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

SITUATION VACANT

Will Spencer is again trying to give up the job of Hon. Treasurer and, after fifteen years service, it would be good if someone could give him a break - even better if we had several candidates and could have an election!  The job is not particularly difficult, requires no beekeeping knowledge and plenty of help is available, if needed, from Will or me.

Please consider standing if you are able to help.
Peter Edwards

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND RULES

Our new rules were approved at the EGM with a further three minor changes: the first is that the committee shall be elected from Full or Partner members, and the others state that Associate and Student members shall not have voting rights.  Other than the additional categories of membership - ‘Partner’ and ‘Country’ - to bring us in line with BBKA, the new rules really represent a tidying-up exercise and do not introduce any particularly significant changes.  The final version is here.

After the meeting had approved the new categories, Will Spencer recommended that all existing subscription rates should be left unchanged and that Partner and Country members (if we ever get any) should pay £12.  This was agreed by the meeting.

It is perhaps worth noting a couple of points about membership.  The new category of ‘Partner’ member is suitable for the second of two beekeepers in the same household where both wish to be members of BBKA - perhaps so that each has full insurance cover.  There has also been a change in the availability of BBKA insurance for members under the age of 18: BBKA has now stated that where the young person pays the full capitation, i.e. joins as a full member rather than a Student then, although the young person cannot be insured the insurance will be extended to their parent or guardian, who would be regarded in law as the ‘responsible person’ for the young member.
Peter Edwards

FIRST INDOOR ASSOCIATION MEETING OF THE YEAR

Our meeting on 21 September will be remembered for some time by those who braved the first real wet weather for a couple of months.  The business part of the meeting was dealt with smoothly, but Mike was clearly becoming increasingly concerned that our speaker, Jim Hopkins, was nowhere in sight.

Bob Dunn, who had brought one of his polystyrene hives was quickly volunteered to take the floor and give an impromptu talk about it - and very good it was too; it seems that Bob needs driving lessons for his lawnmower so that he goes around the hives in future!

Fortunately, Mike had brought a box of plastic frames with him (super £1.25 each, brood £1.30 each from BJ Engineering Ltd), so he then told us all about them - although ‘us’ is perhaps not quite the right word - ‘us’ were stood out in the rain looking for Jim!  Just when we had given up all hope, and Mike was beginning to run out of things to say about plastic frames, Jim appeared!  It seems that he had taken a wrong exit in torrential rain at the Longbridge island and had gone most of the way to either Birmingham (or was it Banbury? - he seemed a bit unclear!).

Having arrived, Jim certainly gave value for money  He first described and showed us photographs of beekeeping in Denmark then, in a demonstration worthy of Tommy Cooper and ably assisted by Keith Davies, he explained a system of rotating three hive bodies in order to keep the queen laying and prevent swarming - I think.  After that, Jim showed a system of melting wax from brood combs with the aid of a wallpaper stripper and some old supers - Thorne offer something similar at around three times the cost of Jim’s setup.

His description of building his own hives from polystyrene had us in stitches when he told us of his attempts to stop the bees converting it back into polystyrene beads - the latest idea being to paper the inside of the boxes with floral pattern vinyl wallpaper!  It seems that the 8’x4’x4’ block of polystyrene that Jim bought was not of the required density.  Finally, we were given an explanation of queen rearing using two brood boxes and a split board.  I am afraid that I cannot explain it!  It was a most enjoyable, amusing and informative evening.
Peter Edwards

HEALTH ISSUES AND BEEKEEPING - A CAUTIONARY TALE

Generally speaking, beekeeping is a healthy pastime, though many of you will have discovered, particularly last summer, it can get rather hot and sweaty at times in a bee suit, and if you are fortunate enough to get a good crop of honey, those supers, when full can also be very heavy.  By taking it easy, this exercise and fresh air is considered generally good for us all.  However, sometimes things go wrong, and it is then that we need the help of our GP to get well again.  It was on such an occasion last year, when having been diagnosed with high blood pressure that I went to see my doctor for tablets, to help with this condition.  While reading the small print of the leaflet which came with the pills, I discovered that if I should be stung by an insect, while taking this medication, I should seek immediate medical attention.  My curiosity aroused, I enquired through a hospital pharmacy about this, as being a beekeeper, I do get stung, and more frequently than most of .Joe public non-beekeepers.  I was told that the new super efficient and economic blood pressure tablets, which the government wanted to replace the old beta-blockers with, had an unusual and not well known side effect.  This was caused by the way that they work.  They basically work by dilating the blood vessels of the body making it easier for the blood to flow around the body and thus reducing the pressure.  This dilating action causes stings to have a much greater potency and effect and so increases the chances of going into anaphylactic shock!  As all of these new drugs work in the same way, they all potentially can result in the same thing, but not all apparently mention it on their leaflets.  The old beta blockers, however, work in a different manner, and don’t have this particular undesirable side effect for us beekeepers.  Once I had discussed these facts with my GP, who was also not aware of these problems - nor for some strange reason knew I was a beekeeper and had been for the past 16 years! - I was immediately put onto beta blockers and all was well.  The moral of the story is; make sure your GP knows you are a beekeeper (give them a jar of honey on your next visit) and do read all the small print on your medication and do seek further advice about it from a pharmacy.
Andy Willis, Southampton.  Courtesy B.E.E.S.

BIRDIE’S BEES

It all began with a telephone call from our friends, David and Pam, who have a Chambres D’Hotes in the village 2km from us.  A Mr Bird had just bought a house and he had found a colony of bees between the outside shutters and the window in an upstairs bedroom.  A French beekeeper had been to have a look but had not returned to remove the bees.  Could I help?

Mr Bird was going back to England in two days time and wanted to know if something could be done to get the bees out before he came back in a month’s time.  A visit was arranged for the next day and Janet agreed to come along and assist if needed.

I went along with a spare hive, frames and the usual beekeeping tools, plus a bread knife purloined from the kitchen!  Mr Bird met us on arrival and showed us up to the bedroom.

The bees had been in residence for some weeks as there were seven perfect combs suspended from the lintel over the window opening - luckily French windows open into the room.  We put on our bee veils.  Mine was a half suit with sleeves but Janet’s veil had no sleeves.  At this point Janet decided that she was not stopping in the room despite the fact that I told her that bee stings were good for rheumatism.

Gingerly I opened the window and then the outside shutters, which opened back to the outside walls.  Next I placed the hive on the windowsill and puffed a small amount of smoke over the suspended combs.  Using the bread knife, I cut off the first comb from the head of the window and put it in to the hive in a frame.  It was a warm day and the wax comb could be pushed into the shape of the frame.  The rest of the combs were treated in a similar manner.  By this time the bees had got quite excited but they did not attack me.  I

left the hive on the windowsill and went downstairs to the outside of the house to see what was happening.

There were plenty of bees flying about and bees going into the hive but the bees on the outside of the hive were running up and down.  This led me to think that the queen was not in the hive.  When she is in the hive the bees on the outside will fan their wings.  I decided to leave things until the next day to give the bees time to settle down.

On our return I went into the bedroom and saw, clustered on a spare frame, was a huge ball of bees.  The queen would be in the middle of the bees.  Gently, I lifted the frame and put into the hive.  From outside I saw the bees were fanning on the front of the hive, the white gland on their abdomen could be seen, signalling to the bees that the queen was inside the hive.

After two days we returned at dusk to bring the bees home.  The hive body had been secured to the floor before we took it to the house so I blocked the entrance, using a piece of foam, and carried it down to the car.  After two days I had a look into the hive brood chamber.  The queen had laid eggs and the worker bees had started to build out the combs of foundation.  Over the next few weeks I will feed the colony some extra sugar syrup to enable them to build the new combs and provide food for the coming winter.

Update next year, hoping they will have survived the winter.
John Sheppard