Hon. Newsletter Editor:
Peter Edwards
E-mail: beekeepers@stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk

WINTER LOSSES

Every year I get some feedback from members on winter losses, but I never get a complete picture; reports in the newsletter are therefore usually based on my own apiaries.  Many associations collate and publish statistics on winter losses, as they can be very important in the early identification of problems and can let members see how well (or badly!) they are doing against other members apiaries.  Your committee has decided that our Association should be doing this.  If data other than just numbers is also collected, e.g. the type of bee, type of hive, winter feeding, varroa treatment given and whether mesh floors are used, then we can give even better feedback to members.

Enclosed with this newsletter is a survey form:

·         Please complete it with details of losses as at 15 April - but do not complete it until you have established that colonies are queenright and viable (or not)

·         Return it to me by post or email - ideally by 25 April.  I am also happy to receive the data by telephone if you wish (the answerphone is always on!)

Remember that all information that you supply will be seen only by me and no personal information will be published.
Peter Edwards

APIARY MEETINGS AND HELP FOR BEGINNERS

Association Apiary

Our official apiary meetings will start on 15 April and then be held on the third Sunday of each month until September.  Each meeting will have a ‘duty’ committee member, just to ensure that someone is there from the committee; that person will not necessarily run the meeting.  The meetings will start at 2.30pm.

There will also be a number of additional ad-hoc meetings to attend to matters such as assembling equipment, queen rearing (involving the Bee Improvement Group) and crop removal.  Many of these will be weather-dependent, so it is not possible to give firm dates and timings in advance.  Of course, you will all be very welcome at any meeting - regardless of whether you are a BIG member or not.  To find out when these meetings will be held, you will need to keep in touch with our apiary manager, David Titcomb on 01789 731242.

Denis Keyte’s ‘First Sunday of the Month’ meetings

Denis is again inviting members to his home apiary on the first Sunday of May, June and July.  Meetings will start at 3pm and are particularly suitable for those with less experience because Denis has very gentle bees and he will work at a fairly leisurely pace with plenty of time for discussion.  Denis’ telephone number is 01564 792872 and his address is in the recently circulated members’ list.

Work experience with Peter & Sue!

We will be working on many days throughout the season and are happy to have members join us.  The pace of the work will vary according to the time of year and the amount of work to be done, but we should be able to guarantee that you will see plenty of bees and, we hope, queen rearing.  Just ring to let us know when you are free and we can tell you where we will be and what we will be doing.  Do expect to help with the work!

Mentoring

Several committee members are willing to act as mentors for newer members.  At times mentors may be able to visit apiaries, but usually they are too busy with their own colonies during the active season.  Mentors should therefore be expected to be available for advice on the telephone and perhaps invite their mentees (for a discussion on the validity of this word see http://www.mentfor.co.uk/article.asp?id=455&groupid=1) to their own apiaries for help and advice, either on a one-to-one or small-group basis.

Contact Mike Osborne or me if you would like a mentor or are willing to be one.
Peter Edwards

BBKA EXAMINATIONS

Since I became responsible for arranging for members to take BBKA examinations, no one has come forward - until now.  So, with luck, probably in May, Celia Davis will conduct the basic assessment at her Berkswell apiary.  It would be great to have more than one candidate this year.  They could support each other, and it is just as easy to make the arrangements for six (some hope!) as for one.

The Basic Examination is not difficult, and anyone who has either kept a colony of bees for at least a year or attended a course in practical beekeeping should have no difficulty in reaching the 50% pass mark.  The syllabus looks a bit daunting, but a few hours' study of the appropriate books (from the association library?) will provide all the answers.  Emphasis is placed on knowing about diseases, so they need careful attention.  Several of our members who have done the exam would be happy to advise any potential candidates, and perhaps conduct a mock exam.

The fee for the Basic Exam is £10 - it was probably half-a-crown when I took mine in 1967!  All the details of the BBKA exams can be found on www.bbka.org.uk [the password to the members’ area was in the last BBKA News.  PE], or I can supply them if you phone 01564 792872.
Denis Keyte

I do hope that a number of you will have a go at the Basic: as an examiner myself, I know that many of our members have practical skills and theoretical knowledge well beyond that required for this examination and should really be planning for higher things!  If you need help then just ask.
Peter Edwards

BBQ & FUN DAY ORGANISED BY BEES ABROAD (TRADING) LTD

12.30pm, Mumbleys Farmhouse, Mumbleys, South Gloucestershire.

Catering by top chef Michael Young.  Events include:

·         A talk about Bees Abroad projects in developing countries

·         Meet the project managers

·         A chance to see a Kenyan Top Bar Hive

·         A raffle: prizes include the ‘Committee’s Dozen’ - a selection of honey from abroad

·         A plant stall

·         A tour of the 12 acre smallholding - lambs, chickens, ducks, apiary and wildlife area

·         A great many other fun activities!

Tickets £20 to include excellent food and a glass of good wine.  Contact Mrs J Moore, telephone 01454 415296, email info@beesabroad.org.uk before 1 April.

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER

The saga continues - but there seems to be huge disagreement on the possible causes and, indeed, whether there really is a problem.  Postings to the lists and websites range from ‘massive losses, beekeepers wiped out’ to ‘I see no problems’.  The real problem seems to be that no-one really knows the true scale of the losses and whether this is a ‘normal’ seasonal variation, or whether there is something new and sinister happening.  However, we are now beginning to hear much more about the way that bees are kept in the US and the stresses to which they are subjected.  I suspect - and have done for some time - that much of their commercial beekeeping is unsustainable and it is there that the real problem lies.

Of the hundreds of postings on this subject perhaps a relevant item for us here in the UK, particularly given the current promotion of oxalic acid as a varroa treatment, is this one:

‘Colonies experiencing CCD have been shown to have kidney (Malpighian tubule) problems similar to those seen in colonies treated with hard chemicals.  There are some reports that Oxalic acid may damage bee Malpighian tubules.  Also the harder chemicals (fluvalinate, coumaphos, and amitraz) may have a sub lethal affect on bees which may add additional stress on the bees.  By treating for varroa mites with soft chemicals, you are helping to keep the colonies mite population low while avoiding the potentially negative effects of hard chemicals.’  Mid-Atlantic Apiculture - maarec.org
Peter Edwards

STOLEN HIVES

A member of the Chesterfield and District BKA has had some hives stolen from an out apiary around the Darley Dale area just north of Matlock.  According to an eyewitness one man in a white shirt was seen trying to load one of the hives into an orange transit van.  Unfortunately for him the hive came apart and he was last seen running down the road after the van waving his arms about trying to fend off the bees.  It is hoped he got severely stung.  We suspect there were two people involved, this person and the driver of the van who was trying to pull away from the scene of the crime.  We believe the thieves were not necessarily beekeepers but opportunists, because a knowledgeable beekeeper would not be moving hives during the winter and also this person was not wearing a veil or any protective equipment.  We are asking all members to be vigilant and keep an eye open for this van and report anything suspicious around your apiary site and the apiary sites of any other of our fellow members.  Be suspicious if anyone contacts you out of the blue and tries to sell you colonies.  It is important these people are found because hive rustling is bad news for us all.
Shropshire BKA - Courtesy BEES (see below)

B.E.E.S. - THE BEEKEEPING EDITORS’ EXCHANGE SCHEME

We are now members of this scheme, which was set up to allow any material from newsletters to be shared, provided that the source is acknowledged.  The scheme is useful as it gives us free access to a considerable number of newsletters, which often contain excellent original material; it also allows us to keep in touch with thinking and events in other parts of the country.  Of course, there is a need to be very selective in what we reprint in our own newsletter, as much of the material is necessarily parochial and of little interest to members of other associations.
Peter Edwards