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

Friday 22 March, 7.30pm. Robin Hall, our Regional Bees Inspector, will give a talk 'Preparation for the season's first inspection'. This will be one of the most important meetings of the year, as we will be discussing with Robin a new strategy for disease inspections in our area - 'Safaris'! Please do not miss this meeting.

Wednesday 27 March, 7.30pm. Committee meeting at Denis Keyte's house.

Sunday 21 April, 3pm. First Association apiary meeting. Regular meetings will then be held on the third Sunday of the month up to the end of September; additional ad-hoc meetings will be arranged as necessary.

Friday 18 October, 6.30pm. Annual Honey Show

An excellent meal was enjoyed by the 29 members who attended the annual dinner on 31st January at Stratford College. With 7 courses plus coffee there was plenty for us to choose from. Particularly popular was the honey cake with oranges and almond ice cream, which quickly ran out. Michael Badger was unable to come, so the new BBKA president Ian Preece attended in his place and spoke a few words of encouragement. He was particularly anxious that the BBKA Executive should get out and about more among the members, and that new members should be actively sought and encouraged by us all.

Among those attending were past members Dorothy and Brenda Sandland, who kept bees for about 12 years up to 15 years ago. It was great to be able to chat to them about their beekeeping experiences in Welford, where they live. (MO)

As usual, the official report of this meeting will be given in BBKA News; meanwhile, here are a few personal thoughts on my day at Stoneleigh.

Much of the morning session was taken up with reports of the past year's activities. The various committees beaver away on our behalf, co-operating with the NBU, research organisations, government departments and the EU in tackling EFB, fluvalinate resistant Varroa mites, GM crop trial problems, etc. Do we realise that most of the public funding for beekeeping in the UK comes from a Commission grant? It is used to fund the NBU and the inspection service.

The global sum is divided between the member states in approximate relation to the number of bee colonies maintained. (Someone asked who assesses colony numbers in the UK - he didn't get a straight answer).

The Examinations Board report listed 100 or so beekeepers who were successful in the post-basic exams. The new modular system is evidently proving popular, though not, sadly, in our association!

The BBKA's finances play a crucial part in any future plans. The accounts for 2000-2001, though still complicated by the establishment of the new headquarters building at Stoneleigh, showed a modest surplus on income and expenditure account. The formation of BBKA Enterprises Ltd may be costly initially, but if all goes according to plan it should in time make a significant contribution to the BBKA's finances. An ambitious plan to set up a teaching and demonstration building at the proposed apiary site near the BBKA HQ will cost around £500,000, but the hope is that a lottery grant application will be successful.

Other plans to set up a database of members' details were received more cautiously. Executive committee member Tim Lovett reported that a sub-committee had been set up, a £2,000 budget allocated, and a contractor identified, presumably to operate the scheme. This led to questions and an emergency debate later in the day. Some delegates complained that member associations had had no chance to consider the purpose, costs and procedures involved in the database, and although the emergency proposition to suspend the scheme was lost, it is clear that there are still plenty of us who are not comfortable with all this new technology. Sorry, Peter!

The same reservations were evident in the debate on the proposition that the BBKA should establish e-mail contacts in each member association and use those contacts 'to administer routine communication'. A decision on this was avoided by remitting the matter to the executive committee. Incidentally, the scheme for the direct mailing of BBKA News, launched so enthusiastically by Mr Lovett at the BBKA forum last October, now seems to have assumed a lower priority.

Briefly, other propositions resulted in decisions:

• To press DEFRA/NBU to give exact locations of EFB/AFB outbreaks, on the same basis that foot and mouth disease sites are identified.
• That BBKA should support IACR Rothamsted, but not IBRA.
• That BBKA should express its appreciation of the work of Dr Ratnieks at Sheffield University
• Not to require members elected to the executive committee to have passed even the basic BBKA exam
• That the BBKA does not recommend the importation of queen bees
• That on retirement the BBKA president does not remain a member of the management team.

(DNK, BBKA Delegate)

The following article is taken from the American 'Bee Culture' magazine and may help to answer the question 'What has the Internet got to do with beekeeping?' - for those who are not yet convinced!

'Got a question about honey bees? Now you can send your questions by computer to honey bee experts at the Agricultural Research Service's Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Ariz. The center's researchers, who are international authorities on honey bees, will reply via Internet in about 24 hours, according to entomologist Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman.

This new Internet service, free to the public, is called, "Expert Forum on Honey Bees." It lists a wide range of frequently asked questions, along with answers from scientists. Examples include: "What should I do if I find Africanized honey bees nesting on my property?", "How do I keep honey bees out of my swimming pool?", and "How can I get started keeping bees?" In addition, the Forum also has answers to questions about beekeeping as a hobby or profession, crop pollination, honey bee biology and research conducted at the center.

A special category called "Student Forum on Honey Bees" gives kindergarten through 12th-grade students the opportunity to use pre-existing questions as a template to help develop new questions on their own.

Users will play a key role in expanding this state-of-the-art, user-friendly, electronic question-and-answer service, according to DeGrandi-Hoffman. Each question answered by center experts will be kept in a database. That way, answers to subsequent similar inquiries will be available to anyone, anytime day or night, seven days a week. What's more, when new information becomes available, the laboratory staff will review and update old answers on the Forum.

"Expert Forum on Honey Bees" is part of the Hayden Center's award-winning web site. It can be found at http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov.'

Bee Culture Magazine

http://www.airoot.com/beeculture/index.htm

We have had a request for help with the 'Bees in and out of the Curriculum' stand at the Stoneleigh Convention in April. It is particularly valuable to those who want information, new ideas, advice and inspiration in order to join those beekeepers who are already visiting schools. Ideally they would like a small display, poster or model to illustrate ideas or experiences, but would welcome help in manning the stand and talking to visitors. If you feel that you can help, let me know and I will pass on your name. (PE)

Elizabeth Davey took 314lbs from the 2 hives in her garden last year! Anyone beat this?

(My best hive last year filled eight supers - best ever was in 1997 when a hive filled twelve supers - and the one next to it filled ten. PE)

Prime Opportunity: 200+ North Dakota locations - 20 year 120lb average. Eight acres, house, 2 warehouses, 2 extracting lines, almond contracts, orange locations in California. 22,000 10-frame deeps (yes, 22,000 colonies! - PE), trucks, swingers (forklift trucks designed to move palletised hives- PE), trailers.

Riot and robberies. Committed in and about Stepney Churchyard, at a Funeral Solemnity; whereas many persons , who being appointed to attend the same Funeral with white Wax lights of considerable value, were assaulted in the most violent manner, and the said white Wax lights taken from them. Whoever shall discover any of the Persons, guilty of the said Crimes, so as they may be convicted of the same, shall receive of Mr William Prince, Wax Chandler in the Poultry, London, Ten shillings for each person so discovered.' (MO)