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

SKITTLES - 16 March

I need to know numbers coming to March 16 social evening at Snitterfield to order food for buffet, ring me on 01789 731745.
Mike Osborne

BEES WANTED

Two of our members are in need of bees, one after suffering heavy winter losses.  Please contact me if you have any surplus colonies.
Peter Edwards

COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (CCD)

You may have read about the very large numbers of colonies that are dying out across the United States.  The problem began last year and was named ‘Fall Dwindle Disease’ as it was thought that the problem was confined to the autumn.  However, colonies have continued to collapse throughout the winter and losses now run to tens, if not hundreds of thousands of colonies.  The situation is so bad that some people are now expressing doubts about the industry’s ability to recover, which is bad news not only for beekeeping, but also for crops - notably the 680,000 acres of almond orchards in California, which produce a crop worth $2.5 billion and require 1.3 million colonies for pollination.  Almonds are the largest agricultural export from California with a value of $1.6 billion, more than the combined value of wine, table grapes, raisins and grape juice.  The value of honey and beeswax to California beekeepers was $52.3 million in 2002.  However, the problems are not confined to one area and now affect at least 24 states.  Leading researcher Jerry Bromenschenk is heading a group investigating the problem but, despite a considerable amount of work, they have so far failed to identify any common cause.  Internet lists and newsgroups carry reports on a daily basis, together with theories on possible explanations.

Should we be worried here in the U.K.?

The answer is that no-one really knows.  Beekeeping is very different in the U.S., e.g. migration on a huge scale, feeding corn syrup, constant medication, queen breeding - so it is possible, or even likely, that their problems are caused by their method of keeping bees.  But there have also been large losses in Europe in recent years: those in Spain and Portugal can probably be explained by unusually hot weather, together with the known outbreak of Nosema ceranae; the winter losses in the U.K. in 2004-5 were, in my view, easily explained by the weather in 2004, but the reasons for those in Poland, Greece and Italy are not clear.

Now we can only wait to see how our bees have survived this past winter.

Here are some of the postings from the Internet:

• Obviously, almond growers, beekeepers are asking that question.  Is the die-off large scale - yes.  I'd estimate 40-60% of colonies for some of the large migratory beekeepers in Florida, 80% for one in Oklahoma.  For individual beekeepers, we've had losses of 1,000 - 6,000 colonies, with rumors of a loss of 12,000 colonies in a northerneastern state by one beekeeper, last spring.
  Jerry Bromenshenk

• We, a group of researchers, extension agents, and regulatory officials have formed a group to investigate this problem and will call ourselves the CCD Working Group.  This group represents a diverse number of institutions including Bee Alert Technology, Inc. (a bee technology transfer company affiliated with the University of Montana), The Pennsylvania State University, the USDA/ARS, the Florida Department of Agriculture, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.  We're planning on adding Eric Mussen to the group to represent California.

• Northern European beekeepers, about to open their beehives for the first time this season, are braced to see how many of their honeybee colonies have survived the winter.  An undiagnosed honeybee ailment is causing the deaths of thousands of honeybee colonies across the northern hemisphere and no-one knows the cause.  The implications for agricultural pollination and production are huge.

• “The situation is very serious, but no-one yet understands the cause of these widespread honeybee colony deaths,” explained Dr Max Watkins, Technical Director of Vita (Europe) Ltd, the largest honeybee health company in the world, and member of a European scientific working group on honeybee losses.  “Alleged causes range from harmful pesticides and increased solar radiation through ozone thinning, to falling queen fertility and use of unauthorised bee treatments.  We really don’t know the answer-…”
  “It’s a real mystery,” continued Max Watkins.  “We need beekeepers to report their losses and examine and analyse their colonies thoroughly.
  Vita (Europe) Ltd press release

• Symptoms of CCD are:
  1) In collapsed colonies:
      The complete absence of adult bees in colonies, with no or little build up of dead bees in the colonies or in front of those colonies
      The presence of capped brood in colonies
      The presence of food stores, both honey and bee bread
          i) which is not immediately robbed by other bees
          ii) when attacked by hive pests such as wax moth and small hive beetle, the attack is noticeably delayed.
  2) In cases where the colonies appear to be actively collapsing:
      An insufficient workforce to maintain the brood that is present
      The workforce seems to be made up of young adult bees
      The queen is present
      The cluster is reluctant to consume provided feed, such as sugar syrup and protein supplement.

• The March issue of Bee Culture shows colony loss at or below average (approx 20%) and less than last years losses…
  I wonder if it could be more media hype than is justified…

So the questions remain:

Is there really a problem or is it just part of a natural cycle?
If there is a problem, is it a new disease, an old one that has become more virulent, a combination of diseases and/or weather conditions - or is it man-made?
Is it confined to the U.S., or might it affect us?
Perhaps we will know more next month!
Peter Edwards

INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING COURSE

Warwick & Leamington Beekeepers are running a course aimed at people thinking about becoming a beekeeper & having their own hive of honeybees.  It will also appeal to anyone simply wanting to learn more about these fascinating, valuable & important insects.

The course runs for six weeks starting on Thursday 29 March 2007, 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Venue: National Beekeeping Centre Stoneleigh Park.

Cost: £35 for the whole course.  Concessions available.

You will learn about:

History of honeybees & life in their colony.  Comparison with similar insects.
The beehive.  Will include a practical session building your own hive.
The beekeepers year.
The queen bee & colony behaviour.
Caring for the health of bees.
Plants bees like.
Honey & other hive products.
Demonstration of honey extraction.
How to get started with your own hive of bees.

At the end of the course you will have the opportunity to handle bees with further practical training at our teaching apiary.  Anyone going on to keep their own bees will have an experienced beekeeper assigned to help them.
Contact: Mike Townsend Tel: 01926 855080.  Email:michaelatownsend@hotmail.com

THE CHANGES IN FARMING AND THE EFFECT ON BEEKEEPING

On 29th September last year John Home drew on 30 years of experience as proprietor of Fosse Way Honey, before his retirement two years ago.  He identified certain key events that have affected agricultural activities in Britain.  Thus the introduction of refrigeration ships lead to a decline in home produced meat, resulting in less pastoral land with it's associated nectar producing flora.  About 40 years ago this was further reduced by the increased use of chemical fertilizers and sprays.

Areas like Kent, where John annually took over 100 hives, have seen the orchards drastically reduced, with much fruit now being imported from countries such as China.  Whilst clover has almost completely disappeared from many areas, such as the Cotswolds, the rise in oilseed rape, borage and field beans has helped beekeepers.  Even those in towns benefit, as bees will fly over 2 miles for such crops.  Rape has particularly affected beekeeping with the need for the early build up of hives to maximise the benefits.  Locally, broad beans used to provide a useful crop, which ceased to be grown with the closure of the canning factory.  Other beneficial crops are runner beans and most recently, sunflowers.
Mike Osborne