Hon. Newsletter Editor:
Mike Osborne
E-mail: M.Osborne@care4free.net

See last month's newsletter for details. Peter Edwards needs to know your requirements now so that he can get everything ordered from the manufacturers. Those of you who have expressed an interest, don't forget to send Peter your cheque.

Hartpury College, near Gloucester, is offering a range of part-time courses on many aspects of beekeeping, from basic to BBKA exam standard. Courses last for one, two or five days and cost from £25 to £100. They operate at various times between February and August next year. An illustrated brochure, which also includes details on courses on many other outdoor activities (including tractor driving for children and mole control!) is available from Sara-Jane Watkins on 01452 702132. The secretary will try to remember to bring the booklet to the Association meetings.

From time to time the opportunity presents itself for some of our members to spread the word about beekeeping, enabling us to emphasise the benefits that it brings to the economy, encourage the purchase of British honey and allay any fears that people may have. This can be done by having a small stand at a local show or fête, or by giving a talk to the local WI or other organisation. Any such contacts with the general public must be a good thing. The Association was recently asked if someone would talk to the residents of Tiddington Court, a residential complex for the retired in Tiddington, and I agreed to do it. Whilst I could talk about my everyday beekeeping experiences at length, something a bit more structured was required for an audience with little or no knowledge of the subject. So I introduced the talk with a bit about the history of beekeeping from the earliest times up to the present day. Past 'hives' were considered, leading to a look at a modern hive, complete with super, that I took along. Each part and its function was described in turn, enabling me to talk about the different castes and their place in the hive. Explanations of features such as swarming, bee dances etc. were included as I went along. Finally, I talked about the products of the hive, with three different types of honey for tasting, plus some wax candles. By having suitable slides in a prepared order I avoided losing my way and included all the relevant points. Such slides are available from the BBKA at Stoneleigh, who also lent me a projector, and there is a catalogue, of which I have a copy, of the considerable number that they have available. I made use of two sets: "An Introduction to Beekeeping" by John Root, and "A Historical Outline of Beekeeping Throughout the Ages" by Keith Fisher, for which the hire charge was £4 and £3 respectively. I made a charge to cover this and petrol costs, but a bonus was that I was able to sell a dozen jars of honey that I took along just in case. The talk lasted about one hour, with a very attentive audience and plenty of questions at the end, the first one of which asked for my comments on Mendel's observation of bees in his work on genetics!

Conditions were not ideal for the meeting, but at least the bees were quite well behaved; perhaps they appreciated the shelter of the umbrella! Hive no. 1, which had suffered wax-moth damage before the July meeting, was occupying about half the brood chamber. Even so, there was plenty of sealed brood, and the plan is to unite this colony with its neighbour and overwinter a total of three stocks. Clearer boards were put under the remaining supers, and with luck there should be another few dozen lbs. of honey to extract. It is planned to produce some nice new brood combs by putting a box of foundation over colony no. 4 when the honey has been removed. By feeding plenty of sugar syrup the foundation should soon be drawn out by this strong colony, and replacements for the tattiest combs in the apiary will be provided for next year. With Bayvarol treatment and feeding (with fondant) to come, the apiary should be in better shape than it was last autumn. For those of you unfamiliar with the use of fondant a visit to the next meeting on 16th September would be worthwhile.

DNK

53 lbs. of this year's honey has so far been extracted from the Association's supers and this is now available to members at £1.25 per lb, filtered to bottling standard. Contact Peter Edwards, 01789 295169, who must be thanked for the time and effort that he puts in to extracting this honey on behalf of the Association. It is the sale of the honey that helps us to keep our subscription at such a reasonable level.

Twelve of us enjoyed the evening sunshine as we walked along the canal towpath, up the bridleway through Austey Wood, across the big set-aside field, and back along the A3400 to the Navigation pub in Wootton Wawen. In the wood we paused to admire the plantation of Nothofagus (southern beech) that Keith Davis - the newest member of our Association - and I had a hand in planting in 1985. The species lives up to its reputation of being fast growing. Mine host at the Navi is not known for his geniality, but I hope that the quality of food was acceptable!

DNK

One of our more experienced members, who lives in Stratford, has neighbour trouble and needs to move his three colonies out of his garden. Does any reader have, or know of, a suitable site within say six miles of Stratford? Do you know of a friendly farmer or landowner who might be able to help? Please let the secretary know as soon as possible if you have any ideas.

Some strains of Apis Mellifera are better than others at detecting and removing diseased or infected larvae from sealed cells. So-called hygienic bees resist American Foulbrood, as they can uncap cells and remove diseased larvae before they reach the infectious stage. As mentioned in the May newsletter, the National Bee Unit has organised a countrywide trial to determine the geographic occurrence of hygienic behaviour and to correlate this with the incidence of European Foulbrood. Participants in the experiment were asked to cut out from a brood comb a piece containing about 100 sealed cells. The larvae in the comb were then killed by putting it in the freezer for 48 hours. The piece of comb was then replaced in the hive. After a further four days the number of cells that had been cleaned out was counted and the results sent to the NBU for analysis. In my case only about 20% of the dead larvae were removed, so I guess that I don't have hygienic bees - but I hope that I don't have EFB either!

DNK

We all know how gunged up equipment can get with propolis. To remove propolis from plastic frame spacers, Porter bee escapes etc., first soak them in methylated spirits for 24 hours. Then wash with warm soapy water.

WS

When over half your season's honey crop comes from just one hive, it makes sense to ask why this should be. I started the season with four queen-right colonies, of which three made swarming preparations in May. My artificial swarming attempts were not entirely successful, but at least they produced six new colonies that should be productive next year. The one colony that did not swarm gave two supers of honey at the end of May, and another five later; the bees continued the good work even into August. There were three ways in which the productive colony differed from the others. It was at the end of the row, and it is said that drifting increases the population of such hives. However, the hive at the other end of the row didn't show any such effect. Another difference was that the successful hive had an additional entrance above the queen excluder. This top entrance was used almost exclusively during the early part of the season. Later both entrances were used, with the overnight 'fanners' congregating on the alighting board. Most importantly, the colony did not swarm. One can speculate that the direct route to the supers via the top entrance means fewer bees in the brood chamber, and so less incentive for the colony to swarm through overcrowding. If this were true it would have been recognised long ago, and all of us with single wall hives would be using the method. So in accepting that it probably won't work, I shall try dual entrances on a few more hives next year. Maybe other members would like to try the system - there's nothing to lose!

DNK

Sunday 16th September. Association apiary meeting in Hampton Wood at 3pm.

The last get-together at the Association apiary for this year. Feeding to be done, Bayvarol strips to be added and hopefully some honey to be taken off.

Friday 21st September. Extraordinary General Meeting at Stratford College.

To be held as usual to fix the level of this year's subscription. If you don't turn up to give your views you will just have to accept what someone else decides. Our present subscription is £14 (including BDI insurance for 2 colonies), which compares with members of other local associations paying twice that and more.

Friday 21st September.General Meeting at Stratford College restaurant at 7.30pm.

To be held as usual at this time of the year to decide on the subscription for the coming year. To be followed by a cooking demonstration by Alan Deegan. Alan is Programme Manager for Professional Catering, which means that he looks after the training of catering students in the kitchen. Those who attended his last demonstration will know that this is an event not to be missed

Friday 28th September. Committee meeting at Ron's house in Stratford.

12th-14th October. Leamington Weekend at the Manor Hotel, Leamington Spa.

Organised by the Central Association of Beekeepers, this important event is held so near to us that it is well worthwhile considering attending. Talks are to be given by at least six of the country's best-known beekeeping experts. Contact Mrs. English for details on 020 8977 5867.

Friday 19th October. Annual Honey Show, at Stratford College.

Now is the time to sort out your best jars of honey for entry into the show. The more that you enter the more you are likely to win.

Friday 16th November. Annual General Meeting at Stratford College.

Please come along and voice your opinions on how the Association is run.

15th-17th November. National Honey Show, London

Worth visiting to see the amazing range and quality of the entries.

Friday 7th December. Skittles match with Shipston Beekeepers at Chipping Campden.