ANNE TUNBRIDGE

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Anne died suddenly on 23 March.  

After joining the Association in 1969 she became our local agent for Thorne's beekeeping equipment in 1972 and many of our older members will have happy memories of browsing through the huge stock that she carried.  Anne was probably our original ‘bulk purchaser’ as she always tried to get the best price for members – jars were bought 100 gross at a time and frame nails by the sack!  She was always willing to give time to helping beginners and a trip to their beautiful house and garden at Wolverton Hill for equipment was always a good excuse for a chat about beekeeping.  Anne served on the Committee from 1973 until she retired in 1991.  Her husband Dick briefly served on the Committee before her, but he had to give up beekeeping.  Anne helped Dick with his work as an accountant until he retired, when she took over some of his clients herself, continuing with some of these up until the time of her death.  A memorial service will be held at Wolverton church in the near future.

We offer our sincere condolences to Dick and their family.
Peter Edwards

APIARY MEETINGS

Our outdoor apiary meetings will start this year on 23 April and will then be held on the third Sunday of each month ending in September.  Please note that the start time has been changed to 2.30pm for all meetings, except for the first meeting on 23 April which will commence at 1pm to allow some time for assembling frames before looking at the bees.  There will be plenty of frames and nails, but it would be helpful if members could each bring their own small hammer.  A rota has been agreed to ensure that there is a ‘duty’ committee member at all meetings; details will be published in ‘Coming Events’.

As we intend to raise queens from the new high quality stock purchased last year, there will be additional meetings during the queen rearing season when work will be required each week.  This work will be very weather dependant so it is not possible to gives dates in advance - keep in touch with committee members if you want to attend these meetings.
Peter Edwards

DENIS KEYTE’S FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH MEETINGS

Denis is again inviting members to his apiary on the first Sunday of each month from May to August.  Meetings will start at 3pm.  The pace will be fairly leisurely and is particularly suitable for beginners as Denis has some of the gentlest bees in the area.

Denis’ address is Sunnybank, Alcester Road, Wootton Wawen (turn off the A3400 by the Bull’s Head pub and Sunnybank is a couple of hundred yards on the right hand side, opposite the school – look for the WBCs on the bank).  Telephone: 01564 792872.
Peter Edwards

MENTORS FOR BEGINNERS

Several members of the committee have volunteered to act as mentors for beginners.  It is envisaged that this would, at the least, provide telephone support but could also offer beginners the opportunity to visit and work with an experienced beekeeper; for a new beekeeper with just one or two hives, this can often provide the opportunity to see and help with many colonies, thus gaining valuable experience very quickly.

If you would like a mentor, or feel you could become one, please contact Mike Osborne on 01789 731745.
Peter Edwards

BEE BREEDING GROUP

At the last committee meeting it was decided that a Bee Breeding Group should be set up.  The group will work with the support of the Association and will make use of the facilities at the Association apiary.  The aim of the group will be to select and breed from good stocks of native bees and then make queens available to Association members so that we can gradually spread native genes over a wide area.  For the time being, the group will not have a formal structure within the Association, but will consist of a group (or groups) of interested members who will work together.  Please contact me now if you would like to be included in this project so that we can set up an inaugural meeting as soon as possible.

Do You Have Native Bees?

One task that we will need to do when setting up our breeding group is to evaluate our local bees.  We will need to decide which local stocks (if any) have qualities that make them potential breeding stock, or whether we should simply start from scratch by using bought-in queens of proven genetic quality.  All members can help with this task very easily.  When you do your first inspections, ask yourself three questions:

Are the bees black (or very dark brown) all over with no trace of yellow?

Looking at the abdominal segments, is the band of hairs narrow, i.e. do they cover less than half the segment?  If in doubt, have another look at the picture on the front of the leaflet by Dorian Pritchard that I circulated with the January newsletter.

Are the bees reasonably gentle and quiet on the comb?

If the answer to all three questions is ‘yes’ and their honey production is good and they tend to supersede rather than swarm, then you have potential breeding stock.  This can be confirmed by morphometry – which we have the ability to do!  Please contact me if you think that you may have native bees that would be useful to the group.
Peter Edwards

BEE VENOM ALLERGY

The start of the active season seems a good time to raise this topic!

Anyone wanting a good overview of bee venom allergy, written in terms that most laymen will understand, might do well to read Harry Riches book 'Medical Aspects of Beekeeping'.  For those who do not know the name, Harry Riches was a consultant at Harefield Hospital (of heart transplant fame) and is a world authority on bee venom allergy.  He is also a beekeeper and has suffered from bee sting allergy which progressed from gross local swelling to collapse after a single sting.  In his book, Harry makes the point that it is very difficult to give numbers for people allergic to insect stings, but quotes a survey in the UK that 10% of the population are stung each year by bees or wasps (most would probably not know the difference!) and some 40,000 suffer reactions serious enough to merit further investigation.  He also states that in the US, it is widely accepted that between 1% and 2% of the population may be 'at risk'.

It is clearly important that beekeepers have at least a basic knowledge of the types of reaction that may occur, the reason for those reactions, the likely effect of further stings - and any appropriate treatment.

The first sting will normally produce pain, local swelling, redness and itching which may take several days to abate.  Of course, many members of the public consider this to be an allergic reaction.  What happens next will depend on the person being stung.  There are two substances called immunoglobulins involved - IgG and IgE.  If the body produces IgG, this will have a blocking effect and further stings will have a diminishing effect until immunity is achieved.  If the body produces IgE then large amounts of histamine are released and increasingly severe reactions are likely.

The next level is gross swelling - perhaps an entire limb.  Stings to the mouth or neck can be very dangerous, as airways can be blocked.

Further exposure to stings may then produce moderate systemic reactions - wheezing, watering eyes, urticaria (nettle rash, usually over large parts of the torso).

The final level is severe systemic reactions - difficulty breathing, unconsciousness and, in the most severe cases, anaphylaxis which if not treated rapidly may lead to death.

Of course, this is a simplified version.  It is possible to go from local swelling to collapse.  Equally, beekeepers who have suffered moderate symptoms may ultimately develop immunity.
Peter Edwards

OXALIC ACID FOR VARROA CONTROL – A CAVEAT

Oxalic acid is now being used in many parts of the world to control varroa very successfully; it has proved safe for bees and beekeepers if used properly.

The advice has always been that the treatment is suitable for late autumn when there is no (or very little) brood present.  In some countries the treatment has been used where it was necessary to reduce high varroa loads in the period between summer honey flows.  A recent study published in the Journal of Apicultural Research at the end of last year has looked at this practice and its indirect effect upon brood.  The trial was conducted in Greece with ambient temperatures of 35ºC.

A 3% w/v solution (70g oxalic : 1kg sugar : 1 litre water) was trickled at a dose of 5ml per seam; this is within the usual range of dosage that is recommended.  The treatment was then repeated after a 13 day interval; this is not usually recommended.

There was considerable brood damage.  12.6% of young brood (< 3 day old) and 9.5% of older brood was removed by the bees after the first application.  The figures for the second application were a further 10.6% and 5.6% respectively.  Perhaps more significantly, the open brood area was reduced by 17.5% for 2 months after the treatment.  It is also known that the effect of applying oxalic solution by spraying will affect brood rearing for 4 months and I would expect the application by vaporising oxalic crystals (which is becoming increasingly popular) to have at least the same effect.

This clearly confirms the original advice that oxalic should only be used in late autumn.  Spring or summer treatment will damage brood and, at the very least, reduce honey crops; late summer or early autumn treatment will reduce the number of young bees going into winter and may reduce colony survival rates during the winter.
Peter Edwards

 BEEKEEPERS’ QUARTERLY MAGAZINE

Northern Bee Books are offering us a very special rate if a number of members subscribe to the BKQ.  This excellent journal is available for just £14 a year instead of the usual £24.

Contact me now on 01789 731745 if you would like to subscribe.
Mike Osborne