Quite a lot of correspondence in the papers about wasps and their apparent scarcity this year, something I had also noted. We had a better than average plum crop this year, and yet I did not see any wasps on those that the birds had pecked. We usually see some on the windfalls of the early apples too, but none appeared.

Professor Ratneiks of Sheffield University entered the fray with a learned discussion on the various wasp types, and argued, I think wrongly, that the disappearance of wasps at this time of year was "wholly consistent'. This comment was made on the 8th of September, a time when there are usually plenty of wasps. We have not had a particularly cold autumn so that cannot be blamed(?). Rather it may have been the wet spring stopped the colonies building up, or perhaps the weather last autumn may have been unfavourable for the hibernating queens. Populations of wild animals, insects and birds show great variations from year to year and the reasons are very complex.

The latest issue of IBRA's Bee World is on circulation. A long and detailed article on the make up of the various types of essential oils found in pollens from some 50 species of plants followed by an analysis of the antibacterial and antifungal properties of these various oils. A quick glance shows that dandelion, ivy and brassicas have quite high values of oils that are useful to fight bacteria and fungi. Interestingly contrasted with a very short summary of an Apitherapy Commission Report on the use of honey for the treatment of skin injuries, and a review of a CD on Apitherapy, £31 from the IBRA bookshop.

Also a discussion on bumble bee types in Argentina and a comparison between Apis mellifera our bees, and Apis dorsata in Morocco, mellifera seems to win.

Two good articles in the RHS magazine Garden arguing the pros and cons of genetically modified plants. Modification wins in my view, it is happening all around us as a natural process with the pollen being modified by radiation from the sun and space. Both the Bramley apple and Brussels sprouts are natural genetically modified plants, spotted by someone and carefully grown on and multiplied, and within the last 300 years. I would also argue that much of the farmers grassland that has been seeded also arises from genetically modified plants, work done this century, carefully selected and grown on. Done in Wales too!

To come back to the theme of my first paragraph, we had a good strawberry crop in the garden this year, but the plants threw out surprisingly few runners when they were trimmed early in the Autumn. Any suggestions why?

I would like to congratulate those members who have recently achieved passes in the BBKA exams. Beekeeping is a very unscientific art and anything that is done to improve this situation must be helpful. I hope they pass their knowledge on to other members.

The CSL has confirmed that resistant mites have been found in at least one apiary in Devon. Monitoring is being done and the latest Bee Craft says that resistant mites had at that time been found in 15 neighbouring apiaries. The level of resistance indicates that it may have been present for about two years. It is thought that the problem is localised and measures have been taken to restrict the spread of affected mites, however it will not be until next season that the extent will become apparent. Responsible beekeepers are going to be asked to test their bees themselves, a test kit will be available. The test is similar to the one described in the August newsletter and should be conducted in the summer every year. Details will be given in good time or you can find them on the CSL website (www.csl.gov.uk ).

In the meantime we are urged by Medwin Bew ‘most strongly to follow the label instructions on varroacide products carefully. Misuse (eg prolonged application of the product or abuse of the active ingredient, or use of cheap untested analogues ) has been the cause of every original focus of resistance in Europe’.

If anyone wants to read all about it get hold of a copy of October’s ‘Bee Craft’ which has six articles dedicated to the subject of pyrethroid resistance in varroa

Here is the news we have all been dreading, mites resistant to pyrethroids (this means both Apistan and Bayvarol) have appeared.

Many of us have been aware of the presence of resistant mites ‘on the continent’ and we have been told that one day they would ‘arrive’ here. But I think we all rather assumed that they would come drifting in to contaminate our nice susceptible varroa and then work their way through the country as the original mites did. But of course it is not like that at all. Resistance is present in all communities of mites and bad practice leads to their selection and eventually their dominance in that community. So resistance can develop anywhere as a result of misuse of the varroacide, and from a single hive can then spread to others in the vicinity.

The silver lining is that they do not appear to be as successful in reproducing as the non-resistant ones, so in the absence of the varroacide they are selected against and eventually the sensitive ones are again dominant and treatment can recommence. Meanwhile alternative methods must be used, - and there are alternatives eg formalin (which is becoming available in easier to manage forms all the time). There will probably be a sudden proliferation of treatments from different sources, there is one mentioned in the current ’Bee World’ called ‘Bugwash’ which was originally fomulated for ridding horses of external parasites and has been found to be effectiv against varroa on honey bees.

On a happy note how many of you have had their supers filled up when the bees were supposed to be cleaning them up after extraction? Due to Himalayan Balsam? Bridget

At the AGM each year the June James Trophy is awarded to someone in the association for their contribution to beekeeping in general, especially in Gwent. Please give/send your nomination to any committee member, the secretary and chairman make the final decision. We would also like nominations for members of the committee—do nominate yourself if it is something that you would like to do, enthusiastic committee members are the only thing that keep the association going and some of us are getting tired.

Thursday 13^th September heralded the start of the autumn meetings at Goytre Village Hall. Appropriately the subject of the evening was extraction and bottling of the honey crop. This was valuable to the new members attending the meeting. Janet Bromley gave a BBKA slide presentation showing the uncapping, and removal of the honey in an extractor. The hired slides were American and dated 1987. Although there were aspects that would be inappropriate now, the main contents gave a good representation of the process.

John Holden brought an extractor and demonstrated how he uncaps, spins and filters honey. General discussion produced many tips and dos and don’ts from the more experienced members.

To end the evening, members brought samples of their own honey, and some commercially produced honey, for tasting. Besides my own honey I had Manuka honey from New Zealand, honey from La Gomera in the Canaries, and orange blossom honey. Also the tasting of Ron y Miel (rum and honey drink from Tenerife) was an attraction.

The cloudless morning of Bank Holiday Monday 27^th August was bound to make this delightful venue a popular destination for many people. George, Mavis, Kate and myself arrived at about 9.30 and set up our display for the day in the marquee. We were each given a tee shirt advertising this festival of wildlife at which we were promoting the GBKA.

George was at his best, demonstrating the workings of a hive and the role of beekeeping in relation to the products produced and the important environmental necessity for bees. All our produce was popular with the buying public, as well as the display of photographs and other information. It is always gratifying to carry empty milk crates for honey jars up the stairs to home at the end of the day.

A number of people showed interest in beekeeping and we had a request for one of our members to speak to children at a school. My thanks to George and Mavis, and my wife Kate whose support makes these promotional displays possible.

(if you would like to see some photos of this event then look on our website in the picture gallery)

BEGINNERS COURSE 2002

LEARN ABOUT THE CRAFT

SIX EVENING MEETINGS AT USK ADULT EDUCATION CENTRE FOLLOWED BY HANDS ON PRACTICALS

FEBUARY 19^th – MARCH 26th ²⁰⁰²

COST £10

REIMBURSED WHEN JOINING

GWENT

BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION

INTERESTED RING

JOHN 01495 311007 or

DAVID 01873 832232 or JANET 01291 690331

Included with this newsletter is a poster advertising the beginners’ course for next year. The dates are not announced as John would like people to contact him so that he knows numbers rather than have them just turn up on the day. Please will you find somewhere to display it in your area. For example a local shop/post office/library/museum/doctors surgery or village hall would all be suitable locations if the folk in charge don’t mind. The sessions will take place in Usk Adult Education Centre as last year.

It is a bit of a shock to return home to wet weather after two weeks of ‘wall to wall’ sunshine at 30^oC + in Tenerife. It certainly would make beekeeping a lot more predictable if we had the same climate here. We saw a number of palms in flower that were covered with bees collecting copious amounts of pollen. But at no time did we see any hives. However, a local paper written in English and German as well as Spanish contained an article about a Honey House near a vineyard in the north of the island. Unfortunately we did not have a chance to visit it but I collected a leaflet about the vineyard with a website. Surprisingly there was no mention of the honey house on either. I shall try to e mail them to get more information (if my Spanish is up to the mark!). I did buy a jar of honey produced in La Gomera, an island near to Tenerife. It cost 555 pesatas (£2.09) for 300g. This works out to £3.16/lb. I shall bring it to our first September meeting for tasting.

You may have seen honey being sold under the name of The Welsh Pantry. I have seen it sold at National Trust places in North Wales and also recently in Sainsburys Cwmbran. Given the name of the product you might assume that it contained all Welsh honey, but the label states that the honey is the produce of more than one country including Wales. Legally, 1 teaspoon of Welsh honey added to 60lb of foreign honey would satisfy the legal requirements on the label, but would it be honest in principal? I believe that if a company is going to sell a blend of honey like this in Wales it should at least state a minimum percentage of Welsh honey. Does anyone have any views on this?

My thanks to Bridget for her comments about the use of preservatives to paint ekes. The worry about condensation where the wood cannot ‘breathe’ is a valid one. I hope that the mesh floors I am using will eliminate this problem.

Ragwort. I can remember this plant being the food of what we called 'football jerseys' or the caterpillar of the cinnabar moth. They were easily recognised by their bright orange and black bands around their bodies. A bird would only ever eat one of them as their taste was unpleasant and perhaps toxic. The resultant adult moth flew in the daytime, most moths fly at night, and was bright black and red, again as warning to birds. There was however one creature that took advantage of this inedible caterpillar, and that was a parasitic wasp, that laid eggs in that unfortunate creature, These would hatch and produce grubs that would eat the caterpillar from within.

Japanese Knotweed. Polygonum cuspidatus On the last Sunday in August a swathe of this plant in flower was being visited by a large number of bees and they appeared to be collecting nectar only. I can find no reference regarding bees visiting this plant, whether it provides much nectar or pollen, or how any honey might taste. Does anyone have any information? (G.L.) Gr

Apimondia is a congress organised by the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations and is held every two years. The congresses aim to attract everyone involved in beekeeping: from the professional beekeeper to the hobbyist, also honey traders, pollinators, equipment vendors, apitherapists, entomologists and academics, farmers, growers, representatives from the seed and fruit industry and people involved in development work. Apimondia 2001 will be the largest single agricultural event in South Africa during 2001. It is the first time it has been held in Africa (it is the 37th International Apicultural Congress). Southern Africa has 4000 species of bee including 2 races of indigenous honey bee, namely the Cape honey bee whose workers can produce female offspring, and the savanna honey bee which gave rise to the Africanised bee of the Americas.

Several members of our association are going to attend this congress, which is from 28th October to 1st November, so you can look forward to some feedback in a future newsletter if there is anything vaguely relevant to beekeeping in South Wales.

After reading the September News Letter on the Buckfast trip, it brought home to me that there is always room for another point of view.

The overall size of the combined party compelled it to be split into two, even then I felt that we were larger than our guides would have preferred.. The two guides were Brother Daniel Smyth and Peter Donovan, the apiary manager. Brother Daniel as shown by Ken’s photograph was totally protected from stings, I understand he has an allergy problem, whereas Peter had absolutely no protection at all and nor did many of his party. Probably the most impressive feature of the visit was the incredible good nature of the bees, several of our party touched the bees on the comb with no adverse effect. How many of us could entertain in our own apiary like that?

The hives used were Modified Dadant with Buckfasts own frame design, which I thought worth a closer look. Although I said the hives were M. Dadant's they were modified by Brother Adam to have no top bee space, so that when clamped for transport to the ‘moors’ the frames would be held firm from sideways movement.

The brood chamber holds eleven frames plus a following board. The frames were 1.1/8” wide top and side bars with 1/4” long studs fixed diagonally on opposite sides. The bottom bars were 3/8” square. This configuration means that inside the brood chamber there were matching studs at each end The following board made frame manipulation very easy and because the frame spacing is 1.3/8” it does not mean losing a frame and eleven Dadant frames is enough brood area for most locations.

We did enjoy the trip and there were plenty of lively bee discussions in-between, and not least of all because of our bus driver who seemed to spirit us through the busy traffic in record time.

George's excelent drawing of the hive and frames have given me a problem, I will publish as soon as i have resolved the "bug"(webmaster)

One of the more frustrating problems beekeepers come across is wax moth. Unchecked this can cause huge damage to combs and even to live colonies. There are two varieties of wax moth – the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) and the lesser wax moth (Achroia grisella) both of which can cause serious damage to combs and colonies in their different ways. When I first started beekeeping the greater wax moth was confined to the south east of Britain but now it is increasingly found as least as far North as Herefordshire in England and in South Wales at least as far as Carmarthen. The lesser wax moth is more likely to be a problem in stored comb although it can still be found in colonies especially when they are weak. The greater wax moth is a gregarious and highly destructive pest that can reduce both stored combs and weak colonies to disgusting cobwebby threads very rapidly if allowed. It is vital to keep wax moth under control to avoid losing valuable comb. As always, prevention is better than cure. The most important thing either in the apiary or in storage is to keep working spaces clean – easier said than done I know, but no techniques can work well in the face of mucky practice.

There are a variety of ways to control wax moth and each will have its own advocates. The most widely used is the chemical paradichlorbenzine or PDB. (Some people often equate this with mothballs but they are not the same chemicals). PDB is still very effective in the control of wax moth in stored comb. Dry supers are stored either in a stack or in dustbin bags and a couple of teaspoons of crystals are scattered into them - just loose will do. If you stack supers then put sheets of newspaper between every two supers to keep the crystals throughout the stack and to inhibit movement of wax moth adults. Cover the stack with a roof to make it inaccessible for mice etc. If you store supers singly in dustbin bags then reduce the quantity of crystals to half. PDB is not a very nice chemical and beekeepers should avoid breathing in the fumes. The supers must be aired well before use. The bees will not easily move into them if they smell.

Acetic acid (80%) can also be used to fumigate a stack of dry supers. It is quite expensive for this job though. Use a honey jar lid with a good wad of cotton wool to soak up about 50 mls of liquid for every two supers in the stack. This has the advantage that it will also clean other problems from the comb such as EFB bacteria or nosema spores but the disadvantage that it is corrosive to the frame nails (and also the beekeeper - so care needs to be taken with its use). The herb wormwood (Artemesia absinthe) is reputed to deter moths. There are other ideas about, often sounding pretty dotty but I’m always interested to hear properly tested new ideas.

A natural way of getting rid of wax moth is by freezing. It is also very effective since all life cycle stages are killed. The lower the temperature the quicker they wax moth stages are killed. This can be achieved in two ways. Firstly by storing combs in as cold a place as possible and hoping there will be a good period of freezing weather over the winter – a fortnight of hard frosts will do the trick nicely. However, since hard frosts do seem to be a thing of the past beekeepers can make certain by freezing combs themselves. An old chest freezer is ideal. (I heard of one person who bought one in good working order for £3). Supers are frozen for a minimum 48 hrs. This kills all stages of both species of wax moth.

Beekeeping suppliers also sell a product called Certan, a biological control for wax moth, safe for both stored comb and live colonies. This is a suspension of spores of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (or BT). There are different strains of this-the one used for bees is the Berlin strain. BT strains are specific to lepidopterans (butterflies and moths). When a caterpillar eats the spores they germinate to produce a lethal endotoxin. This will only happen in an alkaline gut so for species with an acid gut the spores are harmless. Gardeners use a different strain (kurstaki) for cabbage white butterflies and I would be interested to hear if anyone has ever used this successfully for wax moth control.

JOHN 01495 311007 or

Preventing and Treating Wax Moths