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

The number of members attending the July meeting was disappointingly low, given that we were doing something very different, but those that did attend had - I hope - an entertaining (perhaps too entertaining!) and instructive afternoon.

Our two new queens arrived in good time but not in the best condition, as they had been posted with only two instead of the customary six attendant workers to look after them. One was reasonably lively, but the other looked a bit jaded. (The supplier has since apologised and offered a full refund - it seems that this was the first time that he had posted queens).

We decided that the queens should be introduced into nucs using Butler cages (actually hair rollers) and the first job was to transfer them from the postal cages. This was done in the safety of the Land Rover - with all windows and both sunroofs firmly closed. We then walked down to the apiary to make up the nucs from two hives. We needed to find the queens, of course, so that they remained in the hives and were not put in the nucs.

The queen in Hive 1 was easily found, on the last comb, and a nuc made up with brood, stores and plenty of young bees. The new queen was introduced and some grass piled over the entrance to encourage the bees to remain with the nuc.

Hive 2 proved to be more of a problem. I think that we went through it six times without finding the queen. We lifted the box off the floor, but she was not there, and then transferred all the frames to a new box so that we could look for her on the walls of the brood box. Still no luck, so we went through the frames yet again in the new box - 3 times I think! By now, our patience was getting a bit exhausted and desperate measures were called for. We decided to make up the nuc by selecting frames, shaking them free of bees, putting them in our new box, putting a queen excluder over the top, shaking bees on to it and smoking them down; the queen would then be found on the excluder. However, on lifting the box of frames to put it back on its original site, there was the queen on the floor!

At this point we must have lost our senses completely as we agreed to a suggestion that she should be marked! Unfortunately, apart from a pot of paint, we did not have any other equipment for marking and whilst trying to hold her, she escaped and suddenly was nowhere to be seen! Everyone stood very still - it is imperative not to move your feet in this sort of situation - and looked very intently at the floor and the surrounding ground. Eventually, we found her again - on the floor - and from there on all was plain sailing.

I have since checked the nucs this weekend and can report that the new queen was laying in the one made from Hive 2, but the one from Hive 1 had been rejected. I think it fair, therefore, to pay for the queen that was accepted, despite the lack of attendant workers.

We now have 7 'colonies' at the apiary: 3 main production hives, 1 nuc with the new queen and 3 casts that installed themselves in piles of empty supers. We now need to get these on to brood frames, feed them through August and then decide how best to use them in September so that we have good colonies going into winter. Given the current situation, we will not destroy any fertile queens - even from small casts - as they may be useful later. Next year we can breed from our best and start culling those with undesirable characteristics.

The following is from a Knoxville, Tennessee, newspaper, dated June 6 1902:

"While attempting to hive a swarm of bees at his home on the Sevierville pike, six miles southeast of the city, Thursday afternoon, Matt Lopasser, a farmer, suffered the loss of his right arm near the elbow, several injuries about his face and body, and internal injuries which may result in death.

"Lopasser had been experiencing some difficulty in hiving a large swam by the usual methods of beating on tin cans, ringing bells, throwing water on the bees, and others commonly in use. He secured several sticks of dynamite, and had been exploding these near the bees, thinking that the jar would cause them to settle (I bet it would! PE), and hiving them would then be an easy process.

"A stick of dynamite, which Lopasser was intending to throw among the bees, exploded prematurely before leaving his hand, and his right arm and hand were blown off below his elbow. His face was badly bruised and torn by the explosion, and it is believed that he also suffered internal injuries, which may result in his death.

"Lopasser was rendered unconscious by the explosion, and was picked up and carried into his home, where medical aid was summoned. Physicians, who attended the injured man, pronounced his injuries to be of a very serious nature, apt to result in his death.

(Seen in the American Bee Journal).

Do you need fondant for winter feed? The recent good weather has left colonies well provisioned, so I am not in a great hurry to feed; however, it would be helpful to have orders from you by 15 August, together with an indication of when you would like it delivered. It would be best to ring me now so that we can discuss timing - we may be able to get two deliveries, one early and one later.

I expect the price to be not more than £7.80 per 12.5kg box.

Advance warning that I expect to be placing another order for honey jars this autumn and will be asking you all whether you wish to take advantage of the lower price that I can get for a large order. In the meantime, I would like some feedback on the type of jars and lids that you would prefer.

I have been unhappy with the standard screw-on lids for some time - they are flimsy, easily dented and are difficult to unscrew if the customer gets any honey on the thread (almost unavoidable).

I have considered two other options:

Firstly, the 'twist-off' lid - stronger, used universally by commercial packers, easier to put on and remove.

Secondly, a plastic (P.E.T.) jar - now becoming more popular, has a twist-off lid and is very light weight. Disadvantages: could not be re-used (or recycled easily?), not currently available in 1lb (454g) size - the nearest is 500g, which is not a legal packing quantity and would mean underfilling the jars slightly which is not really acceptable.

If we went for either of these we might also need to look at the honey show rules.

I spoke to our usual supplier at the BBKA Spring Convention and he told me that the twist-off lid glass jars might be a little cheaper than the screw type.

Browsing through the results of the BBKA Honey Show, held at the Royal Show, I see that our congratulations are once again due to our treasurer, Will Spencer.

We might have expected the First for his Ling Heather - it did win at the National - but he also gained Firsts for Naturally Granulated Honey and for Dry Mead. He gained a Highly Commended for Dark Honey, 2nd for Six Jars as for Sale, 3rd for a Shallow Comb and 4th for Beeswax Candles. He was reserve for the WBC Cup, which was taken by Trevor Parrish who equalled Will's three Firsts.

I think that we will have our work cut out to beat him in our own honey show!

Sniffing bees are to be used to assess strawberries for ripeness and flavour before they arrive on supermarket shelves.

The £300,000 trial is being backed by Sainsbury's and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Sunday Telegraph reports half a dozen bees will be exposed to samples of air drawn from over the fruit and their reactions monitored by camera.

If their keen senses detect the tell-tale molecules indicating sweet fruit, the bees stick out their tongue-like proboscis.

If the new project is successful, the delivery of all fresh supermarket produce, including fish and meat (??? PE) could be revolutionised.

(Why not use humans? We know when strawberries are not ripe! PE)