Alberta bees

General Discussion of Diary Posts and Questions on Beekeeping Matters
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guest

Alberta bees

Unread post by guest »

Just wondering :?:
I heard that Alberta beekeepers could use 70,000 queens a year, and many nucs.
If so why does not sombody in the province set somthing up to meet the needs in Alberta???
any takers??
Guest

alberta bees

Unread post by Guest »

I don`t know why southeast alberta, maybe around Medicine hat doesn`t at least attempt to supply alberta beekeepers with bees and queens as I think they would have early eneogh spring hot weather for mating etc.
The northern 2/3 of the province, the wheather is just too unpredictible and by the time we could produce queens, it is already too late and most beekeepers have already recieved their queens and package bees.
I have contacted two queenbreeders in B.C. and they tell me that they don`t get good mating weather until the first week in may. Some years we have that around Edmonton. 8)
guest 1

Unread post by guest 1 »

just a thought why not winter nucs made in Aug. for the following year?
New queen should be mated
Indoor storage for 5000 nucs
if it works expand to cover everything
Yes its big money to start but once running market could be yours :lol:
just a thought
anyone?
Allen Dick
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Joined: February 25th, 2003, 10:09 pm
Location: Swalwell, Alberta
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Unread post by Allen Dick »

It comes down to risk and comparative advantage. For various reasons, bees on comb are much harder to sell than packages and queens. For one thing, nucs are less portable and beekeepers who already have equipment usually do not want to buy more, or accept comb from another beekeeper.

Comb exchange is possible,and has been practised, but then each beekeeper's standards tend to be different and there is the risk of disease, especially rAFB. For whatever reason, the nuc market has always been limited, and those who have tried to sell nucs have had a problem building beyond a small business.

Similarly, the queen business has a small time window, and local queens miss the major demand period. The strong hives of bees that are reuired to raise queens would make often more money producing honey.

Another factor is that the number of splits possible varies a lot from year to year and is unpredictable. Nucs are made later than packages are bought, and, if they turn out not to be available as promised, the buyer is stuck. Moreover, if a beekeeper has enough bees to sell as nucs in May or June, in Alberta, he/she is only a month or two away from getting a crop of honey with them -- or collecting crop insurance.

All in all, anyone who has tried it -- and many have -- beyond a limited sideline or replacements for their own losses, has gone broke, quit or decided that there was a better profit in honey. Nuc or queen production can make a nice little added income, and sometimes a way to sell off older equipment, but as a primary business, it is not as attractive as honey or pollination in Alberta.

allen
Tom

Unread post by Tom »

I doubt there is anywhere in B.C. that consistently gets good mating weather before the middle of May at best.

As for the suggestion that you can have bee mating weather in the Edmonton area in the first week of May, well, I lived in Edmonton for 15 years. Two consecutive days of snow melting weather does not a queen mating season make. Nice try though, some of the people from around the world on this list might not know you are trying for a job with the Chamber of Commerce,

Cheers,
Tom
guest 1

Unread post by guest 1 »

the thought was to mate queens in Aug the year before
over winter and have queens for the spring
then mating times or weather is not a problem
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Ken
Posts: 3
Joined: March 10th, 2003, 7:48 pm
Location: Spruce Grove, Alberta

alberta bees

Unread post by Ken »

Tom - - - it`s too bad that you got april and may mixed up!!!!!!!
I`ve been raising queens ever since I started keeping bees over 15 years ago and I`ve had them mate in may many times.
I`ve lived in the Edmonton area for 33 years and have seen many years that in my opinion, some weeks in may have been hotter than at any time through the rest of the year.
Yes, here it is - - not even the middle of april and most of the snow has already melted.
Tom

Unread post by Tom »

Ken,
I'm not sure the phrase "the snow has already melted" has much meaning in the Edmonton area. I recall a year when it snowed in every month except July.

Sure I recall some April days when I was writing exams at the U of A that one could well have been sun taning. On the other hand, I will be in Edmonton next week and I know for certain I will still be able to ice skate on some nearby lakes.

Dandelions will be your first flower, and except for the odd one on the south slopes in the city, they won't be in full flower until about May 15. Now, you can get lucky any time after that and get some queens mated, but will you make the investment and take the risk that would be required for a commercial operation to supply the bees suggested at the beginning of this topic?

Are your May (apres Victoria Day I am guessing) queens planned, or the result of early swarms? If planned, what's the ratio of success? And, of those, how many are still around in September?

Hope the good weather you describe holds through next week. Maybe I should throw in a bathing suit.
Cheers,
Tom
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