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Charity Number : 1014600
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GBKA Registered
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It
is time to prepare for winter. Check
your colonies to make sure they have plenty of food. Treat
with strips for varroa, remember to take them out after 6 weeks. Fit
mouse guards. I was interested in Janet's story of bees seeming to investigate a new
home and then taking up residence and it seems to me to add some credence to the
idea that the whole colony is acting almost as a single animal composed of many
parts. There must be some mechanism that sends out the scouts to find the new
home, though from observation bees are by nature nosey animals, they must be to
find new sources of pollen and nectar, and hives to rob. To put human terms on a
colony in the pre swarm condition it is easy to imagine the old queen going
round moaning about the chore of laying 1000 a day and complaining about her
arthritis, the cell cleaners up in arms because nobody appreciated their work,
the cell cappers threatening to go on strike as they would be out of work, and
the foragers complaining that there was no one to take over their work when they
passed away! At the just before swarming stage the whole colony must be in a
disturbed state. Some beekeepers can recognise the different sound so I am told. Following on from my note last month about
strawberries, at the beginning of August we went picking at a local pick your
own for strawberries and were very surprised to see them grown on waist high
stands, with wooden "T' shapes about every 2‑3 meters with stout
wires stretched along the length supporting a net carrying the strawberries in
grow bags, all supplied with a small bore plastic pipe with a drip feed to each
bag, feeding water with a nutriment metered in. My guess there was at least an
acre of this, and I could see another section where the water had been turned
off when these earlier varieties had finished. Very easy picking but what a lot
of work installing new grow bags every season but planting and strawing the new
plants would not be so backbreaking. Frost on the early varieties would be a
problem unless they were grown in big tunnels. Is this a technique worth trying
in ones own garden? Nice tasting strawberries too! To clean my very modest man powered honey extractor and
the ripening tank I usually take them onto the lawn and use the garden hose,
fine for the honey, and the lawn, but to get the hot water there is more
difficult. The use of the domestic kettle tends to get rather tedious and is not
welcomed by the domestic authorities. Are there any small DIY type steam
generators that could be used for this, I read of wallpaper strippers, carpet
cleaners etc., but has anyone seen if they have sufficient capacity? On the same general theme I was cleaning a cover board
with wild comb on it that had been left in the sun, and was surprised the
difference it made, compared with a similar winter chore. The wax came off
easily and stuck to the paint scraper without flying all over the place. But
there was a tendency to smear, easily removed with the blow lamp. In the process of excavating a large and very overgrown
day lily we found four frogs and a toad in the centre, which tended to confirm
that these animals are in abundance this year, though the toads seem to have
become the target of the local cats, but perhaps we only notice them as they are
poisonous and it is the thrill of the chase and kill rather than food for our
feline friends. One of the frogs had its nose firmly in the shell of a snail and
was clearly relishing the treat. I know that frogs and toads have a reputation
for eating slugs and snails, but it was something that for some strange reason I
had never believed, but now I have seen it, I can accept it. Some how one does
not think of the soft shiny frog as a carnivore. In response to our editors comment on clearing bees,
I find that a vacant space, empty super, between the board and the brood box
helps together with a cold night, the former is easy, the latter more difficult
in summer. Dick
Sadler, Taking into account the current pricing of local honey in shops, the committee suggests that this year you should charge your customers £3.50 for 1lb and £2.00 for 1/2lb Contact
details for our SBI have changed John Holden can now be contacted at 01873 831273 John Kinross (Bee Books New and Old) has moved to: The Weavens HR2 6PP Tel: 01432 840529
.. BEES
ABROAD and PAM GREGORY I was about to launch this
article by assuming that everyone would know about Pam Gregory and Bees Abroad.
I then realised that many new beekeepers would have no idea of who Pam
Gregory is or was. Pam was the Regional Bee Inspector for Wales, an excellent
beekeeper who always gave freely of her weekends to help beekeepers both new and
very experienced. Her last event with Montgomeryshire Beekeepers Association was
a bee disease training day at Trefegwlys last summer.
She left the Bee Inspectorate
in 2002 to study for her MSc at Bangor University.
Before taking up her studies she went abroad to help beekeepers in Africa
to develop their beekeeping skills and to learn how to manage their bees in a
sustainable fashion. The
organisation which sponsored her was Bees Abroad and in recognition of Pams
work and help the Montgomeryshire Association made a donation to Bees Abroad. In many parts of the
undeveloped world honey is harvested by means of starting a fire, killing the
bees and gathering the honey. This
approach often creates forest fires which cause massive damage, bees are
destroyed unnecessarily and the food supply and local economy is compromised. Bees Abroad delivers a number of complimentary activities: it
trains beekeepers who wish to pass on their skills to native beekeepers.
Training can be about methods of training or in managing the new types of
hives used in the target country. Bees
Abroad arranges trips to see local beekeeping particularly in Nepal but also to
other beekeeping venues in Africa and Asia, with new places being considered all
the time. It is developing strong
links with other non-governmental organisations so that sustainable beekeeping
takes and plays its part in local economic development schemes. As part of the work to develop sustainable beekeeping local
craftworkers are encouraged to learn to make closed smokers to control the risk
of fire, and the top bar hives and frames which represent key steps towards
harvesting the honey whilst not destroying the bees. Bees Abroad would welcome your
support in a number of ways. Firstly,
it is possible to become a member of Bees Abroad for £10 a year.
I hope you will be able to consider this option.
Secondly you may have the time to consider becoming a trainer; you should
ask for more details from Bees Abroad about this.
Perhaps you are considering a holiday of a lifetime.
One of the Bees Abroad trips might fit the bill.
Finally, your Association may wish to consider making its own donation to
Bees Abroad. For those of you with Internet
access, Bees Abroad has a web site www.beesabroad.org.uk and you may wish to
consult this for further information about Bees Abroad and its work. And Yes: I have joined Bees
Abroad!! Roy
Norris (Next month What is Bees Abroad and a membership form for if you would like to join) I have found out a
great deal about clearer boards since my last communication. I am now the proud
owner of one of the Canadian type (and have learnt what that means), and I have
read with care an article entitled The Great Escapes in the latest
Beekeepers Quarterly which I recommend as good reading. There are many, many
different designs of bee escapes and clearer boards, the author doesnt
actually think much of Porter escapes which he says are not reliable and need
setting each time they are used. But the correspondents' comments which
accompany the article show that most people think them perfectly satisfactory.
The secret is to set the spring gap so that the ends are exactly 3mm apart. That
is something I have always wondered about as I set them to what I think a bee
would go through one way but not the other. 3mm is the height of this I
and actually I think that that is just
about what I always try to do. The National Honey
Show takes place in November. There are free tickets for our new members (ie new
this year), if you would like one phone Allison (01600 641 266) for all the rest
it is £10, for which you get the lecture program (which will be published next
month) plus trade stands and the exciting show itself. If you would like a go at
exhibiting Janet has schedules, otherwise why not go along and have a look and
put in an exhibit next year. The organisers would like some help, if you can
spare some time on any of the three days please phone Bernard Diaper 07711
456932. Bridget The work parties at the apiary started well at the beginning of the season but have rather tailed off recently. As a result not as much has been achieved as Eric would have liked in the refurbishment of the buildings. On the other hand the queen rearing was successful and over 100 lbs of honey have been taken off. We really do need more people who are willing to spend some time helping Eric in the apiary. More people are finding that they are being asked if they have taken one of these courses. The Hill at Abergavenny runs a one day course course. which supplies you with a Foundation Certificate for Food Hygiene. If you say that you are a beekeeper and that you supply honey for the tourist industry the the EU pays for the course.
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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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