Dr. Stephan Wolf and Dr. Dino McMahon are research scientists working at Rothamsted Research, Hertfordshire, UK; the oldest agricultural research station in the world. With the guidance of Dr. Juliet Osborne and Prof. Robert Paxton, and as part of the Insect Pollinator Initiative (IPI), their project assesses the impact of emergent diseases on the flight performance and orientation ability of honeybees and bumblebees. They employ a range of modern techniques, including harmonic radar tracking.
Click here to learn more and to download the podcast.
Warning - Check Your Bees!
by Peter Mathews
Once upon a time we looked upon July as the month of peak honey flow. This was in the days before we enjoyed field after field of oil seed rape. Today we still think of July as a month of plenty with an abundance of food for the bees. With the swarming colonies out of the way, having either swarmed or been controlled, many of us are sitting back and letting our bees get on with for a few weeks.........
Imagine my shock when checking a very strong colony from an artificial swarm. It was doing incredibly well, except there were absolutely no stores. In some 30 years of beekeeping this is the first time I have fed a colony in the middle of July. I suspect that I am not alone. If you haven't inspected your bees for a while, I suggest you get along at the next opportunity. I am afraid that some beekeepers will lose colonies in the coming weeks.
My best price for sugar is 79p/ kg from Pound Stretcher. I understand Booker are selling at 82p/kg.
On a more serious note, Fragile Planet have recently supplied bees with American Foul Brood. If you have any suspicions regarding your bees then contact Peter Folge immediately:- the_beekeeper@hotmail.com.
Once upon a time we looked upon July as the month of peak honey flow. This was in the days before we enjoyed field after field of oil seed rape. Today we still think of July as a month of plenty with an abundance of food for the bees. With the swarming colonies out of the way, having either swarmed or been controlled, many of us are sitting back and letting our bees get on with for a few weeks.........
Imagine my shock when checking a very strong colony from an artificial swarm. It was doing incredibly well, except there were absolutely no stores. In some 30 years of beekeeping this is the first time I have fed a colony in the middle of July. I suspect that I am not alone. If you haven't inspected your bees for a while, I suggest you get along at the next opportunity. I am afraid that some beekeepers will lose colonies in the coming weeks.
My best price for sugar is 79p/ kg from Pound Stretcher. I understand Booker are selling at 82p/kg.
On a more serious note, Fragile Planet have recently supplied bees with American Foul Brood. If you have any suspicions regarding your bees then contact Peter Folge immediately:- the_beekeeper@hotmail.com.
North Herts news by Graham Beesley
What a busy month June has been.
My impression has been that members have had good quantities of early season honey which, having been made up of rape, has presented the usual problems with extraction. I learned this year that rape honey is mostly glucose sugar which causes it to crystallize as quickly as it does. The Lime is in flower as I write and smells beautiful, the blackberry is covered in bees and hopefully we will have a fruitful second harvest.
We have enjoyed two member’s apiary meetings in June, the first at Nortonbury, hosted for us by John and Jenny Nichol. I didn’t get too involved in going through the hives, being in charge of the tea making. Not too much time was taken inspecting the hives and a very pleasant picnic was enjoyed by those who came.
The second meeting was at Pat Veasey’s home. We managed to miss the showers and the hives were very swiftly dealt with by Frank Everest and John Hill, who performed the necessary with great alacrity. It was another good turnout, with a very nice tea provided by Jennifer and Jane, Pat’s Wife and Daughter.
At the beginning of the month Derek Richardson and I spent a very pleasant day at Bee World, organised this year by Welwyn Beekeepers Association, at the Herts County Show. Bee World was a great success, with the observation hive thronged with people all day long. Thanks to Lorraine Moir who was visiting the show and gave up some of her day to help out.
I gather from Helen Amey that members who have requested swarms have been supplied and hopefully the swarming season is coming to an end. Having said that, my bees, having tried to swarm early in April and May, have gathered strength and are having another go now.
Looking to the future our last apiary meeting for this year is at Standalone Farm on Friday, 8th July, at 5.30pm. Please note the date, not the 5th, as I had previously informed you.
For those of you with a thirst for peering into other peoples hives we will continue to meet at the Garden Centre on a Saturday morning right through the season. These meeting are well attended and we have had up to a dozen new and interested beginners in attendance. Weather permitting we meet at 10.00 a.m. in the car park.
I wish you all a pleasant summer and will hope to meet you at one of our indoor meetings which begin in October.
My impression has been that members have had good quantities of early season honey which, having been made up of rape, has presented the usual problems with extraction. I learned this year that rape honey is mostly glucose sugar which causes it to crystallize as quickly as it does. The Lime is in flower as I write and smells beautiful, the blackberry is covered in bees and hopefully we will have a fruitful second harvest.
We have enjoyed two member’s apiary meetings in June, the first at Nortonbury, hosted for us by John and Jenny Nichol. I didn’t get too involved in going through the hives, being in charge of the tea making. Not too much time was taken inspecting the hives and a very pleasant picnic was enjoyed by those who came.
The second meeting was at Pat Veasey’s home. We managed to miss the showers and the hives were very swiftly dealt with by Frank Everest and John Hill, who performed the necessary with great alacrity. It was another good turnout, with a very nice tea provided by Jennifer and Jane, Pat’s Wife and Daughter.
At the beginning of the month Derek Richardson and I spent a very pleasant day at Bee World, organised this year by Welwyn Beekeepers Association, at the Herts County Show. Bee World was a great success, with the observation hive thronged with people all day long. Thanks to Lorraine Moir who was visiting the show and gave up some of her day to help out.
I gather from Helen Amey that members who have requested swarms have been supplied and hopefully the swarming season is coming to an end. Having said that, my bees, having tried to swarm early in April and May, have gathered strength and are having another go now.
Looking to the future our last apiary meeting for this year is at Standalone Farm on Friday, 8th July, at 5.30pm. Please note the date, not the 5th, as I had previously informed you.
For those of you with a thirst for peering into other peoples hives we will continue to meet at the Garden Centre on a Saturday morning right through the season. These meeting are well attended and we have had up to a dozen new and interested beginners in attendance. Weather permitting we meet at 10.00 a.m. in the car park.
I wish you all a pleasant summer and will hope to meet you at one of our indoor meetings which begin in October.
North Herts news by Graham Beesley
I have to beg your forgiveness for the lateness of this newsletter. What with controlling swarms, making up frames /boxes and now getting in the honey harvest I have been a little busy. Every year I think I've got it covered and find myself caught out.
We have several interested newcomers and beginners who have been coming along to the Garden Centre apiary on a Saturday morning. Any other members who are interested are welcome to come. We meet at 10.00am at the Stevenage Garden Centre.
Helen is starting to provide swarms for those who are waiting for their first colony. Strangely, given early spring and the speed of the build up of the colonies, there seem to be very few swarms about. If anyone knows different please let Helen know. She has a long list!
I have now finalised the apiary meetings for the summer. They are:
I look froward to seeing you at some or all of these events.
Some members may not be aware that at the Herts Beekeeper's AGM in March, one of our members, Derek Richardson, was elected as President of the association for 2011. This is an honoury role which rotates between the associations.
Derek has, I know, a strong commitment to forging links between the associations in Hertfordshire. To do this he is keen to encourage members to visit other association's apiary meetings and events. If anyone is interested in visiting with Derek and seeing how beekeeping is done in other parts of the County, I am sure he would be pleased to hear from you.
This weekend is BEEWORLD where Herts Beekeepers association meets the public, kindly hosted for us again by the County Show. The event is held at the County Showground, Redbourn. Derek and I will be meeting the public on the Sunday and demonstrating the observation hive.
Closer to home is Preston village open gardens where one of our members Chris Mercer will be selling honey and having an observation hive.
Back to the harvesting!
Best regards.
We have several interested newcomers and beginners who have been coming along to the Garden Centre apiary on a Saturday morning. Any other members who are interested are welcome to come. We meet at 10.00am at the Stevenage Garden Centre.
Helen is starting to provide swarms for those who are waiting for their first colony. Strangely, given early spring and the speed of the build up of the colonies, there seem to be very few swarms about. If anyone knows different please let Helen know. She has a long list!
I have now finalised the apiary meetings for the summer. They are:
- 04/06/2011, The Association apiary at Nortonbury, kindly hosted for us by John Nicoll. Meet at 2.30pm.(This is short notice I know, do come if you can). Ring/email John or myself for directions.
- 18/06/2011, Pat Veasey has invited us to visit his hives at his home, Gosmore Cross. Againthe start time is 2.30 pm. Please ring Pat or myself.
- 05/07/2011, David Mathews has arranged for us to visit the Apiary site at Standalone Farm, Letchworth.( Note, this is a Friday evening)! Start time is 5.30 pm. Standalone Farm will be googleable, (have I just invented a word there)?
I look froward to seeing you at some or all of these events.
Some members may not be aware that at the Herts Beekeeper's AGM in March, one of our members, Derek Richardson, was elected as President of the association for 2011. This is an honoury role which rotates between the associations.
Derek has, I know, a strong commitment to forging links between the associations in Hertfordshire. To do this he is keen to encourage members to visit other association's apiary meetings and events. If anyone is interested in visiting with Derek and seeing how beekeeping is done in other parts of the County, I am sure he would be pleased to hear from you.
This weekend is BEEWORLD where Herts Beekeepers association meets the public, kindly hosted for us again by the County Show. The event is held at the County Showground, Redbourn. Derek and I will be meeting the public on the Sunday and demonstrating the observation hive.
Closer to home is Preston village open gardens where one of our members Chris Mercer will be selling honey and having an observation hive.
Back to the harvesting!
Best regards.
Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping
By Daniel Favre, biologist and apiary adviser
The worldwide maintenance of the honeybee has major ecological, economic, and political implications. In the present study, electromagnetic waves originating from mobile phones were tested for potential effects on honeybee behavior. Mobile phone handsets were placed in the close vicinity of honeybees. The sound made by the bees was recorded and analyzed. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony.
Click here to see the full article.
The worldwide maintenance of the honeybee has major ecological, economic, and political implications. In the present study, electromagnetic waves originating from mobile phones were tested for potential effects on honeybee behavior. Mobile phone handsets were placed in the close vicinity of honeybees. The sound made by the bees was recorded and analyzed. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony.
Click here to see the full article.
Caustic Caution !
by Peter Mathews
More beekeepers are becoming aware of health issues with their bees. And, more of us are taking precautions which we didn't bother with in the past. One of these little rituals is washing equipment in a solution of Washing Soda. You may have noticed that after a visit from your local bee inspector, he will wash his hive tool and anything else he has been using. This will sterilize his equipment and avoid passing on possible infection to the next beekeeper on his round.
I have noticed several people in conversation confusing Washing Soda with Caustic Soda. The two are quite different!
Washing Soda ( Sodium Carbonate) was used for removing temporary hardness in water. I remember it being used for washing up the dishes in the days before detergent based washing-up liquid or rubber gloves. In other words, it is not too harmful to the skin although it will remove protective oils and lead to dryness.
Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide) is used for cleaning drains, stripping paint etc. It will also remove the enamel on your posh French saucepans. And, it is very good at removing the skin from your hands! Caustic burns are very deep and usually infected. They require medical attention.
Be warned - Do not use Caustic Soda for cleaning your beekeeping equipment !!!!
More beekeepers are becoming aware of health issues with their bees. And, more of us are taking precautions which we didn't bother with in the past. One of these little rituals is washing equipment in a solution of Washing Soda. You may have noticed that after a visit from your local bee inspector, he will wash his hive tool and anything else he has been using. This will sterilize his equipment and avoid passing on possible infection to the next beekeeper on his round.
I have noticed several people in conversation confusing Washing Soda with Caustic Soda. The two are quite different!
Washing Soda ( Sodium Carbonate) was used for removing temporary hardness in water. I remember it being used for washing up the dishes in the days before detergent based washing-up liquid or rubber gloves. In other words, it is not too harmful to the skin although it will remove protective oils and lead to dryness.
Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide) is used for cleaning drains, stripping paint etc. It will also remove the enamel on your posh French saucepans. And, it is very good at removing the skin from your hands! Caustic burns are very deep and usually infected. They require medical attention.
Be warned - Do not use Caustic Soda for cleaning your beekeeping equipment !!!!
Hive record keeping in the 21st century
Keep your hive records online at www.beetight.com or by using a smartphone.
Nucs for sale
Four 5 frames nucs for collection in May- June 2011. £90 each. Please call 01920 420862 for more information.
Sustainability In Practice Lecture - How Not To Keep Bees!
Speaker - Bill Turnbull, Thursday 5th May, 6.30 - 8.00 pm
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, Aldwych (London School of Economics)
Free ticketing so arrive early to be sure of getting in.
Bill Turnbull is a presenter on the BBC Breakfast programme. He is a keen beekeeper, and is author of mishap memoir "The Bad Beekeepers Club".
Hong Kong Theatre, Clement House, Aldwych (London School of Economics)
Free ticketing so arrive early to be sure of getting in.
Bill Turnbull is a presenter on the BBC Breakfast programme. He is a keen beekeeper, and is author of mishap memoir "The Bad Beekeepers Club".
Bees seal cells of contaminated pollen
Honeybees 'entomb' hives to protect against pesticides, say scientists. By sealing up cells full of contaminated pollen, bees appear to be attempting to protect the rest of the hive.
See www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/04/honeybees-entomb-hives for more on this story.
Book advert
I am writing regarding a new book which I feel may be of interest to you and your members. "Travels in Blood and Honey: Becoming a Beekeeper in Kosovo" by Elizabeth Gowing, is one womans fascinating account of how beekeeping enriched her life. The book is available through Amazon and directly through us at Signal Books. If you are interested, Elizabeth is willing to tallk about her experience to groups and organisations. If you have any queries then please don't hesitate to contact me
Samantha Halstead (Signal Books)
Samantha Halstead (Signal Books)
North Herts news by Graham Beesley
Apologies that there was no newsletter for March. I'm feeling the loss of Christine Phillips as secretary. Our AGM was, as usual, very well attended. Congratulations to John Hill for lifting the trophy in the honey tasting.
Our next indoor meeting, the last before the summer will be, as usual, the third Tuesday of the month, 19th, April, at 7.30 at Howgills, the Friends Meeting House, Letchworth. Peter Fogle, the Seasonal Bee Inspector, will be our guest and will be speaking on " Bee Disease Recognition - what to look for and what to do".
Can I make a plea that all those who feel able to offer their apiary for one of our summer meetings come along, or contact me, with a suggested date. I would like to kick off the year with a never to be repeated date, an antidote to the Royal Wedding, the 29th April, 2.00 pm at my apiary at Titmore Green. Some idea of numbers would be appreciated by return please.
For beginners I would like to extend an invitation to visit the Association apiary. We haven't had enough enquiries this year to warrent running indoor introductory meetings but will be running week by week sessions where members will have the opportunity to observe hives being opened and participate in handling the bees if they so wish. The first meeting , weather permitting, will be on 23rd April, 2011. Meet in the car park of Stevenage Garden Centre, Gravely Road at 12.00 pm. If you would like to attend and don't have protective clothing please contact me on 01438 369770 to allow me to arrange.
Our next indoor meeting, the last before the summer will be, as usual, the third Tuesday of the month, 19th, April, at 7.30 at Howgills, the Friends Meeting House, Letchworth. Peter Fogle, the Seasonal Bee Inspector, will be our guest and will be speaking on " Bee Disease Recognition - what to look for and what to do".
Can I make a plea that all those who feel able to offer their apiary for one of our summer meetings come along, or contact me, with a suggested date. I would like to kick off the year with a never to be repeated date, an antidote to the Royal Wedding, the 29th April, 2.00 pm at my apiary at Titmore Green. Some idea of numbers would be appreciated by return please.
For beginners I would like to extend an invitation to visit the Association apiary. We haven't had enough enquiries this year to warrent running indoor introductory meetings but will be running week by week sessions where members will have the opportunity to observe hives being opened and participate in handling the bees if they so wish. The first meeting , weather permitting, will be on 23rd April, 2011. Meet in the car park of Stevenage Garden Centre, Gravely Road at 12.00 pm. If you would like to attend and don't have protective clothing please contact me on 01438 369770 to allow me to arrange.
Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association 59th Annual General Meeting
Saturday 26th March 2011
Tewin Village Hall, 11 Lower Green, Tewin, Welwyn, Herts, AL6 0JX
12.00pm
- Apologies for absence.
- Matters arising from 58th Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 25th March 2010.
- Chairman’s report.
- Treasurer’s report.
- Membership report.
- Election of HBKA Officers:
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Auditor
- Beeworld 2011
- AOB
- Date of next AGM
(Please bring own lunch or you could walk to either pub – “Plume of feathers” or “Rose & Crown”)
AGM Speaker 2pm
After lunch, Ricky Kather will talk on the Eastern Associations’ Research Studentship (EARS) project – a bee research project at Sheffield University.
Tea break 2:40pm
Second Speaker 3:00 – 3:30pm
After tea, Robin Dartington (North Herts) will bring us up to date with the work at “BuzzWorks”, Hitchin’s Community Bee Garden and “HoneyWorks” Bee Training Centre
Close meeting 3:30-4:00pm
Globalisation and agriculture industry exacerbating bee decline, says UN
Globalisation is killing bees, as bee pests and diseases are being passed swiftly around the world thanks to the opening up of trade, says a UN study. Attempts to industrialise pollination are making the problem even worse, the authors found.
Unexplained bee deaths have become an increasing issue around the world in the past five years, a phenomenon labelled "colony collapse disorder". Bees in the US, Europe and Asia have been affected, though it is hard to gather reliable data on how many of them died. Some bee colonies die off naturally all the time, chiefly in winter, but the scale of the demise reported by beekeepers has prompted governments and scientists to examine why bees appear to be under threat, and in some cases to try to get around the problem by changing the ways bees are kept.
Click here for the rest of this Guardian article by Fiona Harvey
Unexplained bee deaths have become an increasing issue around the world in the past five years, a phenomenon labelled "colony collapse disorder". Bees in the US, Europe and Asia have been affected, though it is hard to gather reliable data on how many of them died. Some bee colonies die off naturally all the time, chiefly in winter, but the scale of the demise reported by beekeepers has prompted governments and scientists to examine why bees appear to be under threat, and in some cases to try to get around the problem by changing the ways bees are kept.
Click here for the rest of this Guardian article by Fiona Harvey
Solway Bee Supplies
Dear Sir/Madam,
We are manufacturers of Cedar Bee Hives and would like to ask if you would include us on your links page of the Hertfordshire BKA website. We manufacture a full range of wooden beekeeping equipment and supply a selected range of beekeeping sundries. We are a family based business and our aim is to supply quality beekeeping equipment at a competitive price with a quality service.
Many thanks,
Jim O'Rourke
Solway Bee Supplies
Unit E
Kempleton Mill
Twynholm
Kirkcudbright
DG6 4NJ
01557680400
sales@solwaybeesupplies.co.uk
www.solwaybeesupplies.co.uk
We are manufacturers of Cedar Bee Hives and would like to ask if you would include us on your links page of the Hertfordshire BKA website. We manufacture a full range of wooden beekeeping equipment and supply a selected range of beekeeping sundries. We are a family based business and our aim is to supply quality beekeeping equipment at a competitive price with a quality service.
Many thanks,
Jim O'Rourke
Solway Bee Supplies
Unit E
Kempleton Mill
Twynholm
Kirkcudbright
DG6 4NJ
01557680400
sales@solwaybeesupplies.co.uk
www.solwaybeesupplies.co.uk
St Albans & District BKA Report for March 2011 by Christine Aitken
Our AGM on Friday 4th February was attended by 32 members and 2 visitors. In her report the Chair, Eileen Remnant, stated that the committee had recently decided to have designated persons to cover existing and new posts on the committee.
Chairman - Eileen Remnant
Treasurer - John Garbutt
Secretary - Christine Aitken
Committee re-elected were: Marian Whittaker, Andrew Copley and Robin Moore (in his absence). Other committee members are Luke Adams, Richard Peterson and David Brown. The meeting concluded with an excellent wine and cheese social.
Please note change of date Apiary Clean-up Day is Sunday 27th March (so as not to clash with the Herts. BKA AGM) We meet at Prae Wood Apiary for a 10am - 12pm session. Following on from the hedge planting working party earlier in the month it is planned to clear new areas where we can site the returning hives. This will be a large task so plenty of volunteers please. The Oaklands Apiary session is from 10am - 12pm.
Reminder Hertfordshire B.K.A. Annual General Meeting on Saturday 26th March at Tewin Memorial Hall 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
- Education, Training & Beginners Course Officer to be Marian Whittaker. She agreed to be responsible for future Beginners Courses, continued mentoring and support afterwards and future BBKA exams.
- Meetings Officer - Andrew Copley agreed to take on this role with responsibility to arrange Hall bookings for beginner’s course and winter meetings, Apiary and winter meetings content, Honey social and AGM. He would also produce an annual Members Programme for distribution.
- Public Events Officer - will be Robin Moore. Each ‘Meet the Public’ event to have one co-ordinator responsible for arranging volunteer helpers and stand content.
- Apiary Management Officer - Richard Peterson agreed to take on this role with overall responsibility to committee for Prae Wood, Oaklands and any future apiaries. Sub-committees to be set up.
- Web Site Officer - Andrew Copley agreed to continue in this role.
Chairman - Eileen Remnant
Treasurer - John Garbutt
Secretary - Christine Aitken
Committee re-elected were: Marian Whittaker, Andrew Copley and Robin Moore (in his absence). Other committee members are Luke Adams, Richard Peterson and David Brown. The meeting concluded with an excellent wine and cheese social.
Please note change of date Apiary Clean-up Day is Sunday 27th March (so as not to clash with the Herts. BKA AGM) We meet at Prae Wood Apiary for a 10am - 12pm session. Following on from the hedge planting working party earlier in the month it is planned to clear new areas where we can site the returning hives. This will be a large task so plenty of volunteers please. The Oaklands Apiary session is from 10am - 12pm.
Reminder Hertfordshire B.K.A. Annual General Meeting on Saturday 26th March at Tewin Memorial Hall 11.00 am to 5.00 pm
West Herts news by Margaret Tighe
The WHBK Association AGM included many "thank you's" to all the people who kindly give up their time throughout the year to ensure that newcomers to, and members of, the Association could receive advice, equipment, tuition and much more.
The work involved (as I'm sure many beekeepers reading this will agree) is not always easy or straightforward! Lindsay Bruce pointed out that his role of taking calls from worried members of the public regarding swarms which need collecting is made difficult, when the description of the location is inaccurate. He gave an example of arriving to collect "a swarm in a tree 'about' 6ft high", with a step ladder, and then finding it is more like 12ft high!
Sadly, for personal reasons, I am going to stop keeping bees and am currently looking for someone to adopt my bees! What a wonderful, unforgettable experience it has been for me - the kindness of fellow beekeepers, the smell of the honey as it is extracted, the hum of the bees on a summer's day …..
Solutions Magazine
The third issue of The Food and Environment Research Agency's new partner and customer newsletter - Solutions - is available to download now. Please use the following link to download the current edition of Solutions.
Updates from the National Bee Unit
Please find below a link to the recently updated Managing Varroa leaflet as well as the new Small Hive Beetle which contains a few small amendments.
It is our intention to have a limited number of hard copies available before April. If and when these do become available a note will be added to the website.
We hope that you find this information useful, any feedback is gratefully received.
It is our intention to have a limited number of hard copies available before April. If and when these do become available a note will be added to the website.
We hope that you find this information useful, any feedback is gratefully received.
Letter to the (outgoing) Editor
I was saddened to read the Herts Bees Newsletter for February 2011 and to learn that I would not be receiving it any more.
I understand that producing the newsletter must be a significant, difficult and time-consuming task. You are to be congratulated on the contribution that you have given as editor. I also realise that there are other sources of information and means of communication. You suggest that the newsletter has become superfluous. Perhaps I could give you another view.
I am no longer a member of Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association, age and injury having forced me to give up keeping bees a few years ago. However, neither I nor anyone else has removed my name from the circulation list of the Newsletter and I remain interested in the art (or science) and like to keep abreast of developments. The Herts Bees Newsletter has been my main, indeed only regular, source of knowledge of current developments, as well as providing news of my old friends.
I find that beekeeping increasingly crops up in conversations with friends, acquaintances and strangers and in such conversations I can sometimes correct misunderstandings and sometimes encourage people to think seriously of keeping bees themselves. The newsletter has helped me to do this.
So thank you for your efforts as editor. They have been appreciated by me. I shall miss the newsletter in future.
Yours sincerely, Peter Thring
I understand that producing the newsletter must be a significant, difficult and time-consuming task. You are to be congratulated on the contribution that you have given as editor. I also realise that there are other sources of information and means of communication. You suggest that the newsletter has become superfluous. Perhaps I could give you another view.
I am no longer a member of Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association, age and injury having forced me to give up keeping bees a few years ago. However, neither I nor anyone else has removed my name from the circulation list of the Newsletter and I remain interested in the art (or science) and like to keep abreast of developments. The Herts Bees Newsletter has been my main, indeed only regular, source of knowledge of current developments, as well as providing news of my old friends.
I find that beekeeping increasingly crops up in conversations with friends, acquaintances and strangers and in such conversations I can sometimes correct misunderstandings and sometimes encourage people to think seriously of keeping bees themselves. The newsletter has helped me to do this.
So thank you for your efforts as editor. They have been appreciated by me. I shall miss the newsletter in future.
Yours sincerely, Peter Thring
February 2011
Hertfordshire Beekeepers AGM
Saturday 26th March, 11am to 5pm
Memorial Hall, 11a Lower Green, Tewin
11:00 AGM
12:30 Lunch (please bring your own or visit the nearby pub)
14:00 Talk 1 - tba
15:00 Talk 2 - tba
It is February already and hopefully we've seen the last of the bitterly cold weather. Catkins are out (at least here in East Herts) and they supply useful protein in the form of pollen for a growing brood. I saw a green woodpecker in my apiary this morning and as they are probably hungry it was a useful reminder to check that the chicken wire is still secure. It is a good time to give the bees a spring feed and a tried and tested recipe for candy/fondant can be found in the tips section of this website. I hope that all your colonies have come through the winter without any losses.
I have been wondering over the past few months whether the monthly Herts Bees newsletter has run its course? I don't know and would welcome your views. One thing that I am clear about is that it is increasingly difficult to find relevant material to put into the newsletter that is not readily available elsewhere through many different sources. I know that not everyone uses the internet but for those that do it provides access to a wealth of news and information about beekeeping. If you do not use the internet there are various magazines available and, as Peter Mathews reports further down, the excellent BBKA News is soon going to be published monthly.
In terms of local news, our local divisions are making greater use of email, twitter, blogs and local websites. I see very active email discussions taking place and the divisional websites that have been created are excellent. (Note, if your local website is not linked from the Contact Us page then please let me know.)
So if Herts Bees is not able to compete with national news & information and has been replaced at the local divisional level by email, websites, etc, then what is the role of a monthly Herts Bees newsletter?
I have thought about this for a number of months and have decided that I can no longer fulfil the role of editor of the monthly Herts Bees newsletter and I am sorry to say that the March newsletter will be my last. I will however remain responsible for the rest of the website, such as the contact details, beekeeping tips, honey map, calendar, etc.
So if you have some fresh ideas for the HBKA newsletter or feel passionate that it should not cease then there is a vacancy for someone to step-in and take over from me. If you are interested then please let me know or come along to the AGM and find out what it entails.
There is an alternative to a monthly newsletter and I will be creating space on this website for the divisions to post news and other information that they feel has wider appeal across the county. Then if a division still wishes to distribute a printed newsletter, someone could print a copy of the posted items once a month for local distribution. I will be notifying the current newsletter contributors how they can post items themselves.
Finally please don't forget the Calendar. This is our county-wide diary of all events and meetings so please use it and make sure that it is up to date. If your division cannot yet update it then please contact me. Alternatively if you want me to update it then please just send me details of your local activities during the year. Remember that we want cross-pollination, i.e. beekeepers from other divisions to come to our meetings, so the Calendar is the one place that you can waggle dance.
North Herts news by Graham Beesley
Christine Phillips has asked me to write something for North Herts Beekeepers contribution to February’s Herts Bees. Christine, Colin and Andy are overwintering in New Zealand with their son, a resident there, who is also a beekeeper.
She writes:
It really didn't seem like Christmas here - nice to be warm and see the sun though. We have been looking at Nick (son's) bees. Lots of nice placid yellow bees, five supers on in some cases and no varroa! That's how beekeeping should be. It almost seems too easy.
Well, I’m not sure what I can report. Our Christmas party, which John and Miriam Hill kindly offered to host at Boxwood, was cancelled on the day due to a heavy fall of snow. I favour Jennifer Veasy’s suggestion that we re schedule with a barbecue at some time in June.
Thanks to our members Chris Humphries and Nick Brett Who alerted members with hives to the fact that green woodpeckers are creating carnage at our association apiary at Nortonbury. They seem to have developed the facility to attack hives even though they have been shielded with chicken wire. I guess the long cold spell must have made them desperate in their efforts.
Our next evening meeting, the first for 2011, is on 15th February at 7.30 at Howgills, the Friends Meeting House, Letchworth. Our speaker for the evening is Chris Woodard, Stevenage Borough Councils head of pest control, who is a specialist in all things creepy crawly and should have some interesting anecdotes to tell.
West Herts news by Margaret Tighe
Now that the days are gradually getting longer we can start to look forward to a new season of beekeeping. With this in mind he WHBK Association is holding their AGM at 8pm on Wednesday, 23rd February 2011. It will be at the same venue as last year, namely, the dining room at Croxley House, Croxley Green, WD3 3JB. This is the one event in our calendar at which the majority of members, associate members, potential members all get-together. There will be tea and coffee after the meeting and this is a great opportunity to chat with fellow beekeepers.
Bishops Stortford news by Paul Cooper
AGM - 9th February at 8pm
Each year the member of Bishops Stortford Beekeepers Association come together to determine the future path of the group and elect the Executive members, who will run the group on their behalf. In addition to the usual administrative stuff, we will be planning the schedule of apiary visits for the year, receive an update on the beginners training course and discuss bulk buying. There will also be a guest speaker. I hope to see you all there.
Training Course
The beginners course starts in a few weeks time and we have got quite a few confirmed bookings so far. Please contact Julia (juliaesaunders@yahoo.com) if you want to attend. It will be held every Wednesday from March 2nd - April 6th inclusive, 7.45pm - 10pm at the Bishops Park Community Centre next door to Tesco supermarket.
St Albans news by Christine Aitken
We start our Beginners Course, with 24 participants, on the 9th February 2011.
St Albans Beekeepers’ have a full programme of ‘Meet the Public’ events lined up for 2011 as well as our usual Apiary meetings at Prae Wood and winter meetings at the United Reformed Church Hall. The programme will be posted on the SABKA website as well as the HBKA website and those members without email will receive a paper copy.
Apiary Clean-up Day is Saturday 26th March. We meet at Prae Wood Apiary for a 10am - 12pm session. Following on from the hedge planting working party earlier in the month it is planned to clear new areas where we can site the returning hives. This will be a large task so plenty of volunteers please.
Oaklands Apiary session is from 2pm - 3pm.
Prae Wood Apiary
It is intended to move hives back into Prae Wood in the Spring. As this is our main teaching apiary, Richard Peterson is preparing a new hive location map to incorporate existing apiary members and prospective new beekeepers on our ‘Hives for All’ scheme. Apiary members will be expected to mentor the beginners. The same expectations apply to Oaklands Apiary.
As seen in the January 2011 newsletter of the St Albans and District Centre of the National Trust:
National Trust news from Shaw’s Corner, Ayot St Lawrence by Sue Morgan, House Manager
We were part of the National Trust ‘Bee Part of it’ project, which introduced bee keeping to properties throughout the country and gave new hives to established beekeepers. Our beekeepers Anne and David Wingate, won second prize in the National Trust Honey Competition. Their success will come as no surprise to any of us who buy and sell this fabulous product. We know that people make the journey to Shaw’s Corner especially for the honey….
So no wonder David won the Cup at our November Honey Tasting Social. Congratulations to you both.
Barnet news by Linda Perry
Barnet beekeepers held their first ever Christmas social in December which was very well attended. We combined this with a honey tasting competition, congratulations to the winners.
We have now begun our beginners course. We have approximately 20 very keen and enthusiastic people who turn up on Saturdays to learn all about beekeeping. Our theory course will run until March/April when we hope the weather will be ok to start doing some apiary visits. We have Alan Byham coming to do a session on Varroa and bee diseases/ pests for all members on February 19th. We have just set up a new association apiary at some local allotments so it will be interesting to see how the colonies develop there. One of our other apiaries had very bad woodpecker damage this year – a reminder of the need to protect well for the winter period! It is too early to judge how our bees have overwintered but hopefully our autumn preparations and feeding have given them the best chances!
Varroa still a problem in the 21st century – IBRA conference report
by Pete Kennedy, St Albans BKA
The International Bee Research Association (IBRA) held a conference at the University of Worcester on Saturday, 29th January, on what is considered by many as still the greatest threat for beekeeping: the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. The event was well attended with over 180 delegates registered and the lecture hall packed close to capacity. No surprise considering the quality of speakers invited.
The International Bee Research Association (IBRA) held a conference at the University of Worcester on Saturday, 29th January, on what is considered by many as still the greatest threat for beekeeping: the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. The event was well attended with over 180 delegates registered and the lecture hall packed close to capacity. No surprise considering the quality of speakers invited.
- Dr Stephen Martin (Sheffield University) led the packed programme of talks by summarising what is known about varroa biology and offered some hope in how current US work on sequencing the varroa genome may further aid our understanding of its biology.
- Dr Joachim de Miranda (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) followed and spoke about the long association between honey bees and their viruses, and how the arrival of varroa changed this relationship. An EU-funded project is currently underway developing a diagnostic device (similar to that used for AFB and EFB) to help beekeepers and researcher test for 6 common viruses in their colonies.
- Dr Max Watkins (Vita (Europe) Ltd) spoke about chemical control of varroa, costs & effort involved in developing & registering a new product, and the benefits of using a registered vs unregistered (often not fully tested) products. On a question of whether varroa could develop resistance to thymol, he explained that it is theoretically possible but none has been seen so far.
- Prof. Keith Delaplane (University of Georgia, USA) focussed on IPM approaches to deal with varroa. Emphasis is on utilising a variety of control tactics acting on different stages of its life history. Although they may differ in effectiveness, it is the combination and/or rotation of approaches that is important. Chemicals are still part of the arsenal, but utilised within a programme of tactics as a last resort based on thresholds, thus reducing side effects and residues.
- Dr. David Chandler (University of Warwick) explained how commercial growers of greenhouse crops have used IPM for over 50 years and now rarely resort to chemicals. Despite parallels between greenhouses and bee hives, being controlled environments in which chemical resistance by pests is an issue, he emphasised the in-depth knowledge and variety of control options needed. He presented work on entomopathogenic fungi, from around the world, as a promising option within varroa IPM.
- Norman Carreck (IBRA & University of Sussex) reviewed progress in breeding honey bees for varroa tolerance but emphasised caution: Some examples of untreated colonies surviving have on closer inspection been due to isolated changes in the varroa mite rather honey bee tolerance. The COLOSS project is currently testing 16 strains across 16 countries to evaluate them under standardized test conditions. Work at Sussex is using DNA markers to guide efforts in breeding for hygienic behaviour.
- Dr Jochen Pflugfelder (Swiss Bee Research Centre) concluded the day by summarising research directions and priorities identified at recent international research workshops focussed on varroa. The number of such recent events draws attention to the continuing problem varroa still represents in the 21st century.
Statement from the BBKA on Neonicotinoid Pesticides
The BBKA shares the concerns expressed relating to reports of possible harm to honey bees that may be caused by the neonicotinoid group of pesticides. It calls for an urgent review of all the available data on the effects of these compounds. The BBKA has consistently urged for more research into this group of compounds as evidenced in its paper Honey Bee Health Research Concepts (Jan 2009) and earlier papers submitted to Government. The BBKA itself is funding research on pesticide residues in bee colonies at Keele University.
This urgent review, based not only on existing literature but also encompassing any new and as yet unpublished data, should involve a thorough re-evaluation and up to date risk assessment of these agents and their effects on honey bees by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate in the UK and competent European authorities, the outcome of which must lead to appropriate action.
Martin Smith
President
24th January 2011
BBKA ADM report
by Peter Mathews
A few notes from today's ADM. These are very brief and more details will appear on the BBKA website and 'BBKA News'
Propositions
- Increase in capitation of £1 pppa. This was CARRIED. Capitation for Registered Members will be £15 from next year.
N.B. This is not linked to the cessation of pesticide approvals. - Review of the Development of Intellectual Property. CARRIED.
This will allow BBKA to be involved in a wide range of collaboration with other bodies, including manufacturers of agro-chemicals. - BBKA cease any commercial relations with agrochemical companies incl use of BBKA logo on approved products. CARRIED.
After suitable amendment by BBKA, this motion was carried. Martin Smith (President) made a special plea to all delegates to support this motion. In its amended form the proposition simply reflects the announcement on cessation of pesticide approval made in November. Thus the vote approves what has already been done.
In its orginal form the proposition from Twickenham would have resulted in anomalies [eg some of last year's stand holders at the Spring Convention would attend free of charge]. - Partner / Junior Membership
This would allow juniors to join as Partner members correcting an anomaly. CARRIED. - Introduction of a new category of Junior members. CARRIED
The Exec originally advised against this proposition on administrative grounds eg Criminal Record checks etc. In practice there will be no involvement by BBKA. Any special legal requirements to accommodate juniors will be down to the divisions. - British Queen Raising Programme. CARRIED
- Changes to Rules describing Membership Database Updates. CARRIED
There is one application for a new association (Cleveland) and two special groups. CARRIED
Please refer to 'BBKA News' for more detail of the actual propositions.
FURTHER NOTES
- Jane Moseley was formally adopted as General Secretary and presented with her badge of office - Well done Jane !
In her reply she said that she intends visiting associations to gain a better understanding of how they work, and what they want from the BBKA. - Tim Lovett and Norman Carrick were awarded Honorary Membership.
- The new BBKA website will be launched at the Spring Convention [the sample page looked pretty similar to Herts Bees to me! I did suggest they look at our website last year]
- New sponsors for Adopt a Hive are Berts Bees products.
- 'BBKA News' is going colour and monthly. It will not replace 'Bee Craft' and will contain completely different information. The newsletter goes to all members. Only about 30% of the membership take 'BeeCraft'.
[This largely gives support to Paul Cooper's question, "Do we need a separate Herts newsletter?" - a question he posed before this announcement. Perhaps not, Paul.] - The new 'Yellow' Course In A Case (for Novices) is now available. £50 for first, then £95.
- The changes to the Rules regarding the database have an important consequence. The list of members issued by BBKA in Spring and Autumn will be used for billing right or wrong. In other words, there will be no scope for correcting the list after the due date. The onus is on us to ensure all additions and amendments are made in good time. It will be especially important to delete lapsed members otherwise they will be charged (strictly no refunds).
Currently, associations have been correcting the list way into the summer with capitation coming in 3 or 4 months late. Whilst the rules are harsh, life should be simpler for all. And, if we overpay, it is simply down to our own inefficiency.
December 2010 / January 2011
Editorial by Paul Cooper
May I wish all our readers a very Happy New Year.
What a cold December it has been - the coldest for over 100 years. Let us hope that the bees are tucked up and keeping warm.
The next issue of Herts Bees will be published at the beginning of February so please send me your divisional meeting date for 2011 by the end of the month.
St Albans news by Christine Aitken
St Albans & District BKA wish to send many congratulations to Jane Moseley, Secretary of Bishop's Stortford BKA who has just been appointed BBKA Operations Director/General Secretary. Jane is currently Honorary President of Hertfordshire Beekeeping Association.
Our Honey Tasting Social on 26th November 2010 saw a really good turnout of members and their families. See separate report written by Richard Peterson.
Winter meeting
4th February 2011 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall is our AGM. The minutes of the 2010 AGM will be available to view prior to the start of the meeting.
Your committee have worked hard during a difficult 2010 and have all agreed to stand for another year. Please come and support us and learn how your Association proposes to move forward and encompass beekeeping in the future.
There will be our usual Wine and Cheese Social afterwards which is a perfect opportunity to meet fellow members.
Prae Wood Apiary
The problems associated with the Association Apiary are slowly being resolved. Our landlord, the Gorhambury Estate, have erected anti-personnel fencing on the roadside boundary of the Apiary which unfortunately leaves the site very exposed.
We have been fortunate in having a generous offer from Gristwood and Toms, a well established tree planting company whose head office is in Shenley, of 400 whips of beech, hawthorn and holly to plant as hedging along this boundary fence. They have also offered advice and help in the planting and Luke Adams, who has his apiary on their land at Shenley, is co-ordinating a working party to shortly carry this out.
It will take some years for the site to be less visible from the road and in the meantime the committee are considering how best we maintain this site, accommodate the increased interest in beekeeping and ensure the safety of our hives.
Wishing all our members a happy and peaceful Christmas and an enjoyable beekeeping 2011.
Welwyn News by Peter Mathews
Heinz Folge
We were greatly saddened to hear of the death of Heinz Folge during a family holiday in Austria. He died peacefully in his sleep aged 85. He leaves his widow, Gertrude and son, Peter. Although Heinz was never a member of the association he was a well loved figure at many of our local events. He and Gertrude also hosted garden meetings over many years. And, I am quite sure he helped on our stall at more Welwyn Street Markets than any of our members. We will miss his anecdotes and stories delivered in his heavy German accent. Our thoughts are with his family in their sad loss.
North Herts news - December 2010
Last Tuesday Richard Smith described to us the intricacies of producing a beautiful jar of honey. With the aid of slides he took us through the various stages from extraction to creaming (with the aid of an electric drill and a paint stirrer), bottling and labelling. The creamed or soft set honey in the sample he brought was delicious and I shall be on the lookout for some fine seeded honey next year to try to do likewise. Graham brought along some very nice bramble honey for us to try which someone described as being like a liqueur.
Christmas Party
John and Miriam Hill have very kindly offered to once again allow us to invade their home, Boxwood, for the N. Herts BKA Christmas Party. This will be on:
December 18th at 7.30pm at Boxwood, Walkern, Stevenage, SG2 7AB
There will be a small charge of £4 to cover sundries. Will everyone please bring either a sweet or a savoury dish. There will be a raffle so any offers of prizes will be gratefully received. Please contact Helen or Ray to let them know you are coming : helen.amey@ntlworld.com or 01438 236811
February meeting
We don't have a meeting in January, so the next winter meeting will be February 15th at 7.30pm at Howgills when Chris Woodward, Environmental and Pest officer from Stevenage will talk to us about insects and possibly more exotic creatures he comes across in the course of his work. NB We haven't got a volunteer to make tea and coffee at this meeting so if you haven't had a turn yet please get in touch with me (chris@hizz.demon.uk)
Oxalic acid
If you have only one or two hives and are thinking of giving an oxalic acid treatment this winter Graham can provide suitably small quantities. Contact Graham 01438 369770.
Bishops Stortford news by Paul Cooper
A few of us met at the end of November to review the Course in a Case that Jane Moseley had kindly organised. We have decided to run a course commencing the first week in March and lasting six weeks. Our apiary meetings will commence a week or so later and the course attendees will be invited to come along for some hands-on experience.
The course will be held every Wednesday from March 2nd - April 6th inclusive, 7.45pm - 10pm at the Main Hall, Bishops Park Community Centre, Lancaster Way, Bishops Park,Bishops Stortford, Herts, CM23 4DA. The Community Centre, is situated next door to Tesco Supermarket. Free Parking!
Please contact Julia Saunders (juliaesaunders@yahoo.com) who is handling the bookings.
BBKA's new Operations Director / General Secretary
I am extremely please to be able to announce that Jane Moseley, HBKA's very own Honorary President and Secretary of the Bishops Stortford Beekeepers Association, has just landed herself the job of Operations Director / General Secretary for the British Beekeepers Association. This is fantastic news and I am sure that every beekeeper in Hertfordshire will join me in congratulating her.
She was selected for the job from nearly 90 applicants. As BBKA put it:
Jane probably better reflects the changing demographics of our membership and will bring a new and fresh look and energy to this challenging role.
Many congratulations Jane!
Record attendance at Honey Tasting
The evening followed its usual format with the jars of honey being displayed anonymously on a large central table and the spectacle was a joy to behold. Everyone is then invited to taste them all and mark them with a score of one to five. There were 25 jars put up for judging and the standard was in fact so high that it made selecting extremely difficult and in order to make a judgement between some it was necessary to deduct marks for things like presentation to help make a decision. All the honey was of extremely good quality being in the main very ripe and I would guess they all had a very low water content.
There were many varieties ranging from the more standard flavour of honey as gathered from our apiary which mainly consists of what comes from arable farm land being largely from rape, beans and the adjacent hedgerows to some very delicious pale varieties which I understand emanated from lime trees. At the other end of the spectrum there were a few very dark treacly jars which were either from the chestnut blossom or honey dew. One of these jars of honey dew honey had, we learned later, been flavoured by the bitumen on a garage or shed roof from which the bees had collected the honey dew. This is probably an acquired taste and could perhaps catch on.
The winner of the cup was again from the Wingate family. David, as opposed to Anne, who had won it previously, so the cup can again reside in the same place on their sideboard for another year. Second was Caroline Moore and third Maureen Thorne. This event was followed as usual by a sumptuous buffet which was supplied by the members who brought along a dish, either savoury or sweet, and this was followed by a cup of the ‘beekeepers best friend’ a cup of tea.
Solar Extractor
by Peter Mathews
This is aimed one of our new members who asked me last January if it was too early to putting on supers. Well, this is what you should be doing in January:-
After a year or two of keeping bees you should be in a position of collecting a lot of surplus wax. Do not throw this away it is valuable! Most people render wax down to trade in against new foundation. This should provide you with more than enough, so that you will rarely need to buy in.
If nothing else you should get yourself a solar extractor. This is simply an insulated box in which you put spare wax; it sits in the sun, the wax melts and runs off into a suitable container. All the usual suppliers will have something in their catalogue, at a price. If treating this as a business proposition then you will be looking at a fairly lengthy payback time. On the other hand if your bees are highly productive and you are getting a good price for your honey, then you may see it as a good investment.
As solar extractors work well even if poorly manufactured, most people make their own. The main box is probably easiest made out of marine ply. Don't bother with fancy joints, just use strips of baton to screw the sides together. Just ensure exposed edge are well protected against the weather. The window should be doubled glazed for maximum efficiency, and the whole thing lined with insulation. This could be expanded foam, felt etc. But, 2" roofing insulation board is very easy to work with. The most difficult part is making the inner tray. Commercial units are made in stainless steel with welded joints. An old cooking oil container, made of tin plate, from your local take away is free and easily worked with tin snips and a soldering iron. Make sure all cut edges are folded back to avoid cutting yourself.
I am reminder by a winning entry at the National Honey Show by John Nailard of St Albans which he built out of material retrieved from skips. The body was a high density polystyrene packing box, the window was triple glazed polycarbonate sheet and the tray knocked up from an old oil drum.
You can go on to refine your wax and use it for candle making etc, which is worth more than a trade in. But, for now rough filtered wax will be very acceptable to KBS, Maisemore, Thornes etc. This little project should keep you quiet until the end of February!
My First Bees by Derek Driver
I started beekeeping by accident, my brother in law rang me one day and said he had just done a beekeeping course at Taylors of Welwyn and a few days later I saw an advert in our local newspaper of a beekeeper selling all his bees and equipment due to retirement. Thinking my brother in law would be interested I arranged to meet him at the beekeepers cottage, in Nuthampstead. In the dark however I couldn’t find the cottage and went into the only pub there and found the local postman enjoying a pint. I soon found the cottage and the beekeeper welcomed me like a long lost son.
He said my brother in law had been and gone but had made the beekeeper promise to save a hive for me!!! I cannot print the descriptive thoughts that went through my mind of my brother in law when I received those words. However I was taken into a barn which was filled with stacks of boxes called “supers” and shown “frames and queen excluders” the aroma from these were intoxicating.
I departed with a wooden box tired up with string and with grass stuffed into a hole in the front, and £10 lighter in the pocket. I drove away, conscious of the beekeepers last words ringing in my ears, “drive slowly boy”! The date was the 30th March 1974.
My learning curve was steep and I joined the local group which was the South East Herts beekeepers association, whose area was Hertford, Ware, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne, Cuffley, Goffs Oak and Cheshunt. A Mr.Ratcliffe was the chairman but soon there was a new chairman called Neville Woodward. I discovered the bees I had brought had AFB and the bee inspector for the county, Frank Croll also a member of SEHBA then joined Neville in taking me under their wing and became my joint mentors. This involved lots of apiary visits and on one occasion when Frank invited us up on Sunday for tea I left our children with his wife and mine whilst Frank and I walked over the fields to his bees.
He started to remove cover boards and examine the bees but as neither of us had any hats or veils just short sleeve shirts and I was reluctant. Of course one stung me above the eye and by the time we returned for tea it was shut.
Within a few years of their tutorledge a young Clive De Bryn took me for my Basic exam although it wasn’t called that then, and I started to win various prize cards at our SEHBA division show and at the County Show. In those days there was fierce competition From John Mumford and Geoff Wilcox, from our association, who also won many prize cards, Geoff being especially expert in the various types of mead, even winning at the national.
Over the years I have realised how much enjoyment and friends I’ve gained from beekeeping, although I have never thanked my brother in law, But He did get his just deserts. Many years ago when I asked him to help with those lovely black bees we used to keep. The ones that always met and greeted you a hundred yards away and continued their welcome by bouncing off your face mask whenever you were in the apiary.
All he had to do was put a clearer board on a hive whilst I lifted the super clear. Well the next thing that happened was that I heard him yell, and I saw the clearer board flying through the air and him running across the field, then through the hedge, waving his arms like a Whirling Dervishes.
When I caught up with him he was in his car and about to drive off. His description of my bees cannot be printed and he never helped again. Now days the bees we keep are pussycats compared to those old black bees, and I often wonder how today’s newcomers would cope with those type of bees?
Bee scientists to force killer mites to self destruct
Defra news release - http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2010/12/22/bee-scientists/
Scientists may be able to halt global honey bee losses by forcing the deadly Varroa mite, lethal in the freezing weather, to self destruct.
The blood-sucking Varroa is the biggest killer of honey bees world-wide, having developed resistance to beekeepers’ medication. It is particularly destructive in winter as depleted colonies do not have enough bees huddling together to keep warm.
Now researchers from the Government’s National Bee Unit and Aberdeen University have worked out how to ‘silence’ natural functions in the mites’ genes to make them self destruct.
Dr. Alan Bowman from the University of Aberdeen said: “Introducing harmless genetic material encourages the mites’ own immune response to prevent their genes from expressing natural functions. This could make them self destruct. The beauty of this approach is that it is really specific and targets the mites without harming the bees or, indeed, any other animal.”
Dr Giles Budge from National Bee Unit, part of the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), said: “This cutting edge treatment is environmentally-friendly and poses no threat to the bees. With appropriate support from industry and a rigorous approval process, chemical-free medicines could be available in five to ten years.”
Environment Minister Lord Henley said: “Bees are essential to putting food on our table and worth £200m to Britain every year through pollinating our crops. This excellent work by UK scientists will keep our hives healthy and bees buzzing.”
The process uses the Nobel Prize-winning theory ‘RNA interference’, which controls the flow of genetic information. So far the ‘silencing’ has worked with a neutral Varroa gene, which has no significant effect on the mite. Scientists now need to target a gene with the specific characteristics that are perfect to force the Varroa to self destruct.
Tests by other scientists have shown the treatment can be added to hives in bee feed. The bees move it into food for their young, where the Varroa hides.
Varroa facts
- The Varroa mite, like a brown crab, is the biggest global killer of honey bees.
- It originally attacked the Asian honeybee but jumped to the European honeybee, which has a poor natural defence.
- The mite injects viruses, suppresses the bees’ immune system and feeds on blood.
- Beekeepers use chemical controls but can never eradicate it and over the past decade the Varroa developed resistance to some medication.
- If untreated, or given inappropriate chemicals, it can take just 1,000 mites to kill a colony of 50,000 bees.
- Honey bees are worth £200m to the UK economy a year through pollinating crops
- The Varroa mite entered the UK in 1992.
- Honey bee populations have dropped by 23 per cent since 1992, potentially costing the economy millions of pounds.
- In 1992 there were 23,767 beekeepers and 151,924 colonies. In 2010 there have been 21,000 beekeepers, and 116,500 colonies.
- In summer an average colony has 30,000 to 50,000 honey bees.
Notes
- Photos of the Varroa mite are available from Defra Press Office.
- The full report is available at: www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/3/1/73
- RNA interference (RNAi) was discovered by Professor Andrew Fire who won the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for it: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2006/press.html. For more information go to: www.nature.com/focus/rnai/animations/index.html.
- The Food and Environment Research Agency supports and develops a sustainable food chain and healthy natural environment, and protects against biological and chemical risks. www.fera.defra.gov.uk/. The National Bee Unit advises beekeepers, supports industry, and controls serious pests and diseases to minimise economic and environmental impact. https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm
- In 2009 the Government launched the Healthy Bees Plan, a 10-year strategy to protect and improve the health of honeybees in England and Wales. To help start it, Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) contributed £2.8million up to 2011.
- In June 2010, Defra and WAG announced £2.5million of funding for the Insect Pollinators Initiative for research into understanding and mitigating the biological and environmental factors affecting insect pollinators.
- In October Defra announced support for the British Beekeeping Association to increase the number of quality trainers for beekeepers across England and Wales. This is to teach amateurs the skills to care for bees and guard against pests and diseases.
National Bee Unit Update No. 7
A note regarding the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina), and the NBU’s current activities concerning this exotic pest threat.
The NBU is very aware of the recent arrival and spread of Asian hornets with the EU (France), the implications of this to beekeepers, and their understandable concerns. To bring you as up to date as possible, earlier this year the Non Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) requested the NBU to produce a formal Risk Assessment for the Asian hornet with respect to beekeeping in the UK (i.e. England, Scotland and Wales).
The draft assessment has been completed (in Sept. 2010), by the NBU and members of the Applied Entomology team at Fera. It considers in as much detail as possible, based on available literature, available scientific evidence and personal accounts, all feasible pathways of entry into UK – how these are regulated and potential volume of movement along each pathway (i.e. relative risk posed). It discusses likely impacts on honey bees and other insect prey sources (which may for example be important pollinators), possible methods of control, and implications to human health and amenities, should the Asian hornet be found over here. It also lists some actions that would be useful now to help “keep the hornet out”.
This lengthy document is currently under review by peer(s) in the field and by the Non-Native Species Risk Analysis Panel (NNRAP). In the meantime, the NBU is liaising with our colleagues in the NNSS to discuss what can do now to further raise awareness and the priority with which likelihood of entry should be addressed. In the immediate future we will be working on a Contingency Plan. A “Species Alert” for V. velutina has been posted on the front page of the NNSS website. We are working together to produce an identification sheet for V. velutina which will be made available through BeeBase and the NNSS website. In the meantime, BeeBase already posts a certain amount of information about V. velutina.
The NBU’s team of 60 Appointed Bee Inspectors carries out an annual apiary inspection programme across the eight beekeeping regions that comprise England and Wales. In a typical year the NBU’s Inspectorate makes between five and six thousand apiary visits, inspecting between 24,000 and 29,000 colonies. In 2009, however, ~40,000 colonies were inspected. Inspectorate personnel are already aware of the threat posed by the Asian hornet, and are clearly in an excellent position to educate the beekeeping community accordingly. However, other media and avenues of dissemination are being explored for use by, for example, garden centres, fruit and flower importers etc. The Plant Health and Seed Inspectorate (who monitor imports of fruit, flowers, and soil-bearing plants etc. that provide potential hibernation niches for mated hornet queens) will also be trained (January 2011) to identify and report any finds to the NBU.
The NBU is currently requesting that members of the public who suspect they have found an Asian hornet should a notify us immediately, providing as much information as possible. If possible, they should send us a sample for examination to confirm identity.
Kind regards,
National Bee Unit
BBKA Strategic Review 2011 and its relationship with the plant protection industry
by Martin Smith (BBKA President), 16th November 2010
As an educational charity, the BBKA is primarily concerned with the health and welfare of honey bees and seeks to educate, inform and influence all parts of society including beekeepers, the public and industry about honey bees. Over time, a number of arrangements has been made between the BBKA and third parties, who have been attracted to entering into relationships with the BBKA for a variety of reasons, but all of which have been agreed on the basis they will deliver benefits to honey bees. It is necessary to review strategically the appropriateness of these relationships from time to time to ensure that they continue to be relevant, effective and indeed do deliver the intended benefits.
Usually such arrangements have meant the granting or licensing of the use of the BBKA logo (which is a registered trade mark) on the literature and goods of the third party. The BBKA strategic review intends to assess the options and opportunities available to it to develop its brand name and to develop others.
One such strategic relationship has been the BBKA policy of actively engaging with the plant protection industry in an attempt to improve stewardship of pesticides and agricultural practice to minimise damage to honey bees and to ensure that the views of beekeepers are taken into account in the development of pesticides and their application in the field.
This relationship started in the 1980's and has taken a number of forms, including sponsorship of the BBKA’s presence at the Royal Show and more recently, the BBKA has agreed to allow its logo to be used on four synthetic pyrethroid based products. These products on the basis of evidence provided and in conjunction with the stewardship activities of the supplying companies, appear to offer reduced risks for harm to honey bees when used correctly. The BBKA has received modest payments for these endorsements part of which covers the costs of administration and meetings held to engage with the companies. Positive developments that have come from this policy have included the inclusion of the BBKA 10 point guidelines into the UK Pesticide Guide, the so-called ‘Green Book’, published by BCPC and most importantly, significant reductions in bee colony losses attributed to pesticides, from the 100 or so per annum in the 1990s to the current negligible figures.
The four products currently subject to BBKA endorsement are today of declining commercial importance and the development of new classes of pesticide and application techniques means that the relationship with the plant protection industry should be reviewed. The way in which the BBKA will engage with the industry as a whole and individual companies will vary, but an example of the wider approach to be pursued is the co-operation over the production of the recently published Crop Protection Association (CPA) leaflet ‘Bee Safe, Bee Careful’ which bears the BBKA and NFU logos.
As a first step in the overall review of strategic relationships the BBKA Trustees have decided that it is time to broaden the range of engagement with the crop protection industry beyond the narrow focus of endorsing certain products; rather to contribute more directly to the development of new regulatory criteria for pesticide approval with the Chemicals Regulatory Directorate (CRD) and to further support the industry in the general move to improve countryside stewardship. For example, this might include promoting specific initiative such as nectar bars, tree planting and restoration of hedgerows.
Following discussion with the companies involved, the BBKA Trustees have decided that endorsement and related product specific payments will cease as soon as practically possible.
The Trustees do not preclude accepting funds in the future from either the crop protection industry in the guise of the CPA or individual companies nor other organisations involved in horticulture and agriculture, which are beneficiaries of honey bee activity. The Trustees have no specific funding proposals in mind at present, but for the sake of clarity do not wish to be constrained by any notion of working with one particular industry on a 'free' basis, whilst accepting funding from individual and other corporate members to fund its activities. For example the Trustees may wish to invite companies to fund a future research colloquium, to exhibit at the BBKA Spring Convention or make a contribution to the BBKA Research Fund.
As part of its strategic review the BBKA is developing a range of other products, including literature, a distinctive house style, sponsorship, logos and devices and wishes to be able to further develop these to maximise their impact and financial benefit. It is essential that any that any contractual arrangements made meets the requirements of the BBKA strategy for the coming years, with the overall aim of encouraging society to take measures which will help honey bees.
November 2010
Editorial by Paul Cooper
Another winter is almost here so make final checks that mouse guards are secure and the chicken wire is in place. Heft each hive to get an idea how much they weigh when full of winter stores.
Next month will be a double edition covering December and January so please send me your news for December through to mid February.
North Herts news by Christine Philips
After Frank had explained the intricacies of artificial and shook swarms at our first winter meeting last Tuesday (with the help of various cardboard boxes and a rather fat wooden queen) we were treated to an antique quiz. This had been threatening to make an appearance for several years and wasn't advertised in case no-one turned up! It was concocted in the old days when beekeepers knew a thing or two, and amazingly some people knew the answers to some of the questions, even though there were several on skep beekeeping. Graham claimed chairman's privilege and read out the questions and, more importantly, the answers. It was enjoyed by all, and as Derrick said, everyone has now spoken at a bee meeting. Thanks go to Derrick for organising it.
We also discussed the money paid to the BBKA by some large chemical companies for allowing them to use the BBKA logo on their products, and the proposition put forward by Twickenham and Thames Valley BKA asking for this to stop. All present voted to support this proposition and I have forwarded your views to the Hertfordshire committee, but we are just one of eight Hertfordshire divisions and so have a very small voice.
The N. Herts Christmas party was discussed and one idea put forward was to have a bonfire party this year (if a suitable venue can be found) - sort of winter solstice festival! If this idea appeals to you or if you would rather keep to a more traditional event please let Graham know. Or come to the next meeting and help to decide.
Next meeting :
November 16th at 7.30pm at Howgills - a talk by Richard Smith - "Honey from Hive to Jar"
St Albans & District news by Christine Aitken
Winter meetings
26th November 2010 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall is our Honey Tasting Social. This is an informal evening where members bring a jar of their own unlabeled clear honey along and we all taste, judge and present a cup to the winner. Everyone also brings a plate of food which makes for an enjoyable evening. All members and their families welcome.
4th February 2011 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall is our AGM. We intend to hold our usual Wine and Cheese Social afterwards.
We had a good attendance for our first winter meeting of the year on 15th October. Emma Wright, a PhD student working at Rothamsted in Harpenden, gave us a very interesting, humorous and enlightening presentation on the current research she and her colleagues are doing on 'Interactions between honeybee diseases and bee behaviour'.
Also at the meeting was Christopher Snow, a 3rd year veterinary student at the Royal Veterinary College, who as part of his animal husbandry project is looking at the various methods employed by beekeepers to control varroa levels in their hives in order to maximize productivity levels of the bees. He distributed confidential questionnaires to interested members and has offered to send a final report to us.
Both he and Emma stayed on for the review of the beekeeping season which was a lively question and answer session.
Beginners course 2011
Preparations are well under way thanks to Eileen Remnant who once again is co-ordinating.
West Herts news by Margaret Tighe
On Sunday 3rd October, Andy Clavey, with the three members who keep bees at the Apiary, set about extracting two of three supers removed from the new Association hives. They assembled in Lindsay and Diane Bruces' bee proof utility room and the Association extractor was used. Diane later bottled up 41 x 1lb jars. The flavour was very good. The honey in the third super had crystallised but will no doubt be used on one of the hives for winter stores.
This month we had the last of our apiary meetings this year. It was nice to see nearly all the West Herts BKA Committee members there along with other members new and long-term! After a hectic week it is easy to think - can I really spare the time to attend an apiary meeting? However, once there, I am swept along in the peaceful "away from it all" atmosphere. The jobs at home are forgotten, that is, until I look at my watch and see that nearly two and a half hours have slipped by and it's time to say goodbye.
Bishops Stortford news by Paul Cooper
Don't forget our Harvest Supper at the Nags Head in Little Hadham at 8pm on Friday 12th November. If you have not booked then please contact Jane Moseley to see if there are any spare places.
A new bee-suit for Christmas?
We have negotiated a 10% discount for members of HBKA from www.beesuitscheap.co.uk. All you have to do is enter the code BKS100 when you make your purchase. The site also contains gloves and smokers for sale and will have other tools for sale by Christmas.
The BBKA Forum
by Jane Moseley
Now if like me you are thinking what the heck is the BBKA Forum, I will endeavour to explain in very simple terms. Each County sends 2 representatives to discuss topics of interest/concern as proposed by the County Divisions & BBKA at a one day meeting. These findings are then presented back to the representatives and submitted to the BBKA for action.
Chaired by Brian Ripley, BBKA Chairman, the meeting opened on time with a keen start straight into the subject area of Commercial Chemical Endorsements which had been raised by the Twickenham division. The result of the debate was mixed and nothing was really determined.
We moved on then to the Course in a Case, which you may have heard me banging on about. Well this is a comprehensive detailed Bee Keeping Course, in a Case hence it’s name, which has been developed to provide each Division with quality materials that enable us to provide up to date current information at a Basic level. Heavily subsidised the course is both in printed and electronic form and the Bishops Stortford division will be using this material in its forthcoming course in the new year. Additional materials are being created - to take BeeKeepers to the next level and the first of these should be available at the ADM (Annual Delegates Meeting) in January.
BBKA has funding from FERA specifically for the training of trainers but works with Government Departments on the Healthy Bee Board in addition to developing it’s own courses. Through the FERA funding BBKA hopes to push through 400 trainers through the programme between November and March, when the fund may well be cut. So if you want to take advantage - do so now! See the next edition which will have a big education theme for more info on what’s going on and available education wise. We then broke out into discussion groups to discuss the materials and how it can be delivered to improve standards throughout the year to all members.
In the current environmental climate it has been determined that Research is vital to enable us to improve the health of our Bees. The question asked of attendees was what’s the best way to spend the meagre £63k of funds within the BBKA Research fund. We were asked to consider Applied, Case Awards, Scale and Topics for Research. Unanimously every break out group determined that Bee Keepers in the field could take part and that we should use our extensive membership intelligence as a resource for research undertaking and analysis.
Message below from Brian Ripley, BBKA Chairman
Dear Secretary
Can I take this opportunity for thanking you for any help you gave in encouraging members to complete the honey survey, we needed 1000 responses to make it credible and we received 1386 which was excellent and will allow careful analysis. As it is getting nearer to Christmas could you pass the following information to all your members as an email, or flag it up in your next newsletter so that we can reach as many BBKA members as possible well before Christmas.
Ideas for Christmas that help the honey bee
Look at the choices on www.Adoptabeehive.co.uk to order call 0871 911 1818 and quote 'BBKA 7'.
We have arranged a discount just for BBKA members on stationary for sale on the Adoptabeehive web shop, with 20% off all cards
Christmas cards, set of eight, two different snowy beehive scenes
Price to BBKA members £4.76 (saving £1.19 on each set)
Rainbow notelets, set of seven, honey bees on colourful flowers
Price to BBKA members £3.68 (saving 92p on each set)
Gold print wood cut skep cards, set of six
Price to BBKA members £4.48 (saving £1.12 on each set)
All profits from the sale of these cards go towards the research and education fund to support the honey bee. For example money from BBKA sales has recently been awarded to Ron Hoskins to help develop his varroa resistant bees.
To take advantage of this offer you must order BY PHONE 0871 911 1818 (calls cost no more than 10p minute) and quote 'BBKA 7 member offer' . ‘Adoptabeehive’ and ‘Spread a little Sweetness’ sets would also make an unusual present and help the honey bee, and can also be bought online at www.Adoptabeehive.co.uk or by calling 0871 911 1818.
Small Hive Beetle - new brochure
Dear Beekeeper,
Please download from here the new National Bee Unit Small hive beetle brochure.
This has been developed and updated by the National Bee Unit, incorporating information on risks from the recent Defra funded Pest Risk Assessment and containing new information about contingency planning.
We hope that you find this leaflet a useful addition to your beekeeping information.
Kind regards,
National Bee Unit
Breeding the Honeybee
by Richard Alabone (courtesy of Essex Beekeepers Association)
Of all animal species in the world, the honey bee is unique in that the multiple mating of queens creates colonies of half sister workers, fathered by drones of dubious parentage but all from the same geographical area.
Too much in-breeding reduces virility; therefore the inevitable cross mating, within the geographical area, is a good thing.
We know that honey bees have remained virtually unchanged for at least 50,000,000 years and this has been achieved by their unique method of avoiding in-breeding which will destroy a good strain in a few generations. Apis Mellifera avoids in-breeding by queens flying several miles to be multiple mated, which has resulted in at least 12 identifiable races, that have bred into 12 different geographical areas to best fit the climate of those areas. This gives beekeepers a wealth of breeds to choose from to make crosses, some being dreadful, while others are very satisfactory.
We all know that plant and animal breeders have made dramatic improvements in output by crossing natural breeds, and bee breeding is no different in that respect. Honey yields can be increased by a factor of 10 by careful selection of crosses. The only problem being that in so doing we have now compromised the individuality of all the different breeds due to the bees own method of avoiding inbreeding. But bees will probably survive another 50,000,000 years despite our intervention.
This makes "pure-bred queens" difficult to produce and the best that can be done is to carefully select breeder queens and only mate them with good drones of the same strain. This is known as line breeding. As a result of multiple mating, the control of suitable breeding is a very inexact science, unless horrible instrumental insemination is used.
We buy pure bred yellow Italian queens from Hawaii, where queens are cheap to produce, which would not survive in this country unless pampered by the beekeeper. This race of Apis Mellifera has the hereditary factors best suited to survive in Italy.
A bee more suited to our climate is the Buckfast, sometimes regarded as a pure breed, but is in fact a carefully contrived first cross originally produced by Brother Adam's beekeepers at Buckfast Abbey in Devon. It is highly prolific and hard-working because it is a cross of two separate races. This high degree of virility is almost never achieved in bees of a single race because there is always too much inbreeding. Brother Adam showed that the first cross of two races produced very different offspring, and by the crossing of two line-bred carefully selected strains the desired characteristics could be achieved to give a user-friendly breed capable of much increased honey yield. This was achieved by crossing, the highly selected European bee, bred at Buckfast Abbey over many years, with the bee from Carnica in northern Yugoslavia which has a range of important characteristics like, remarkably good temper, calmness on the comb and resistance to brood diseases.
Today we can buy "Buckfast strain" queens raised in this country which are prolific but sometimes very aggressive due to the difficulty of having pure strains to cross. Other bee breeders are more honest and sell them as "user friendly", or as their own breed.
Carniolan bees were once known here as the "best bee" but they have disappeared into our mongrel population in this country, while they are still line-bred in Germany as I read in Brother Adams book "Breeding the Honey Bee". I make no apology for using his title, as this article was based on his book, published by Northern Bee Books.
For me the interesting thing is the fundamental question of what makes a bee what it is, or for that matter what makes me what I am. We know that heredity plays a part in some way, and although scientists in their wisdom have rejected it, the answer is the inheritance of acquired characteristics. This is what formed the distinct bee races within the species. Scientific opinion dictates that it is the DNA which is the building block of the species, but biology is not able to explain this, with some biologists believing that there must be an information transfer mechanism between members of all species that dictates species form and instinctive behaviour. This mechanism has been given various names, but for me the obvious one is telepathy, which is very occasionally experienced by humans, and is that same mechanism which dictates growth, form and shares instinctive information between the members of every species. DNA is only the key of each species, rather than the complete description, ensuring that only species information is received, but blending with the acquired characteristics of heredity which is recorded in DNA.
I am aware that this all raises more questions than it answers. Some of the answers are on my website: www.Sublimity.org.uk.
Government announces support for backgarden beekeepers
Britain’s backyard beekeepers are to be helped to avoid the problem of winter bee deaths by 400 Government-backed volunteer teachers.
Soaring numbers of people are taking up the hobby amid concern over honey bee decline. But due to challenges from pests and diseases, inexperienced beekeepers are losing more colonies over winter, so better skills are needed.
400 experts across England and Wales are to be trained to teach beekeepers good husbandry as part of a new project under the Government’s Healthy Bees Plan. It will be run in partnership by the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA) and National Diploma of Beekeeping Board (NDBB), and jointly funded by Defra.
For more information click here.
October 2010
Editorial by Paul Cooper
Another beekeeping year draws to a close. As well as the usual divisional reports, there is an extensive report from our busy-bee president, Jane Moseley, notes from the recent HBKA Exec meeting, details of the Honey Show and advice, if not too late, from the National Bee Unit on how to prepare colonies for winter.
After a few warm days in September, autumn is finally here with wet and windy weather at the start of October. If we do have any sunny days the bees will be out collecting the last of the season's pollen and nectar from ivy flowers which seem to be in great profusion this year, at least in east Herts. Hopefully you should now have completed the varroa treatment and also finished feeding your bees if using syrup. Now is the time to put on the woodpecker protection (a wrap of chicken wire) and fix the mouseguards across the entrance.
Welwyn news by Peter Folge
We had our last apiary meeting of the season on September 11th. Our guest Jane Moseley from Bishop Stortford Div. (Herts President) attended. The weather looked like rain but held off until we had finished. Perfect timing! I have been very pleased with this year's apiary attendances; we averaged over 15 members at every monthly meeting.
Varroa treatments should have finished and feeding well underway. I have recently started leaving a super of stores (without queen excluder) on for all full sized colonies. After hefting and finding some of these to be quite light, these have had a supplementary feed to get them through the winter months. Few inspections will have been made since the end of July and ideally colonies should now be left alone and the last inspection should have been carried out to make sure brood is healthy - eggs and larvae present. This will make sure that colonies go through the winter in the best condition possible. The Beekeeping season seemed very short this year with a late start and what seems to be an early finish. I am pleased to say all new beekeepers that wanted bees received either a nucleas or swarms. Many newly seasoned beekeepers acquired their first honey crop and sold their produce at local event
Early in the year interest was shown by some of the Welwyn Beekeepers regarding finding, identifying and collecting wild mushrooms. I was surprised by the number of books that came along to a Welwyn meeting. I therefore decided to try something a little more radical later in the year and on Sunday (26th Sept) I organised a “Fungal Foray” in our local 'Mardley Heath' woodlan
Expressed interest was keenly shown and a merry band of ‘Hunter Gatherers’ arrived with welly boots and waterproofs. We found an array of different fungi including edible and a few poisonous varieties. Baskets and bags were filled and having spread out our spoils of the day and pictures taken, some very tasty Boletes ended up being taken home for the dinner table. (Mind you I have not heard from that member since!) It was suggested that we should organise this event again and include one or two other events to end the year.
Varroa treatments should have finished and feeding well underway. I have recently started leaving a super of stores (without queen excluder) on for all full sized colonies. After hefting and finding some of these to be quite light, these have had a supplementary feed to get them through the winter months. Few inspections will have been made since the end of July and ideally colonies should now be left alone and the last inspection should have been carried out to make sure brood is healthy - eggs and larvae present. This will make sure that colonies go through the winter in the best condition possible. The Beekeeping season seemed very short this year with a late start and what seems to be an early finish. I am pleased to say all new beekeepers that wanted bees received either a nucleas or swarms. Many newly seasoned beekeepers acquired their first honey crop and sold their produce at local event
Expressed interest was keenly shown and a merry band of ‘Hunter Gatherers’ arrived with welly boots and waterproofs. We found an array of different fungi including edible and a few poisonous varieties. Baskets and bags were filled and having spread out our spoils of the day and pictures taken, some very tasty Boletes ended up being taken home for the dinner table. (Mind you I have not heard from that member since!) It was suggested that we should organise this event again and include one or two other events to end the year.
North Herts news by Christine Phillips
Winter meetings will be held as usual on the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm at Howgills, 42 South View, Letchworth, SG6 3JJ
- October 19th - The subject of this meeting is a closely gu :arded secret. Come along and find out more!
- November 16th - Talk by Richard Smith "Honey from Hive to Jar"
- December Christmas party? - To be discussed at October meeting.
- February 15th - Talk by Chris Woodward " Insects in Your Garden"
- March 15th - AGM, honey tasting and second hand beekeeping bargains.
- April 19th - Talk / discussion on bee diseases.
Events at which N. Herts BKA will have a stall to promote beekeeping and to sell honey:
- October 3rd at Codicote Garden Centre
- October 23rd. Hitchin Apple Day in the old market square
Bishops Stortford news by Jane Moseley
5 Queens, 10 Jars & 1 Councillor
Our last Apiary meeting of the season included all of the above. A healthy turn out of about 20 members congregated at my house ready to inspect my 5 colonies. We split up into 2 groups with Dennis & Paul leading the inspection of a group of 3, while I led the inspection of the remaining 2. It actually turned out to be quite exciting as all 5 Queens were spotted despite 3 of the 5 not yet being clipped or marked. Comments were made about the health of the colonies which I put down to my use of BeeVital HiveClean, which everyone was very interested in. I have been using it since taking the honey off at the end of July and used before the supers went on and the Bees seem to think it’s OK.
West Herts news by Margaret Tighe
At our apiary meeting on 18th September, we were delighted to welcome Jane Moseley, President of the Hertfordshire Beekeepers Association. Members old and new were able to chat with her and she joined in the teaching session which is carried out around the beehives. The meeting was once again well attended with about twenty people present
In last month's news I mentioned the "starvation swarm" which Diane Bruce had just collected. I have since learnt that it had originally swarmed in a compost bin but after a while it swarmed on to a nearby fence, being unable to survive any longer in the bin due to a lack of fodder in the locality. I was most impressed to hear that this small swarm, after only a few weeks, was (with a little help from Diane) already increasing in size with fresh brood on several frames. Through their hard work and dedication, Lindsay and Diane have supplied ten new colonies to beekeepers this summer!
St Albans news by Christine Aitken
Winter meetings
- 15th October 2010 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall. Speaker will be Emma Wright of Rothamsted. After the refreshment break it is proposed to have a review of the beekeeping season with a question and answer session. These are always lively discussions and with so much knowledge amongst our membership - there is a lot to be learned by us all.
- 26th November 2010 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall is our Honey Tasting Show and Social. Our Honey Show is an informal evening where members bring a jar of their own unlabeled clear honey along and we all taste, judge and present a cup to the winner. Everyone also brings a plate of food which makes for an enjoyable evening. All members and their families welcome.
- 4th February 2011 at 8.00pm at Chiswell Green United Reformed Church Hall is our AGM.
Apiary thefts
As reported in last months HertsBees nearly all colonies have been removed to other apiary sites. Concerns over security issues at Prae Wood had been ongoing with our landlord for some time prior to these thefts. He intends to rectify this matter over the winter months.
Beginners course 2011
The waiting list is now over 50 and as we can only take around 25 on the course there are unfortunately going to be some disappointed prospective beekeepers.
Around the Apiary
Varroa treatments and winter feeding now completed it is time to protect our hives for overwintering. Mouse guards and anti-woodpecker protection are essential.
Presidents Report by Jane Moseley
A Whirl Wind Tour.. from Welwyn to Barnet via Croxley Green.
September has been busy but fun, I have met lots of lovely people. So in order to report back fairly I am keeping 2 of this months reports back for the next newsletter
A Peek Inside a Bee Inspector’s Hives!
It all started on the 11th September with Welwyn Group. I had missed one of their earlier apiary visits and wanted to be sure that I got a site visit in before everything moved indoors. Obviously nothing is straight forward and their meet coincided with our meet, which I was hosting so it was to be a full on Bee Day.
When I arrived at the Apiary site I was happy to see more idylls of the Hertfordshire countryside. Beyond the gate was a lush paddock with the farmhouse and out buildings bordering on two sides. Despite the shiny new gate there was the feel of a Victorian farm as a wide variety of of domestic fowl were running around doing their thing - Geese, Ducks, and a whole host of chickens. Peter was there ready and waiting with all his Bee paraphernalia neatly boxed up in his boot and a warm welcoming smile.
I don’t know why but I had this notion that Peter had done all the exams to become a Bee Inspector and hadn’t been keeping bees for more than 10 years because he looks so young. Don’t ask me where I got this idea from - it just came to me in my meeting him previously. Any way you could have knocked me down with a feather when he told me he’d been keeping Bees for over 25years! Gob smacked I was and still am.
Due to the weather forecast and the grumbling weather - dull overcast and a tad damp - not many of the local group had turned out to see Peter do what may well be his last inspection of the season.
The objective of the meeting was to ascertain the food stores for each of the hives, remove Queen Excluders where appropriate and to ensure that the Bees were ready for winter. Having already been treated for Varroa with thymol it was just a question of checking the brood levels and the feeding as required. Having left them with additional honey stores this year to see how they fared and of the 7 hives we inspected 3 required feeding. A young visitor popped by with his Mum to check out exactly what goes on at an Apiary visit and both were provided with veils so that they could get a closer look.
Others in the group already had their wood pecker protection sorted and were ready for Winter.
Welwyn is a strong group with over 60 members and have 2 Apiary sites with a third having been offered. Earlier this year the administration of the group was redefined and has enabled the group to work more cohesively and has strengthened their operations and given them a greater sense of organisation and direction.
Top tip from Peter - clean your tools in soda crystals - flipping brilliant it really does work!
It’s a Bee World
The Capel Manor open day is co located with the City Farms event which draws in people from all over London and SE Herts. It is an event supported this year in whole by SE Herts. Honey was for sale, course information available, a colouring station and an Observation Hive - complete with wasps. The latter with the wasp inclusion was a big attraction for the children in attendance, they thoroughly enjoyed that whole bee on wasp action, which seemed to be very long lasting.
In support of SE Herts I hauled over my extractor and a couple of supers which weren’t all ready and had fun doing demos with children of all ages dipping their fingers and getting truly sticky. At 2.15 I had to leave to get to the next .....
Location Location Location!
As we all know the siting of our Hives is a key consideration at the planning stage. Well South West Herts were in the right place when it came to Apiary sites back in the day.
I pulled into Croxley Green to discover that they had a wonderful Steam Fair on the Green. Nestled in a walled garden gathered a group of folk beneath the shade of the trees in the dappled sunlight with a kettle on a gaz stove. Robin the Chair introduced me and we were away inspections ahoy, split into 2 groups.
A group apiary site with 2 divisional hives which has been within there since the group started. While watching and listening to the advice being given by Frank’s mentor Brian. I learnt that the man I was speaking to was SW Herts Presidential representative, and what an interesting man Brian is with a family steeped in Bee Keeping, he is the 5th/6th generation to keep Bees with over 50 hives. To hear someone make reference to ordering jars by the pallet and sugar by the ton for personal use was an eye opening notion. I look forward to catching up with him again for my legacy book.
New members to the group benefit from the mentoring system they operate, this is a pattern that has emerged throughout the county Apiaries. Potential Bee Keepers were in attendance and enjoyed the experience immensely. Secretary Diane was the holder of the Apistan strips which were ordered as a division and then members could buy at the price of £5.00 per hive, a brilliant system I thought. This results in the site all having the same treatment which can be changed year on year according to the results -simple, effective and intelligent.
I had such a good time, I am going back!
THANK YOU to everyone for their hospitality and warm welcome.
Next Month......
Education Education Education! - a full report on my time at Buzzworks
Later that week I stopped by Buzzworks and met with Robin and his team. Now I have to say that a year ago I had no real idea who or what Buzzworks was or is, but when I was informed by a fellow BSBKA member I became intrigued to learn more. So in my capacity as Honorary President I had perfect excuse for a nose around.
Reaping the Reward - time spent with Barnet
Brilliant blue skies welcomed Suzy Perkins, the Honey Show Judge, and I to the Barnet Honey Show. Barnet is the largest of the divisions with 100+members a fact reflected in the entries to the show - 47 honeys and a full selection of bakes, wax and mead.
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