GBKA  Registered Charity Number : 1014600

Are You Doing This?

Check your colonies and if they need it give them a feed of syrup.

Dig out your queen excluders and clean them up.

Get your supers out and make them ready to go on when needed. Keep your fingers crossed that the mice have not been in them.

  W.B.K.A.

The WBKA convention at Builth Wells really is the start of the beekeeping year.   It is your chance to buy the items you need to be ready for the coming season and it is a time to meet other beekeepers, listen to a lecture or two and be enthused to start the new season with vigour. I thoroughly recommend it as a good day out and an inspiring start to the beekeeping year.

JUST RAMBLING

A number of articles in the papers and even an item on the goggle box about imported Honey, mainly from China, that contains traces of the antibiotic tetracycline. A lot of of the coverage did not make it clear that this was only found in imported honey, often sold as blends. I do not know at what stage the Trading Standards Officers get involved, I think it is at the point of sale to the final customer. But some honey is used for food manufacturing purposes, I am sure I have seen "honey coated corn flakes", and also honey is used in feed supplements for animals. The latter surely would avoid the Trading Standard Officers, and in some ways is more disturbing as it enters the food chain at an earlier stage‑Tetracycline is important as it is one of the two favoured replacements for penicillin when a patient develops an allergic reaction to that drug, as I personally have found out.

Headlines in papers like "Stores clear out honey in drug alert' and "Tainted honey is taken off shelves" just cannot help with sales. The Western Mail with "Honey blends fail tests" is a bit better though many bee keepers will blend for various reasons. Perhaps that was the reason why the National Honey Week had a low profile.

I do feel that BBKA and also perhaps NBU, should consider carefully how to counter these reports, and there must come a time when all imported honey, and food products in general, should be liable to be tested.

The warm wet winter continues, with a goodly clump of bees on the landing board of the hive on the 10th of January, and odd flying days throughout January and February. Many sightings of that colourful bird the Jay this year, the conditions must have suited them during the brood rearing season last year. The Witch Hazel, Hamamelis various varieties, has made a very good show this year with its strange colourful flowers, not as far as I can see visited by the bees, though the early heathers have attracted many bees and other insects.

The Genetically modified debate continues to rumble on, with many protagonists on either side airing their views, I saw an interesting article on GM Maize where it stated that the "natural" variety of this plant did not exist and that all the types available were some form of naturally genetically modified plant. An argument too that the genetically modified version of maize was not harmful to the environment, though because it was a plant where the pollen was transferred by wind, the genetically modified pollen could easily be moved long distances by freak winds. Did not apply to Oil Seed Rape though, too difficult to kill the seeds that survived into the next year and germinated.

Dick Sadler,       25/2/02,   

Comments on last month's ramblings 

I read Dick’s article with interest. The sentiments on genetic modifications appeared to give contradictory views on the subject. The introductory paragraph used the word revolting when applied to GM goats and portrayed a feeling of general disapproval of the practice with “ no comment on what the goats or the hamsters had to say!”  The article then continues that it would be great if GM work could get under way to produce bees that are resistant to varroa and immune to AFB and EFB. Dick does give the impression to me that GM is great if it improves bees but is very suspect when applied to anything else.

I think as beekeepers we would all wish that varroa and foulbrood disease could be controlled or even eliminated, perhaps by GM using bee genes, but would we embrace it if the genes came from, say a camel or a carrot?  The article in the last Thorne’s magazine expressed grave concerns about what has already been approved.

I hold an opinion that all innovations that have benefits also produce equivalent disadvantages. My real concern is that many of these innovations are irreversible and some of the disadvantages could be catastrophic.

Graham Loveridge

BOOZE CRUISE.

I am thinking of organising a little jolly to Enville Ales in Stourbridge West Midlands possibly during September. Numbers are restricted to 15 so the first 15 people to contact me will go. Cost will depend on numbers.

The trip will consist of a tour around the brewery with all-important samples, followed by a short meander to the local pub for lunch.

The brewery is on a picturesque Victorian farm complex. Using the same water source as the original village brewery. The beers incorporate more than 3 tons of honey, annually produced on the farm, using recipes passed down from the proprietor’s great-great aunt.

Envilles owner H Constantine-Cort, had originally intended to go into full time beekeeping with brewing as a sideline, but the position is now reversed. The brewery also grows its own barley.

Enville Ale (OG 1044-45, ABV 4.5%)

A pale gold, medium bodied bitter. Light in hops and sweet fruit in taste; a hint of honey in the aroma and aftertaste. 

More information can be found at www.envilleales.com

If you are interested please contact me on 01873 832232

David Johns

Bridget's Comments

For several years I have kept my bees on open ‘varroa’ floors, and although they may be a bit slow to start in the Spring I have not had any disasters during the winters. I am also fairly hooked on inserting a board smeared with vaseline under the mesh in order to monitor natural mite death. I know this has been rather discredited lately, indeed last autumn I decided to treat for varroa because one colony appeared to have a heavy infection, although two of the others seemed to be clear. On checking my boards a few days after inserting the strips I found that one of the ‘clear’ colonies was dropping more dead mites than I had ever seen before in one place. So I know it does not tell an accurate story about varroa, but there all sorts of other hints you can pick up about the health of the colony from the debris that you find.  If you leave it there for weeks then it is all just a mess but a few days debris collection shows you where the cluster is, how busy they are, if they are digging into that solid frame of stores that you want to get rid of, whether there is a mouse about, as well as a great many or a few earwig droppings, wax moth larvae, chalk brood cleared out and pollen coming in. There is probably much more to learn from the debris, it is an interesting story to read—and I haven’t even mentioned varroa.                      Bridget

Honey Toffee Biscuits

Biscuit:                                            Toffee                              Topping

4oz        margarine                4oz  margarine              7oz Milk or plain  chocolate

2oz       caster sugar              2oz  caster sugar

6oz       SR Flour                    2oz  Dark honey

Method:

Cream the margarine and sugar for shortbread base, add the flour and press into a swiss roll tin.  Bake @ 350⁰F gas mark 4 for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown. Leave in the tin to cool.

Place all the ingredients for the filling in a heavy-based saucepan, heat until dissolved then boil for 5 minutes stirring continuously until of a coffee coloured sauce. Spread over the cooled base and allow to cool.

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water to melt, then pour over the toffee. When cool cut into squares or fingers. (Makes about 20 fingers)

[ Taken from Beekeepers Quarterly Number5]

I have tried the result of this recipe on the GBKA committee and the staff at IBRA. Unfortunately none of them was nominated for an Oscar but they thought the biscuits were great. (Very low calories! Trust me I used to be a rep!)!)

Graham Loveridge                

The Pros and Cons of GM for Beekeepers 

Roger Houldey is the chairman of Gloucester Beekeeping Association and runs about 60 colonies. He came into the public eye following the disclosure by Friends of the Earth that GM oil seed rape pollen had been found in English honey. This is relevant to people like him who as bee farmers with enormous quantities of honey to sell rely on bulk purchase by firms like Nestles and Gales who insist on the honey being GM free. He then discovered there was to be a GM trial in his valley, within 6 miles of his apiaries and ended up getting very famous and being on television by sticking his neck out and being awkward.

However Roger maintains that he is not against genetic modification and is convinced that it is the way to end starvation in the world. He cited some work going on in China where he says they are trying to modify wheat to produce nectar and to fix nitrogen. (As both these attributes must depend on very many genes I think it is wishful thinking but it is a very nice thought!) The trouble in the west is that all the experimentation is led by market forces and companies will only finance something if there is a financial benefit. Of course that is how the world is, they couldn’t afford to do it otherwise, Oh for the days of altruistic academic research paid for by the tax payer!!!            (Bridget)

25th Year British Beekeepers'

Association

Spring Convention and

Exhibition

                                   Silver Jubilee Programme of Events

Saturday 27 April 2002, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm

National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, Warwickshire CVS 2LZ

Access via the Main NAC entrance on the B 4113 near Kenilworth

        LECTURES 

                        in the Wolfson Theatre, Seminar Rooms & National Beekeeping Centre                                                             

                                                  DEMONSTRATIONS

in the Arthur Rank Centre

TRADE AND EDUCATIONAL STANDS

in the Warwick, Stareton and Granary Halls

Bee Microscopy‑ E2.00 a sample (30 dead bees in a matchbox)

ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION HALL

Birds, Bees, Butterflies ...

BEES FOR CHILDREN IN AND OUT OF THE CURRICULUM

in the Granary Hall

COMPUTER EVENT

in the National Beekeeping Centre

TICKETS INCLUDING ALL LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS ‑ £11.00

Entrance for under‑seventeens is free

ADVANCE TICKETS ‑ £9.00 Available until 13 April from the Tickets Officer,

Mrs Betty Showler, 'Riverside', Newport Street, Hay‑on‑Wye, Hereford HR3 SBG.

Cheques payable to 'BBKA'; sae with 33p in stamps

No refunds available on advance or lost tickets

Come early

There is so much to see you'll be busy all day

NB: The Convention is NO SMOKING throughout all halls and in the Restaurant

LETTER FROM LAMPETER

(RBI Technical Newsheet No 20  )

Pyrethroid Resistant Mites

Since varroa was discovered in 1992 most beekeepers have used pyrethroid strips (Apistan and Bayvarol) which has controlled infection in a way that most people have found easy and effective. However, varroa mites, like many other pests, have a natural ability to deal with toxic substances to which they are regularly exposed. In August 2001 bee inspectors carrying out resistance monitoring tests found a number of apiaries on the Devon/ Cornwall border showing worrying signs of resistance to the point that they were ten times more resistant to pyrethroids than normal mites. It was always known that this would happen eventually. The key to being able to cope with it is early detection. In this way strategies can be devised to deal with the problem. In countries where monitoring was not considered the problem was only detected when treatments stopped working and widespread colony losses occurred.

The 400 field tests carried out so far by the NBU indicate that the pyrethroid resistance is at present confined to the 27 apiaries in this area of Devon and Cornwall. Field evidence suggests that misuse of pyrethroid treatment over a long period has contributed to the problem. All the other tests carried out show normal pyrethroid susceptibility. Resistance will develop more quickly if strips are left in colonies for long periods; if colonies are overdosed or under dosed or dosed with analogous compounds in home made strips. The West Country bees have now been treated with non-pyrethroid proprietary substances to reduce and delay the spread of resistant mites. These substances are not authorised for general use in the UK so are being supervised and controlled by the NBU under a Special Treatments Authorisation (STA) from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. It is hoped that commercial applications for new varroacides currently undergoing the process of registration will soon become available to all beekeepers. There is also likely to be an increased role for non-medicinal curative substances like thymol, essential oils or organic acids as well as management techniques in beekeepers varroa control strategies in the future.

For beekeepers  without resistant mites there is no need to stop using Apistan or Bayvarol. General low levels of mites show that these treatments are still very effective in most places.  However, it is more important then ever to ensure they are used properly. Misuse will only serve to accelerate the development and spread of resistance. Where possible using pyrethroids in rotation with other controls can greatly extend their useful life. In the future beekeepers using pyrethroids will need to come to terms with the new, but essential, task of regularly monitoring for signs of resistance. A simple approach is to examine the fall of mites using varroa mesh floors immediately after strip treatments have been carried out. Normally mite fall should be very low so a significant number of mites remaining could indicate a problem.

The NBU is encouraging all beekeepers to carry out their own resistance testing using a modification of the USDA Beltsville test method. This method has been sent to all Association Secretaries or is available from your RBI or the NBU web site. Beekeepers are asked to send any test results whether +ve or -ve to the NBU. Beekeepers who suspect they have problems should contact their RBI or the CSL/NBU in York.              

Happy Beekeeping                  Pam Gregory Feb 2002