It is a tribute to the project that they have sought to prevent managed beekeeping on and around the estate
“The current genetic uniformity of honey bees in Britain is driven by constant high volumes of imports of queen bees that dilute the native genes, and also by unrestricted movement of stocks within the UK. Most British honey bees are now, for better or worse, cross breeds.”
Guy Thompson not only delivers a masterful and measured response to some of the unsubstantiated claims in a recent media piece about free-living bee colonies in Oxfordshire, but manages to also paint a clear picture of the conditions which favour or hinder the development of what might be considered a healthy balance between landscape, honeybees and other pollinators - an equilibrium that is clearly undermined by much of prevalent beekeeping practice.