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

Your membership renewal form is included with this month's mailing.

Please note that the BDI subscriptions are now calculated on a different basis - so do make sure that you pay the correct amount shown in the calculator printed on the back of the renewal form. If you are in any doubt, please contact our treasurer before sending your subscription; he would rather have a phone call than have to send your cheque back for correction!

Please pay promptly to save us time, effort and our Association money chasing you! Why not do it now?
Peter Edwards

It seems that the season this year has gone all too quickly and despite the weather the inspection team has been very busy. Overall a total of 125 cases of European Foulbrood have been found in 25 apiaries and one case of American Foulbrood has also been found. We have been busy not only examining hives for the two statutory bee diseases but also collecting samples of bees for virus detection, carrying out Pyrethroid testing on colonies and also collecting honey samples.

As a result of the Pyrethroid testing, a further three new areas where resistant mites have been found can be added to the area that was found last year. It is disappointing that in only one case was the resistance found by a beekeeper. Of all the Bee Unit testing kits handed out in the last three years, very few tests for resistant mites have been carried out by beekeepers. I have only heard (so far) of one association that has asked its members to test as a matter of routine. I am sure that there are varroa mites in every colony that are showing a degree of resistance. These can easily become full-blown resistant mites. Beekeepers are still leaving varroa treatments late. With the honey flow over early I would have hoped that treatments would have started early as well. Certainly the spell of warm weather in August would have been ideal for the application of Apiguard.

We have taken many samples for this very simple test. It involved taking a sample of twenty bees that are then preserved in ethanol. The samples are sent to the bee unit where they are passed to another department at CSL for processing. From the results it is hoped to gain information as to what viruses are present in the UK and their location. Beekeepers who took part in this trial will be notified of results.

A number of talks and demonstrations have been given throughout the Region on this subject. The use of open mesh floors (OMF) is gaining popularity as a very effective way of reducing varroa mite levels in the hive. Open mesh floors which incorporate a removable tray means that you are able to monitor natural mite drop and from there gauge whether or not treatment is needed. Drone cell uncapping /removal can also help reduce mite levels too.

From what I hear honey crops have been poor. Some beekeepers have done better than others depending on location. The bulk of the honey would appear to have come early in the year with very little from the main flow. In fact a number of colonies which we examined in August were short of food and the beekeeper was advised to feed.

With the number of colonies with resistant mites on the increase (all regions in the UK now have cases) there will have to be an increased awareness of what needs to be done to control them. It may be that scientist will discover a ‘magic treatment’ which will once more save our colonies. In the mean time it is up beekeepers to monitor, test and treat their bees. All the information is available for this to be done; the rest (as they say) is up to you.
Robin Hall. Regional Bee Inspector, Western Region.

* ‘Taqman’ is a wonderful machine that can analyse 1500 samples in a week. It is also possible to analyse contaminants to one part in a billion!

Warwickshire Beekeeping Association are again holding their quiz evening to which the various branches of the Association send teams of 4 persons. They have again kindly invited us to participate (despite us winning last time!). The questions are not all about beekeeping, although obviously a lot of them are. So if you would like an enjoyable evening in the presence of other local beekeepers on Friday, 10th December, contact Mike Osborne, 01789 731745, to help make up a team. There is a cost of £5.50 to cover the buffet supper.
Mike Osborne

I have now received details for this event, which has moved to the Falcon Hotel in Stratford following the closure of the Manor House in Leamington. The programme is as follows:

4.00pm - Registration

6.30pm - 8pm Dinner

8.30pm Professor Ted Benton, University of Essex: 'Bumblebees'.

9.15am Dr Robert Paxton, Queen's University, Belfast: 'Co-operation and conflict in bee societies'.

11.00am Teresa Santillan-Galicia, Rothamsted Research: 'Following the Varroa mite from Mexico to England'.

2.00pm Mike Brown, CSL: 'The bee health programme: protecting the honeybee'.

3.45pm Dr Gavin Ramsay, Scottish Crop Research Institute: 'Pollinators and gene flow'.

7.00pm CABK Annual Dinner (Members only)

9.45am Albert Knight, BIBBA: 'A rational approach to the honeybees of Britain'.

11.30am Dr Robert Paxton, Queen's University Belfast: 'Conservation genetics of Irish bees'.

The conference fee for non-members is £35 and includes tea, coffee and biscuits. Lunch is available on the Saturday for £8.95. At a mere £5 per lecture, this event is incredible value and we are very lucky that it is now right on our doorstep. Please contact me for further details.
Peter Edwards

Although our AGM provides an opportunity for members to voice their opinions on the running of the Association, the committee is aware that not all members are able to attend. So this year we have put a box on the back of the membership renewal form where you can all have your say. We want to know what you like, what you do not like and what you think we should do in the future. No holds barred - tell us what you think!
Peter Edwards

I understand that there are some ongoing problems at BBKA Headquarters with the data in the Members' Register. The problem seems to have originated with the outside contractors used to mail out BBKA News, who also had responsibility for the database. This is being resolved, but if your name and address looks a bit odd on the BBKA News envelope then you will know why. Note that this is not a problem at our end!
Peter Edwards

The Association has 3 x 30lb buckets of honey, rough strained, for sale at £1-40 per lb. Please contact Will Spencer if you are interested. First come, first served!

Plastic honey tank with tap surplus to requirements. Brand new - only £9 - less than half price. Contact Keith Davies, telephone 01564 792904.

A warm welcome to Richard Brocklehurst of Preston on Stour who joined us recently. Perhaps a little late in the season to wish you full supers for this year, but perhaps next year...

That is what keeps us all going!
Peter Edwards