GBKA Registered 
Charity Number : 1014600
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GBKA Registered
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1.Change
the floors for clean flamed ones (unless you have open floors). 2.Take
the opportunity to check the weight of the colonies. If they are light then you
must feed. If it keeps warm (i.e. above 10°C) you can give a liquid feed,
otherwise candy. Check they have adequate water. 3.The
bees have been out working the snowdrops, they collect only pollen from them so
they are thinking about rearing brood. Bee
Exams Congratulations
to Graham who has passed the Bee Management module. Some
strange results reported by the Broom's Barn research station in Suffolk on
trials on sugar beet, claiming that the use of the genetically modified beet
allowed less spraying to be carried out, only once a year, rather than two or
three times with apparently no loss of yield from the crop. This allowed seeds
to develop on the weeds providing food for birds and perhaps more cover for
them. Skylarks, finches, buntings and lapwings are mentioned. But I
always thought the reason for the removal of the weeds in the field, and for
that matter in our gardens, was that the weeds competed directly with the crop
both for water and nutrients in the soil and so reduced the yield, and even in
the early stages of growth can completely stifle the emerging crop. Still
in the good old days(?) one of the most back breaking jobs on a farm was the
hand hoeing of the sugar beet crop both to kill the weeds and to thin out the
plants, with rows spaced at 20 inches, the field must have gone on for ever. I am
pleased to see that the work on the use of an impossibly named fungus for the
control of Varroa is moving to the next stage with work to be commissioned by
Defra at HRI and at Rothamsted as reported by Bridget last month. The NBU is not
mentioned. We do
need someone to translate the long technical words for us simple souls. What is
"fungal ecophysiology" ? Even my spellchecker baulks at it! At a
conference on GM products organised by Genewatch UK, The Guardian, Unilever, The
Elm Farm Research Centre and Five Year Freeze a campaign group, Michael Meacher,
the Environment Minister, indicated that the EEC was considering legislation to
make farmers and GM seed companies liable if they damaged biodiversity or human
health, but this did not make them liable if there was any damage to a
neighbour’s livelihood. Now I
would have thought that if say a supermarket refused to take honey that had the
risk of a GM content and the producer could not guarantee that there was no GM
content and the producer was forced to sell at a lower price, then this could be
clearly shown to damage a neighbours livelihood, though the precise neighbour
might be very difficult or even impossible to find in the case of a bee
foraging. However
do not expect an instantaneous answer if EEC and UK Government have to enact
legislation, but our representatives ought to be making representations and
keeping a close watch on the situation. There is also talk that Michael Meacher
may resign which also might bring further delay. The
first date I noted when the bees were reasonably active on the winter heathers
in the front of my house was 26th January, by chance the first day that the
snowdrops were in flower. Both are a good sign that the season is beginning to
change. Dick Sadler, 27/2/03 A few of us went to
the Hereford meeting to hear Ruth Waite (nee Spinks) of hygienic behaviour
testing fame. She is a scientist and was to have given us all the latest
research results from the NBU. Unfortunately Ruth was ill and didn’t come, her
place was taken by a local bee inspector at the last moment but he was not so
well informed as John Verran so there was little to be learnt. Les has given me a
cutting from The Times on health, headed “Sticky End for Germs”. It mentions
the use of honey through the ages—apparently Henry V when a mere prince had
been treated with honey (and other
things) to cure an arrow wound. It goes on to mention Manuka honey and Rose
Cooper (remember she talked to us once) and how exciting it all is but not to
try home treatment due to the possibility of botulism spores in unsterilised
honey. It seems to me that if honey has been sterilised it will lose its
hydrogen peroxide activity which is due to glucose oxidase, and that is the
really interesting healing feature that all
honey possesses. Have you all been
listening to the Bee Inspector on Sundays Radio 4 at 2.45? David Kemp has been
giving a series of talks,( beekeeping through the year). As it is such an
impossible time of day I have been listening via the internet—the first time
I’ve ever done it. You log on to www.bbc.co.uk then choose radio and 4 and
search for Bee Inspector. It seems quite easy really and you can listen when you
want to. Do you remember me urging you to visit Hodsock Priory last February? It
has spectacular displays of
snowdrops that must be wonderful and a collection of fanciful Victorian beehives
which David Kemp was inspecting, so they do actually have bees in them. Don’t forget to go
to the Welsh Beekeepers’ Convention on Saturday 29th March. I put the
programme in last month’s newsletter. If you have never been it is a good
opportunity to buy equipment as there are usually several trade stands there.
There are also lectures, always one in Welsh—but they do repeat it in English
now and Dr William Kirk, who came and talked to us once about pollen loads he
has revamped Dorothy Hodges original work on pollen load colours. I think everyone finds the different colours of pollen
fascinating, particularly when they can be used to identify where the bees have
been foraging. Bridget Most of you should have received the BBKA newsletter and membership card
direct from BBKA. The membership is based on that of last year, with a last minute update
by me, on Christmas Eve!, because they had failed to notice the email updates I
had been sending through the summer. If you have joined since then you will not
have heard from them because there is not yet a system for keeping them updated
. As soon as I am contacted I shall
forward your details and you should then receive a card. Anyone worried about it please phone or email me. Bridget Beekeeper’s Puzzle Here is a puzzle for you all, it has been supplied by George, but is in my words. A beekeeper was given five bee hives. Each had a floor, brood box, queen excluder, coverboard and roof. He had some spare equipment of his own but not enough to make the hives complete. He decided to go to a sale and spend £100 on frames and supers. In the event he bought exactly 100 items for his £100. They consisted of some of each of: supers at £10 each made up frames with foundation at £1 each used frames at 8 for £1 How many of each item did he buy? If anyone requests the answer I shall put
it in the next newsletter. Otherwise I shall assume that you have all done it
correctly.
Bridget First Aid Emergencies (anaphylaxia) ……………………...On Thursday 22 August last year I was stung on one finger. I thought nothing of it, as I have been stung allover with little effect. But this sting was different. 30 minutes later I did not feel very well. I managed to get home where I collapsed onto the floor. My wife rang emergency for an ambulance, she was told I could use my epi-pen which I keep as I am allergic to peanuts and shellfish. I was taken to the Royal Gwent and kept in over night. On Sunday 8 September I attended the bees to remove a box of honey and put Apistan in each hive. A bee got into my suit somehow and stung on the neck. The next sting could be fatal(I had been told by the hospital not to go near bees, my own GP also said not to, but I felt the bees needed their medication to try and keep them healthy. .) My wife and I rushed home and waited for a reaction, but nothing happened. I suffer with hayfever during the summer months but in August the symptoms don’t show. It was after cutting a lawn on Thursday 22 that I went to see the bees. My system must have been full of histamine and the bee sting took it to a dangerous level. I now carry an epi-pen wherever I go. Hence, will it be safe for me to keep bees? I am going to try but with caution. If it is known that people who suffer from hayfever are more likely to have anaphylactic shock following a bee sting, this should be brought up at training sessions and should be mentioned when training new apiarists. Brian Main 01495 223817 If anyone would like to make a comment on this curious
experience of Brians I shall be pleased to put it in the newsletter. If you
would like to quiz him he is happy to talk to anyone. His hayfever is controlled
by an injection early in the year which lasts the season. BBKA SPRING CONVENTION Saturday 26 April 2003 NAC, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire LECTURERS AND
DEMONSTRATIONS Dr. Rose
Cooper, David Derrick, David Friel, Pam Gregory, Peter Hewitt, Jos Hillen, Anne
Reney-Smith, Mike Toms. LECTURES Adding value to Hive Products—Cosmetics Adding value to hive products—Soap Adventures in African Beekeeping Computer Event Garden Birds, Bird Gardens Honey and Healing, a Sticky Subject Horsly Board and Heather Honey Microwaving with a Buzz Why Some People Work Their Bees Without a Veil Wot! More Boards Programmes (free) from: John Hayward, 19 Kings Road, Leiston, Suffolk IP 16 4DA (9x6inch SAE 33p) Advance Tickets £9 from John Hayward until 13 April Tickets £13 on the day, but £11 for BBKA members—on production of your BBKA membership card. Details of Accommodation and more information from the Convention Director, Mary Dartnell Tel. 023 8077 5445 John is still acting as Pam’s replacement and I hope he is soon officially instated in the post. He gave us a brilliant up to the minute report of what is going on in beekeeping, what we should be looking out for and what we should be doing to improve our beekeeping habits. Problem 1. The small hive beetle (SHB), Aethina tumida, which we have been hearing rumbles about for some time, has now become a nuisance in some temperate climates. Having wreaked havoc in Florida, it is now up in Canada and has recently been found in Australia. It is thought that it is only a matter of time before it appears in this country and it is important that we look out for it in our colonies in order to detect it as soon as possible. The NBU is concentrating on looking for it in the areas that are most susceptible to infection, viz. apiaries near ports and wholesale fruit and veg markets. The beetle is a minor pest of weak honey bee colonies in South Africa where it originated. The aggressive behaviour of the African bees may be the reason why it has never become a severe pest, it also lays eggs and survives on a range of fruit which is how it can be carried round the world. The beetles are reddish brown to black, about the size of a bees thorax, with knobs on the ends of their antennae and wing casings slightly shorter than the abdomen. The eggs are about 2/3 the size of a bee egg and are laid all over the place in masses near pollen. They hatch in 2-3 days. The larvae mature in 10-14 days and grow to 11mm. They eat pollen, eggs and honey and secrete a smelly slimy substance that can cause the bees to abscond. When fully grown they migrate to the ground where they pupate in the soil. This is when they are at their most vulnerable and it is thought that it will be possible to target this stage. When the adult beetle emerges it is capable of flying 15 miles and is attracted by the scent of bees and hive products. The adult lives for 5 months so can easily survive the broodless winter season. It lays copious numbers of eggs and a colony of bees is quickly destroyed. The NBU have suspended the import of queens from Australia, but if it gets to a European country it will not be long before it is here. So keep a look out for beetles. The method for looking for them will be described during the beekeeping season, to remind you to do it. Problem 2. Pyrethroid resistant varroa. These have spread through Devon and Cornwall—strange if it is bad beekeeping that there appears to be a single focus. We must seriously think of other ways to control the mite and consider Integrated Pest Management. Systems to consider are: Use open mesh floors. Trap mites in drone brood (April and May) With mesh floors you can treat with powders (talc or icing sugar). They work mechanically and cause the mites to fall off, hence the necessity for the mesh floor. You must do it at least six times!!! at four day intervals.(May. June, July). Divide colonies and rear queens, MAKE UP A NUC (May. June, July). Prevent swarming. Kill the queen. Eliminate poor colonies (August). Treat with formic acid, thymol, Bayvarol or Apistan (August and September) Treat with oxalic and lactic acid (November and December—you must have broodless hives) Test for resistance. John is very keen
that we should all monitor for levels of varroa, so that we only need treat when
necessary. He uses the comb through drone brood method and if half the cells are
infected he treats. I have for years looked for varroa in this way and never
seen a single one so maybe I need never to have treated.
Bridget |
Whilst the domains gbka.co.uk & gbka .org .uk are owned by G Cole. The web pages under these domains are published for the Gwent Beekeepers association and its members , in order to publicise our association's news, aims, activities, and the art of beekeeping.
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