Beekeeper inspired by grandfather's long lost hives

When Ross Main tracked down the abandoned beehives his gramps had kept successful a disused quarry, helium was amazed to find that the bees were inactive there.

The good creation postgraduate present manages dozens of colonies and millions of bees crossed Fife – and they are each descended from his grandfather’s hive.

Ross grew up successful Dunbar and was often taken to the East Lothian quarry adjacent Innerwick during his childhood.

When helium became a begetter for the archetypal clip successful 2015, helium was inspired to effort and find the aged hives.

He thought his household had sold them disconnected respective years earlier, truthful did not expect to find much.

Ross, 36, drove from his location successful Fife and tracked down the location, hundreds of metres down an aged way which was overgrown with gorse.

"I made my mode done and determination was inactive a hive there, " helium told BBC Scotland News.

“I couldn't judge the bees had inactive survived."

The hive had been untouched since his grandfather, William Main, died of crab successful 2007, aged 77.

It was dilapidated, truthful Ross got clasp of a beekeeping suit and a beehive and learned however to transportation the colony to their caller home.

Once the transportation was made, which takes astir a month, helium was capable to determination the colony successful their caller hive to a caller location successful Auchtermuchty, Fife.

The pursuing twelvemonth his colony started to multiply and conscionable arsenic fractional of it was swarming helium managed to drawback it successful a 2nd hive.

"They multiply each year. When they get excessively large they spell and commencement a colony determination else," the father-of-two said.

"But the archetypal colony volition enactment wrong the hive."

Now helium has betwixt 90 and 100 colonies each taken from splits from his precocious grandfather's hive.

At the tallness of summertime determination are astir 50,000 bees wrong 1 colony.

He has acceptable up a business, Mains Aperies, and has 5 cardinal bees connected sites crossed Fife selling chromatic to section workplace shops from 3 harvests a year.

But helium said: "You can't truly person a concern conscionable selling chromatic due to the fact that you tin person atrocious years."

So a mates of years agone helium started up beekeeping experiences for locals to get an penetration into chromatic production.

And helium has sold immoderate of the hives to businesses successful Edinburgh and Fife truthful unit tin larn however to go beekeepers.

One of the businesses, disablement steadfast Motability Operations astatine the Gyle successful Edinburgh, present has six hives for their staff.

Ross manages their 300,000 bees play and teaches them astir beekeeping successful their lunchbreaks.

Dorota Opara, workplace co-ordinator, said she picked up a fearfulness of bees portion increasing up successful Krakow successful Poland.

"When my workfellow suggested we person bees connected site, I was precise cautious and asked if we would person to interaction them," she said.

However, she was yet persuaded to enactment connected a suit to instrumentality a look astatine the hives.

The 42-year-old said: "The comic communicative is I had a formal connected and flip flops. When we were astatine the beehives I could consciousness bees going betwixt my toes and I was frightened and I said I don't cognize if I tin bash it.

"But Ross told maine they are chromatic bees they volition not sting you until you bash brainsick question and helium was close and since past I'm truthful successful emotion with the bees.

"Having bees successful the plot is 1 happening but having that benignant of transportation with Ross who tin travel and explicate to you however everything works is simply a antithetic experience.

Dorota said: "How galore offices tin accidental they person beehives and larn however to go a beekeeper? It's magical."

She present visits the bees each mates of days to cheque connected them.

Ross harvests the chromatic and gives the jars to the staff.

"The unit perfectly emotion having the bees," she added.