I've seen stingless bees. The keepers said the honey of that species tastes
sour as well as sweet - distinctly different to honeybee honey. They could
not harvest large quantities because the bees do not build large flat combs
like our bees: they build a mass of cells in an irregular jumble, like
bumblebees. One guy used a syringe to harvest it.
They were about half the size of our bees and bite, though one species has
so weak a bite you cannot feel it and the main sign they are attacking is,
they bite your hair - they're called hair-cutting bees! I don't know how
they defend vs wasps, but their main enemy seems to be ants, and they
spread a sticky goo like bery soft propolis for several inches round the
nest entrance. This acts like flypaper.
Paul
On Fri, 25 Sep 2020, 08:34 Zuzana Meryova, <zuzanameryova@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
my friend from Australia told me about stingless bees. I found this
article about their honey
<https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-68940-0>
On Fri, 25 Sep 2020 at 08:13, Will H <whanrott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
My friend was low intervention bee keeping for several years before I
started so she's not new to it. I don't know what she means either. I
wondered whether anyone was producing genetically modified strains, but it
looks more likely that these do have stings but are considered very gentle.
I will ask. I just wanted to put it to the group in case anyone had heard
of such a thing. I wouldn't want a strain of bee which didn't defend itself
but it's a big world.
Will
------------------------------
*From:* oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oxnatbees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
on behalf of Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* 24 September 2020 22:31
*To:* oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Subject:* [oxnatbees] Re: Stingless Buckfast Bees?
Following my reflexive rant, I *can* think of one case where your friend
should consider getting Buckfasts. That's if they live in or near Hook
Norton, where Viktor & Lucy (Honeybeesuppliers.co.uk) raise hundreds of
colonies of Buckfasts - they are breeders, and introducing another race to
the area would impact their income. In that case I would approach them and
ask for some of *their* bees so they can control the genetics of the
area.
Paul
On Thu, 24 Sep 2020 at 22:15, Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
*Short answer:*
(1) Buckfasts are gentle but NOT stingless
(2) They won't stay pure so their temper will change when they supersede
/ swarm, probably after a year
(3) You have to remember that the seller is trying to make money and no
doubt not mentioned these facts.
*Longer answer:*
(1) Our first bees were Buckfasts. We got plenty of stings in our first
two years, due to our inept handling of them, for example adding miticides
to the hives provoked defensive behaviour. By year two they were no doubt
hybridised with other bees round here but even our first operation with
them, a brutal "chop and crop" to fit their frames into our TBH resulted in
many stings. If you provoke them they WILL react.
On the other hand after we caught a local swarm and put them in the 2nd
hive we could see the two breeds side by side and it was apparent the
Buckfasts were perhaps a little TOO gentle. Wasps raided them, even though
they were a huge colony, and they didn't seem to defend well. The local
ones crowded their entrance with guards which put off the wasps. The local
bees were tougher and flew in slightly chillier weather, and light drizzle.
The Buckfasts seemed dopy by comparison.
Although we initially found the locals more defensive, we now have 4
hives of them in the back garden and they are extraordinarily calm. The way
you treat the bees has more impact than their race.
(2) Buckfasts are notorious for nasty crosses. An aspect here is
neighbourliness - your friend will not just get grumpy bees but will be
creating them for all the other beekeepers within miles. Near me is a large
bee farmer (George Fenemore) who uses local bees across an area about 4x4
miles. He has had up to 100 hives. He told me he can tell when a new
beekeeper starts in the area because his hives on that edge of his farmland
get nasty for a year or two.
Remember *the breeder is aiming to make money by selling bees.* Caveat
Emptor.
(3) I have never heard of Buckfasts being advertised as "stingless" by
responsible breeders and if the seller really says that in an advert it is
a red flag - they are lying, or ignorant. What I HAVE come across is people
who know nothing about breeding who think they know everything reckon they
can make some quick cash raising and selling queens. Real Buckfasts are a
very carefully controlled mix of races and there is a (very small) pool of
breeders who monitor each others' purity carefully.
There are real stingless bees but they are completely different species
to honeybees and found in places like tropical forests.
(4) Where Buckfasts excel is they are very prolific. Whatever I think of
the problems of crosses, I cannot deny they are a good tool for a migratory
beekeeper who needs lots of bees all the time, but I don't think they are
good for a normal amateur with a few static hives,especially if they have a
normal sized garden.
Can you point us at the advert claiming these are stingless Buckfasts?
Paul
On Thu, 24 Sep 2020 at 21:28, Will H <whanrott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A friend has said that she's buying a Nucleus of 'stingless Buckfast
bees'. I haven't heard of such a thing. Can anyone shed any light on what
she's talking about?
Thanks
Will
