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

OBITUARY - MIKE HELPS

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the death of the Association's President, Mike Helps, after a prolonged illness.  We have missed his presence at our recent meetings and he will leave a significant gap in our organisation.  As well as attending our major functions and acting as a figurehead for the Association, Mike was an enthusiastic beekeeper, entering our Annual Honey Show on more than one occasion.  Mike had been associated with agriculture for most of his working life and was Director at the Drayton Experimental Husbandry Farm on the Alcester Road when he became President of the Association in 1995.  He was still actively connected with agriculture when he died as Secretary of the British Grasslands Society.  His knowledge of agriculture in general, and beekeeping in particular, enabled him to offer frequent help and advice in connection with the running of the Association.  We all offer his wife Julie and the family our sincere condolences at this sad time.
Mike Osborne

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Will Spencer reports that the majority of members have now paid their subscription – probably the best response we have had for many years.  Are you one of the few that have not?  If so, please pay now to save the time and expense of chasing you.

Important note: We have to forward Bee Craft subscriptions to their office by the end of November, so any members who have not paid their subscription by 20 November will be removed from the Bee Craft mailing list.
Peter Edwards

SKITTLES

Our annual skittles match with the Shipston Association at the Lygon Arms is always a very popular event and numbers may have to be restricted due to the seating and catering capacity available.  It is essential, therefore, that you contact me as soon as possible to book places – first come, first served.  Please do not just turn up on the night unless you do not want a meal!
Peter Edwards

QUINCE, MINT & HONEY JELLY

I wonder how many of you have quinces in your garden.  Perhaps not so many people will have the true quince (Cydonia oblonga), but the Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is often grown as an ornamental shrub and its fruits, looking like small apples are now ready to pick (some may have fallen, but these are also usable).  Quince jelly has an excellent sharp flavour and is good eaten on bread or with roast pork.  It is also very easy to make.

Wash the quinces, but do not peel or core them.  Chop into small pieces (be careful as they are quite hard) and put into a large pan.  Just cover them with water and simmer until tender to extract all the flavour.  The mint is optional and I added a large handful of apple mint – next year I may try rosemary.  Pour into a jelly bag and leave to drain overnight – resist squeezing the bag if you want the jelly to be clear!  Add 1lb of sugar to each pint of juice and boil to setting point (approximately 223ºF, 106ºC).  Skim and put into jars.

So, you are thinking, where is the honey?  Well, I use one of those 70lb plastic bottling tanks with a honey straining cloth as a jelly bag and there was a pound or so of honey left in the bottom!  As a guide, the juice and honey amounted to 5 pints and produced about 10lbs of jelly.
Peter Edwards

ASSOCIATION HONEY SHOW

A good turn-out of 21 members attended the Annual Honey Show on 14th October to watch Peter Spencer from Kenilworth judge the 86 exhibits.  Peter was impressed by the high standard, particularly of the honey in the Novice Class, where the also-rans were rejected through technicalities rather than poor standard.  Having trouble differentiating between the excellent entries in the honey cake classes, he gave extra Highly Commended awards to Keith Davies and to Mary Hitchman.  The chilli honey, entered by John Hathaway-Collins, made a dramatic impression when tasted, resulting in a 2nd prize.  As usual Will Spencer won first prize for his superb mead, but we need more entries in these classes.  There must be home-made wine enthusiasts amongst our members, so now is the time to get started on next year's winning entry. It was particularly encouraging to see so many recently joined members doing well, with Kevin Roles and Richard Brocklehurst gaining several awards.  Richard also received the Best-in-show Certificate for his 'comb for extraction'.

Terry presenting Alan Cummings with the best two jars in show

We were also pleased that Alan Cummings, from the Shakespeare Hospice, was able to attend to receive the jars of gift honey on their behalf.  A successful show, for which all those of you who entered deserve a big thank-you for your efforts.
Mike Osborne (Show Secretary)

HONEY SHOW RESULTS

AGM

The agenda for the AGM is included with this newsletter.  Please make every effort to attend as there are a number of important issues that we need to discuss – in particular:

Breeding better bees and the possible formation of a Bee Breeding Group; Mentoring and training for new members; and our Association History/Millennium project.
Peter Edwards

RESISTANT MITES FOUND AT PRESTON ON STOUR

Our treasurer, Will Spencer, reports that initials results of tests on some of his bees have indicated that he has varroa mites that are resistant to fluvalinate.  Will was our first member to find varroa in this area in the autumn of 1997, so it is perhaps not surprising that resistance is now beginning to appear.

We can now expect to find resistant mites across the area and this will mean that Bavarol and Apistan will be ineffective for controlling mites.  It is, therefore, imperative that you all check now that your varroa control is working and, if resistance is found, switch to other means of control - ideally using Integrated Pest Management (IPM); this has been covered extensively in the beekeeping press so I do not propose to repeat details here.

How do you check?  Assuming that you have recently finished treating for varroa, there should be very few varroa left on your bees, so a quick way of getting a moderately accurate indication is to take some bees, remove the varroa from them and then count the varroa.  I will give you three ways of doing this.  The first is a variation on the Beltsville test which has been modified by the NBU:

1. Cut a 9mm x 25mm piece from an Apistan strip and staple it to the centre of a piece of thin card about 75mm x 125mm in size.

2. Place the card in a 1lb honey jar with the strip facing inwards.

3. Prepare a 2-3mm mesh cover to close the jar.  Plastic green house shading mesh is ideal.  Cut a piece larger than the opening so that it can be folded back and secured using a strong elastic band.

4. Shake adult bees from 1 or 2 brood combs into a container such as an upturned roof or washing up bowl.  Gently scoop up bees with the jar until half full (c.150- 200 bees).

5. Place a sugar cube in the jar and seal off using the mesh.  Store in the dark at room temperature with the mesh uppermost.

6. After 24 hours hit the upturned jar with the palm of your hand over white paper.  Repeat two more times to dislodge any mites.  Count the mites knocked out.

7. Immerse the bees in the jar in a solution of water and washing up liquid (about washing-up strength).

8.Wash the dead bees to remove any remaining mites.  Place the bees in a coarse kitchen sieve (but not a flour sieve) that will hold bees but let varroa mites through.  Secure a honey straining cloth or jelly bag under the sieve to retain mites.  Place under a fast running cold tap or tap with shower fitting to wash any remaining mites off the bees.  Count the number of mites washed off.

9. If the total number of mites is less than 5 discard the results.

10. Calculate the efficacy as a percentage.  Multiply the number of mites knocked down by 100 and divide by the total number of mites i.e. the number knocked down plus those washed off.  If the answer is less than 50% it indicates that a resistance problem is likely.  Repeat the test at least once more to double check since the method is not precise.

There are two quicker, but less accurate methods that will, however, give a good indication of whether you have a problem:

1. Collect half a jar of bees as detailed above.  Dust the bees liberally with powdered sugar and put on the lid.  Shake the bees around gently to dislodge the varroa.  The bees can be released and should be none the worse for their experience.  Examine the sugar for mites.

2. As method 1, but after putting the bees in the jar, cover the top with mesh and add soapy water.  The bees will drown quickly (so be certain that your queen is not in there!).  Pour off the water through a filter.  Count the mites in the filter.

These methods give a quick indication, assuming that your hives have not been re-invaded after treatment.

If you need help or advice, then I am happy to provide it – just ring or email.
Peter Edwards

CENTRAL ASSOCIATION AUTUMN WEEKEND

Falcon Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon.  Non-members very welcome.

Friday 11th November.

4.00 pm onwards Registration.

6.30 - 8.00 pm Dinner (please book on arrival).

8.30 pm Maurice Field, Surrey: "an insight into an expanding hobby".

Saturday 12th November.

9.15 am Dr David Chandler, Warwick Horticulture Research International: "Biological control of the Varroa mite with pathogenic fungi".

10.30 am Coffee.

11.00 am John McMullan, Trinity College Dublin: "Tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) infestation in honey bees - some recent research".

12.30 pm Lunch.

2.00 pm Dr Dorian Prichard, Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders' Association: "Honey bee conservation in the 21st Century - new tools and new approaches".

3.15 pm Tea.

3.45 pm Dr Juliet Osborne, Rothamsted Research: "Spatial modelling of bumble bee populations".

6.30 pm Sherry reception.

7.00 pm Conference Dinner.

Sunday 13th November.

9.45 am Dr Julian Little, Bayer CropScience: "Pesticides and GM crops - the industry perspective".

11.00 am Coffee.

11.30 am Maurice Field, Surrey: "Reducing stress in the apiary.

12.45 pm Lunch.

2.00 pm Optional guided visit to Stratford Butterfly Farm (£4.74 / £4.25).

Conference Fee, including tea / coffee, CABK members £30, non CABK members £35.

For booking details contact: Mrs M.R. English, 6, Oxford Road, Teddington, Middlesex. TW11 0PZ Tel: (0208)9775867.
Peter Edwards

ASSOCIATION LIBRARY

Our librarian, Ron French, reports that members - especially beginners - are making good use of our extensive library.  Note that we have just added a set of thirty slides entitled ‘The Life History of the Honeybee’; the slides were produced by Oxford Scientific Films and are therefore of superb quality.  Although of interest to all, they will be particularly useful to anyone who has to give a talk on beekeeping.

Those of you with access to the Internet may also like to have a look at Zachary Huang’s websites which have stunning pictures of bees: http://cyberbee.net/ and http://www.beetography.com/.
Peter Edwards

DO YOU NEED HONEY JARS?

I will be placing an order for honey jars in the next week or two.  If you wish to take advantage of the excellent price that I can obtain by ordering in large quantities (probably not much more than half the price that you might pay if buying from one of the major equipment suppliers), then you must contact me now.  Note that I never place more than one order each year, so if you miss this chance you will have to pay a much higher price later!
Peter Edwards

ANNUAL DINNER – ADVANCE WARNING

The Annual Dinner will be held on 27 January 2006 at the Arrow Mill.  The cost will be £22.50 per head and there will be a choice of menu on the night, including a vegetarian option.

A booking form will be sent out with the January newsletter and this MUST be returned, with full payment, to our Treasurer by 20 January.
Peter Edwards