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Charity Number : 1014600
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GBKA Registered
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2003
LIBRARY
NEWS There
are a number of books missing from the library which were lent out before the
present system was in place (we now know who has which book). If you happen to
find one of them on your shelf please could you return it to Meryl. Or if you
have some bee books that you would like to donate to the library please phone
her: 01873
851731 If
you didn’t manage to get to your apiary on Boxing day then make sure you check
your hives now. Look out for wind and woodpecker damage and make sure there are
sufficient stores. Feed candy if in doubt. Now
is the time to check your equipment and get clean floors ready. It
seems to me that we are taking a far too short sighted view of Global Warming.
In a book, The Little Ice Age*, it shows with credible evidence that the average
temperature in the present day is in fact about the same as the average
temperature in the 1200 AD, whilst the period between roughly between 1300 and
1900 was a cold period with average temperatures a few degrees below today's. The
author, Brian Fagan, gives many examples of the evidence he uses ranging from
tree rings, the width shows the length of the growing season in one year and so
an idea of the average temperature, to the date of the vendage, the official
start of the wine harvest in France, to the written record such as the books of
Charles Dickens noting the freezing of the Thames in the 1800's, and the
work of Ladurie in France in the middle ages. Useful reference points can be
established from extreme volcanic activity, Krakatau in 1883, Tambora in 1815
and Huanyaputina in 1600, when the presence of volcanic ash and gas in the
atmosphere results in a sharp and significant cooling. There
is some evidence, though this is more tenuous, that there was a similar cold
period somewhere between the end of Roman rule after 400 AD and the Norman
conquest in 1066, perhaps to speed the Romans on their way. We know for instance
that the Romans obtained a good grape harvest and made wine, even in Wales, in
their time. Of course it may be that we have changed our favourite tipple to
ales and beers, though the smuggling of wines from the continent tends to
contradict this. One of
the results of this cool period was that famines occurred frequently throughout
this period, both in the UK and throughout the continent. With a weakened
population from a shortage of food, resistance to illness and plague was
probably greatly reduced and life expectancy was short. The lot of the peasantry
was very hard. It may
be argued that the rise in average temperatures in the early 1900's was due to
the effect of the industrial revolution peaking in the 1800's throughout Europe
and America, but as I see it this happened over a very small part of the whole
world. Looking at the cooling effect from individual volcanoes one would almost
expect that the dirt one sees from say a single blast furnace or a cement works,
that the sum of the industrialisation would have had a cooling effect. What
there is no explanation at all for is the cooling starting at about 1300, and
perhaps sometime after 400 AD, lasting for perhaps 500 years, or for that matter
the ice age some 10,000 years ago when parts of Wales was covered by ice sheets
many meters thick. Can we really blame man made effects for the present rise in
average temperatures? We
must be very wary of the predictions of a few simple scientists who feed a few
selected figures into a computer and come up with a sensational answer without
looking at an extremely complex and long term problem where there are very many
unknowns. The sun is the driving force of this planet, and we know little of the
mechanism within it or of the changes in its output, both short term and long
term. We do know for sure however if it does go out, then there will be no life
on earth, at least in the form we know it. (*The Little Ice Age, Brian
Fagan, Published by Basic Books.) Dick Sadler,25/1 /03 The
Swedish scientist, Svante Arrhenius in 1894 worked out the theory of global
warming caused by the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere without the use of a
computer, and came up with tha same answer that IPCC have today.
New Scientist 25/01/2003
Bridget I
have reproduced on page 8 a letter I received with ideas for plants suitable for
my exposed, rabbit infested clay patch which I am attempting to make into a
‘bee garden’. It has been so useful that I feel sure there must be others
who will benefit from reading it. Everything I plant I have to protect from the
rabbits, so it was with relief that I rather tentatively introduced a few
foxgloves, and bits of vinca, nepeta and rosemary, without any rabbit proofing.
So far they are well. This
is the time of year when it is advised to feed bees candy not syrup - though I
recently read something by someone who has never given his bees anything other
than syrup. The traditional recipe for candy involves a sugar thermometer and a
great deal of beating, but I successfully make it with icing sugar mixed in my
Kenwood chef using hot water and the dough hook i.e. you add only enough water
to make something the consistency of bread dough. I keep it in a plastic bag and
it remains pliable for a long time. During
a lecture at the WBKA Convention in Builth Wells one year Prof. Pickard made the
remark that anyone who had to feed candy in the winter should not be keeping
bees, but I just accept that I’m not perfect. It’s better to feed
unnecessarily than to lose the colony. Did
anyone watch the programme on BBC2 “Killer Bees:Taming the swarm”? I wonder
how they managed to shoot that sequence of a man with a strimmer being attacked.
The bees were very golden so may have been the soporific variety but the way he
was flailing his arms around I would have thought any bees would have started to
sting. Bridget The
following article was seen in The Western Mail on Jan 14 2003: Bee enemy (varroa)may be a mite
miffed
Invitation to
Hereford BKA meeting Hereford BKA have invited us to one of their association meetings on 14th Feb. when Dr Ruth Waite from NBU is going to talk to them about recent research findings. It is thought to be an important talk and any of us who would like to go will be welcome. First
Aid for Beekeepers at Goytre The first meeting of the Gwent beekeepers at Goytre Village Hall was attended by about twelve members who braved the cold weather. Alex and Maggie Riches discussed various aspects of first aid beekeepers. Maggie had been a practice nurse at a surgery in Monmouth for the past eight years, and Alex is a long standing member of the St. John's ambulance.brigade. A lecture on the topic of first aid is useful to any group, if only to make us more aware of what we are doing and the dangers of being unprepared or foolhardy. The first topic, and the most relevant to beekeepers is the effect of bee stings and in particular to anaphylactic shock. This is a life-threatening condition that can occur in a small number of people when they are stung by a bee or a wasp. People who have this condition very often carry an injection of adrenalin to save them if they unfortunately get stung. Very often there is a great deal of swelling and the patient becomes unable to breath. Alex and Maggie demonstrated mouth-to-mouth resuscitation using a model, and also described the signs that would indicate that the heart had stopped. The procedure in this case is called pulmonary coronary resuscitation and this was also demonstrated using the model. Maggie commented that in eight years as a nurse in the surgery at Monmouth, she had only had to perform CPR once. This really does demonstrate how rare this condition is, but to the person suffering from it, it can prove fatal if not dealt with immediately. Most, if not all, seasoned beekeepers have over the years become virtually immune to the occasional bee sting insofar as when they do get stung there is very little swelling. Non beekeepers if they get stung by a bee or wasp will experience swelling, some pain, and itching, which will diminish over two or three days. Antihistamine creams or tablets can help to reduce the irritation. Minor accidents were also discussed such as cuts, scalds, sprains, etc. This is an important consideration with many beekeepers, as very often they have hives that are in isolated places, away from the public, and many of them work with the bees alone. If a beekeeper under these conditions was to have a serious accident, they can be left without any aid for a considerable period of time. I personally always take a mobile telephone with me when I go working with my bees. If anyone would like further information on anaphylactic shock then please contact the anaphylaxis campaign on 01252 542029 or visit their web site www. anaphylaxis.org.uk (Graham Loveridge) Down
under and out again. A word of explanation for the late arrival of the programme. I have been “walk about” for a few months. I left before our AGM and final details could only be inserted on the programme after this event when I returned in early Dec – too late for the December newsletter posting. Whilst “down under” I was duty bound to suss out the bee scene, whenever my chauffeur allowed a stop. The talk in Australia was of little else other than Bali and the drought – the worse for 99 years. We stopped to visit one of their highest waterfalls west of Brisbane – we searched but we did not find – there is no water flowing over it now. On the Great Dividing range and to its west, it was so dry that some brought their bees to the slightly damper East coast area for the winter as they are so short of nectar. When we were passing, the Yellow Box should have been in full flow – it was in flower but there was little nectar to be had. I was told that there are a couple of large Australian honey exporters and they have had to import honey from Brazil (do they have that kind of quantity in Brazil?) to make up the gaps in their promised orders. We called at small producers. One had “soap-dispenser” pots for tasting. You press the knob and are rewarded with a lovely slurp of honey on a suitably placed teaspoon. I was quite taken with Leatherwood. We were shown a colony, in a log with a hole on top, - the native Australian bee! Their existance was a surprise to me. They are small – rather like a plump ant – with habits similar to the native Mexican bee. South of Adelaide we visited Kangaroo Is. John thought it was for the colony of sea-lions that you can walk among – I know it was to visit the Ligurian Bees. Their story as they tell it…… THE
LIGURIAN BEE STORY Before the
1880’s there were no honeybees on Kangaroo Island When importations were made,
between 1881 and 1885, the intention was for them to breed up and provide a
future source of purebred queen bees for the beekeeping industry. These bees
originated from Italy in the province of Liguria, and they are known as Ligurian
Bees. In 1885 the South Australian Government proclaimed Kangaroo Island to be a
bee sanctuary for these bees and no more importations have been made. So today
we are believed to have the last remaining pure strain of these bees left in the
world. The island is out of range of bee flight from the mainland. They are
renowned to be a gentle strain of bee and can produce an excellent range of
honey flavours, high in quality and quantity.
Honey is
produced from the many varieties of native eucalyptus trees as well as
introduced trees here on Kangaroo Island and also Tea trees, Bottlebrush,
Banksias and many other native and introduced plants. Canola, (Rape) an
introduced crop, is becoming very important for honey production here on the
island. The different flavours of honey are achieved by moving the hives into
areas as the different species come into bloom. Honey can be harvested at
approximately 3-week intervals and hives are moved every 6 to 8 weeks. When it came to retailing their multitude of products, they have grasped that presentation is the name of the game. On a practical front I noticed some plastic foundation (see Dick’s comments in our last newsletter); apparently the bees are not keen on noticing it unless it is covered in wax. And these notable bees – they did not look that big or that yellow. A final thought. John’s idea of a swim is to enter the sea, cross the bay and return half an hour later. As there are large hungry creatures in Australian waters – I was giving him some earache on this activity. Unfortunately above a cute little crocodile in Sydney Aquarium, he spotted the following notice. Average no of deaths per year in Oz from crocodiles – 0.9 From sharks - 0.8 From beestings 2.0 Happy New Year Janet.
The last meeting of the year was the sort I really enjoy. Interesting and
educational as outside speakers may be there is just as much to be learnt nearer
at home from our own members, and I don’t think anything compares with being
told by people you know the secrets of their success. John Holden had asked
three beekeepers to talk about the way they organised their beekeeping. Each had
an individual method that had helped him in some way.
John first told us how he does things (the correct way of
course), interestingly he uses brood and a half with thin dummy boards to aid
manipulations, and he only takes off surplus honey so there is no need to feed.
(He said lots of other interesting things as well but those are two things that
people wonder about and there isn’t a wrong and a right.)
John Waller told us about his fantastic record keeping. He can look up
the history of any of his colonies going back for years. It involves a notebook
which he takes to the apiary with him and
- can you guess -
a word processor. It was all extremely impressive and has made me
determined to write a few more comments on my card filing system than I do at
present, but I don’t think I will ever get round to putting it on to the
computer.
Malcolm Salter told us a sad tale about losing 30 colonies of bees to
varroa and his work building up his stock. He bought five nucs to begin with and
initially tried increasing the queens by grafting. This was a total failure so
he resorted to feeding the colonies he had and forcing them to produce their own
queens. He put them in full size hives and fed all summer. When they were strong
enough he would remove the queen and put her in a nuc with one frame of food. In
three days he would check the hive. If there were drawn cells he would go in
again in a week and split the colony into nucs. He would carry on feeding,
moving them into full size hives when strong enough feeding to encourage egg
laying and then removing the queen and dividing into nucs as soon as possible.
In this way he ended up with 23 stocks at the end of a year. We were all too
stunned to think of asking how much sugar he had gone through.
The third invited speaker was George Kinman. Considering the reputation
that George has for heckling speakers everyone was very attentive. As he had
written up what he was going to say I shall let him speak for himself. If you
are interested in anything he mentions do ask him about it, tel. 01633 662721
Bridget MY KIND OF BEEKEEPING
Above
all it is a hobby, not a commercial business. For
me there are three prime objectives that beekeeping meets as a hobby. 1/ It covers operating expenses 2/ It has subject depth, so as to provide a continual need for
learning. 3/ It enables pursuit of alternate objectives without detriment
to the bees. I
have been able to indulge my engineering experience in D.I.Y. activities by
making my own equipment and general innovative ideas. I
have brought along for your interest, 14 different designs I have worked on,
which are available at a £1 each, proceeds to the association funds. My
apiary site is urban and has compelled me to adopt minimum handling techniques,
in particular the use of extra deep National brood chambers. The
large frames ensure adequate brood space, lack of which is a common cause of
swarming. The down side is that the
extra honey stored in the brood chamber can not be easily taken as surplus
honey. On the plus side, there is
no need for Autumn feeding, something I have not done since 1984. I
use varroa floors on all hives and I leave them open over winter, with the brood
chamber covered with a polystyrene section. I
use Ron Brown’s Two Queen system to control swarming. I run a bait hive for
stray swarms, but I have had nothing since Varroa. I
cycle my extracted frames through a deep freeze prior to storage to control wax
moth. I
generally use standard national brood frames for supers, drawing foundation and
selling on to beekeepers on request. I
make my own frames, playing around with different designs for uncapping and
frame spacing. Recently I have made
three sets of frames based on the design used at Buckfast. My
apiary site is very good and over the last five years has yielded over 100lb per
colony (113.6lb/ colony). At
extraction time I use my own design pasteuriser after an initial coarse filter,
this removes any granulation in the honey, and it runs through a 54 mesh filter
with no delay. I
built my own design chain uncapper, but with only two hives to uncap I do not
bother to get it out. Probably
my most satisfying project is the making of a working version of the 'Herring'
type plastic former sheets for the production of beeswax foundation.
George
Kinman Letter to the editor: I was interested to read about building an apiary. We also keep our bees in a windy vegetable garden surrounded by fields. They are well sheltered by birch trees. The best rabbit deterrent we find is a couple of cats. However the following shrubs and perennials are all easy and rabbit proof and bees seem to like them in this garden. Shrubs: Hypericum Rosemary — if there is shelter Buddleja — Ideal as quick growing and easy from cuttings. Mahonia Sambucas nigra Skimmia japonica - Useful as they are evergreen Perennials: Nepeta x faassenii - cat nip, easy from cuttings Foxgloves - easy from seed and very pretty. Pulmonaria saccharata Sedum Vinca major Hope these ideas are useful. Ann Miles.
Christmas The winner of the prize is Mike Rossiter Congratulations Yours was the first correct entry to be drawn from the hat. The prize will be presented at the next meeting in Goytre Solution to Christmas crossword puzzle
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