this thread on any bee keepers groups? I'm sure lots of bee keepers would find it useful to connect with farmers.

 

[sfe4r]

@sfe4r good to see your getting so many replies, it will be interesting to hear about what your project is and the outcomes you are looking for.

@onesiedale @awkward I will give an overview but the specifics need to be worked out as I progress this year.

The concept is not new, it has been around since Egyptian era and is still practiced in parts of the world.
My concept is form of Bee house/bee bed. The aroma produced by the bees is supposed to help with the upper resiparation and provide a relaxing feeling, in some instances you are hooked up to the hive with a mask and a port ontop of the hive, this I will try but later, The bee bed provides a place to lay ontop of the hives and the frequency of the bees going about thier business provides a frequency that people are able to relax, in a full season a hive can contain up to 10,000 bees in 1 hive and I plan for up to 9 in that space. The reason for approaching the farming community is the forrage will boost the bee population which in turn will boost the frequency and aroma.

In a nutshell this would be phase 1, there are 5 phases but I need to get past phase one first.

With the added bonus of local honey, wax, pollen and propolis for the land owner as I feel this is a symbiotic relationship. Also recognition for allowing this to take place on thier land.

There are more so called radical treatments for example bee sting therapy where someone is stung (The bee dies) which is a treatment for Rhumatism and recently Limes disease, I have no evidence of these working. I do not plan to arrange for anyone to be stung willingly or not.

 

[sfe4r]

@sfe4r Would you be able to post this thread on any bee keepers groups? I'm sure lots of bee keepers would find it useful to connect with farmers.

I would suggest the group secretaries are contacted as I have encountered too many recent hobby keepers who got a hive because the Beckhams got one on Instagram. What I would like is the willing farmer / land owner gets quality keeper through the groups however there seems to be some great responses and interest so I will have a think about how I can create a loaction that links land and keepers together as this may have some great outcomes. I have to say you guys are awesome and I really appreciate reading your responses

 

[sfe4r]

I would suggest the group secretaries are contacted as I have encountered too many recent hobby keepers who got a hive because the Beckhams got one on Instagram. What I would like is the willing farmer / land owner gets quality keeper through the groups however there seems to be some great responses and interest so I will have a think about how I can create a loaction that links land and keepers together as this may have some great outcomes. I have to say you guys are awesome and I really appreciate reading your responses

I need to qualify my comment. They can potetially become a problem if they are not managed correctly. In my first year I had a hive that created a 300m exclusion zone it was a nasty problem, I had done the training and ticked all the boxes however I had managed the hive incorrectly and they had become highly agressive and territorial.

But I think @Chris F you may be onto something. This could also work for swarm collection.