GBKA Registered Charity Number : 1014600 Why not join our discussion group here
|
I
hope you all have your spare equipment ready for swarms. Make
sure you have a nuc box standing by, you need one for every 4 hives. There
is a lot of Oil Seed Rape about. It is important to remove it from the comb
before it sets but don’t take it out too soon. You can remove it even if it is
not capped but make sure it is ready and will not drip out of an upturned comb. For
further guidance get along to the apiary meetings. The National
Museum of Wales with the help of the Cardiff BKA is staging an exhibition in the
Glanely Gallery from 27th April to the end of June. There will be
three guest speakers. I’m afraid we’ve missed the first, who was Robert
Pickard on ‘Sex in honeybees, humans and flowers’ - on April 27th when you
were all at Stoneleigh, Pam is talking on May 25th on ‘Bees and Plants’.
It is all aimed at non-beekeepers but it might be interesting to see the
exhibition. My bees seem to be doing well this year, early April they were bringing
in three varieties of pollen, an off white, a yellow and an orange colour. The
ground is still quite cold for planting seeds, with plenty of underlying water
quite close to the surface, perhaps because we have not had many drying east
winds or significant spells of hot sunshine. Combined these have provided plenty
of moisture for the production of nectar and at the same time the blossoming
period has been stretched out as the flowers have not been all brought into
bloom at the same time. In particular the plum blossom in the garden seems to
have lasted for much longer than usual, which should help to avoid damage from
frosts. Let us
hope the good season continues. However my beekeeping is not doing as well, my attempt
to persuade one colony to move onto new foundation has been a complete failure,
they seem to prefer the well worn and very disreputable comb they already
occupy. The other colony is in a mixture of WBC and National equipment, which is
not conducive to good beekeeping. I really shall have to sort them out. An interesting piece in one of the papers on Karl von
Frisch, who interpreted the "bee dance" in 1945. Apparently it was
first observed, though not interpreted by the Rev Ernst Spitzner in 1788. Frisch,
one of the founders of ethology, the scientific study of animal behaviour, was
given the Nobel prize for physiology and medicine, sharing it with Konrad Lorenz
and Nino Tinbergen. An interesting comment that "interpreting animal
behaviour through human senses can give a distorted picture of the sensory world
animals inhabit, particularly in the case of honeybees, whose sensory
capabilities extend far beyond human experience" seems to me to mean that
bees do not think like humans or other animals. I know I may be treading on dangerous ground, but I see
that there is on offer quite a lot of equipment for the beekeeper to manufacture
his own foundation, all of it unfortunately rather costly for the individual,
but nevertheless foundation is something that we all require. Furthermore we are
all told that we should regularly clear the old comb out and replace it with new
foundation as an aide to disease prevention. Having had a brief try at the process at a neighbouring
Association, I found it fascinating, though requiring a little skill and initial
perseverance. The equipment required apart from the moulds is simple together
with a reasonably bee‑proof area and an easily cleaned floor. It might be worth GBKA considering to purchase this
equipment as a service to members. Dick Sadler, 24/4/02 If anyone would like
to have a go at making their own foundation please let me know and we will try
to organise something. Bridget NATIONAL HONEY SHOW13-15TH NOVEMBER IF YOU ARE GOING TO THE NHS YOU CAN GET REDUCED CAR PARKING CHARGES, (£12
NOT £25) AND REDUCED ACCOMMODATION CHARGES IN KENSINGTON, £80 DOUBLE ROOM PER
NIGHT, £60 SINGLE ENTRY IS GOING TO BE £10 JILL CHIRNSIDE CAN TAKE BOOKINGS TEL
01873 880625 Please remember to let Allison know if you want to renew your
subscription to this journal. If
you do not already subscribe then think about it. As the title suggests it comes out 4 times a year so you actually have
time to read it before the next one arrives. It has various articles, mostly
useful practical messages, but also news from beekeepers around the world. The
ones in Europe that you would think are not that much different from us are very
entertaining. Only £12
when paid through the association. The talk at Goytre Village Hall this April entitled “Nuclear Power” had nothing to do with plutonium or the energy produced by the fission of matter, but the usefulness of nucleus boxes. These are small ‘hives’ containing only five frames instead of the usual eleven in a standard hive. Don Streatfield started by defining a nucleus as a queen and brood vigorous enough the build to a full colony. Listed below are eleven uses for a nucleus box. 1. Introducing a travelled (bought) queen. 2. A means of swarm control. 3. Preserving a valued queen. 4. Mating a queen. 5. Over wintering a colony as a queen source in early spring. 6. Testing a queen. Is she laying well? Are her workers gentle and efficient? 7. Starting new colonies. 8. Drawing new worker comb. 9. Marking the queen. Easier to find her than in a full hive. 10. Raising queens from selected larvae. 11. Colony for an observation hive. Graham Loveridge As you are now aware, we in the GBKA are all members of a mother
organisation, the BBKA. They (the BBKA) want to create a database of all members
and associates with their addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. One of
the major benefits of membership of the BBKA is the personal and product
liability insurance cover which is included in the capitation fee. From October
2002 only a member whose name and address has been submitted to BBKA will be
covered. Everyone will be given a membership card with a unique number to prove
their membership in the event of a claim. We
feel that in the circumstances it is reasonable to supply this information to
the BBKA who are covered by the data protection act. If anyone has strong views
on why, for example, their phone number should not be given please let Janet
know immediately as the information is
already overdue and will be submitted in the next few weeks. Apiary NewsThe apiary manager (Eric) reports that the apiary came through the winter with 4 viable hives and one dodgy (queenless?) one. At the first apiary meeting on 21st April they marked one of the queens. There is some work to be done to the buildings, offers of help to Eric please, 01633 412617. Graham, who was at the meeting, reports that the weather was beautiful and produced ideal conditions for the meeting. The colonies were already producing large numbers of brood and much honey was being produced. Extra boxes of foundation were given to the hives to give the bees more room. We were able to supply bee suits for the children of a family with five year old triplets. They showed no fear of the bees and were happy to participate as we checked the hives. This April has been exceptionally warm and sunny especially when I think back to April last year when it was so cold that we had to feed our bees. I think the triplets made a profound impression on all
those at the meeting! There were about 15 others present. If you missed it come
to the next one, you won’t regret it.
Photos
on the website. The following very
informative and frighteningly perfectionist essay comes to us via George Kinman
who was put in touch with Wally when he wanted some answers to questions of his
own. George thought it was so useful that he asked if he could give it to me for
inclusion in our newsletter and Wally agreed. As you see he is from Anglesey BKA,
he is a beekeeper of note and contributes to the Welsh BKA news. There will be
another contribution from him next month. Should
Beekeepers do it with Glue? (by Wally Shaw, Anglesey BKA) It seems that most beekeepers ignore the manufacturer's
instructions to use waterproof glue in the assembly their flat‑pack hives
and rely only on nails. The so called instructions
are
little more of a suggestion and I have never seen any guidance as to how it
should be done. In the case of hive designs like the Smith or Langstroth, there
is no problem. You simply apply glue to the mating surfaces of the dovetail
joints (more correctly called finger joints) at the corners, assemble the parts,
tap in a few nails to hold it together, check the whole thing is square and
Bob's your uncle. Not so the Modified National hive that I guess most of us use!
Those four sidebars (locking bars) that form the top and bottom rebates (and
provide superb handgrips for lifting the boxes) are by no means easy to glue
properly. To get full‑length, tight, waterproof joints you really need
eight G‑clamps. Who has got that number of clamps to assemble just one box
at a time? Also it's a right fiddle! I know because I have done it. Actually, there are several easy ways around this
problem but first of all let us consider whether all this extra work (and some
expense) is worth the trouble. The question is, do you regard hive parts (boxes, roofs and floors) as being expendable
‑ to be replaced when they are no longer serviceable ‑ or do you
want them to last for as many years as possible, perhaps a lifetime? This is
very much a matter of attitude and I have not attempted to work out the economic
implications to make a judgement on that score. What it really comes down to, is
how much you value your own time ‑ and how much you enjoy (or hate) making
things. Time is important for the commercial beekeeper but probably not so for
the amateur (how I hate that word!) Also, in the current climate of
built‑in obsolescence and the throw‑it-away society, perhaps
making things to last is not a priority ‑ but, somehow, I do not see
beekeepers in this mould. Yes, wood is a renewable resource but, like everything
else, it too has its environmental cost. So are there any other advantages to glued construction
in hives? Yes, I think there are, but here I would draw a distinction between
those parts of the hive that are permanently in place, eg. a brood box and
perhaps one super (as a half‑brood) and perhaps a floor and roof, as
opposed to boxes that are just put on for the summer (the honey supers). Glued
joints makes hive boxes more weatherproof and this means that they are an
altogether nicer place for bees in the winter ‑ drier and warmer. This
advantage presupposes that the beekeeper makes provision for adequate
ventilation, for it is condensation within the hive that is the worst enemy of
the overwintering colony. I suspect that the gaping joints in some hives provide
much‑needed ventilation ‑ especially for those colonies whose owner
insists on dumping a square of damp carpet top of the frames in the winter.
Paradoxically, dodgy supers with gaps and splits in them could be an advantage
during the summer as they provide extra ventilation for disposing of the vast
amount of water that needs to be removed from nectar to turn it into honey. The Modified National hive has its strengths and
weaknesses, and one of its weaknesses is a tendency to rot. Unsealed joints
retain films of water and sooner or later this is where wood‑rotting fungi
gain a foothold. The sidebars, mentioned above, and the concealed endgrain of
the side panels are the most vulnerable points (see diagram). If these joints
can be properly sealed with a waterproof glue then this alone will probably
double the life of the box. The elimination of all permanent metal fixings (ie.
nails or screws) is also an advantage. Take a look at an old hive box and see
how rot has penetrated the nail holes ‑ and even the best galvanised nails
corrode in the end. What do I mean by waterproof glue? Well, one of the
things I do not mean is the PVA based glues, that seem to be so popular
to‑day. Certainly they are cheap and easy to use but even the
so‑called 'water‑resistant' formulations are a dead‑loss out
of doors. Try going to sea in a boat assembled with PVA glue ‑ but don't
forget your lifejacket! There are several waterproof glues on the market, eg.
epoxy, polyurethane, phenolic/resorcinol and urea formaldehyde. All have their
uses, but the last of these, urea formaldehyde (most readily available under the
name of 'Cascamite' ), is probably the cheapest and most convenient. It is
offered in several of the equipment supplier's catalogues. The way I assemble my hives using glue is shown in the
accompanying diagram. All mating surfaces are liberally coated in glue. The
screws are used a temporary fixings to hold everything in place until the glue
has set ‑ thus avoiding the need for G-clamps. Surplus glue should ooze
from the joints and can be wiped away with a damp cloth. When the glue is hard,
the screws are removed and the holes drilled out to receive a length of 6mm
dowel which is also glued into place. If you want to avoid this somewhat fiddly
task, the screw holes can be filled with stopping ‑ preferably of the
polyester resin type ‑ but this is not nearly so aesthetically pleasing as
a neatly trimmed dowel. Now you have really sound, waterproof hive box and what
I think you should do with it next is the subject of a second article to appear
next quarter. Comment Let’s remember that
despite all the talk of disease and the lack of bees and the scarcity of mixed
forage this is the best time of the year for beekeeping. The bees are single
mindedly building up the strength of their colonies and collecting as much as
they can. The queens are all laying as fast as possible and each colony is
united in its desire to grow, store food, and if possible reproduce itself
by swarming. And swarming is such a delight, the bees love it, they are
free, they are looking for a new and better home, they have full honey stomachs
and they have abandoned all their responsibilities. When the swarm finds its new
home it remains happy and industrious and works hard
to build up its numbers and to collect stores for the coming winter. So
they are a pleasure to deal with (—the first swarm this year 31st March!!).
Now is the time we can really enjoy our bees. We must watch carefully to
make sure we are keeping up with their requirements. There was some work done in
Denmark that showed that happy and unstressed bees are far more resistant to the
brood diseases, and indeed in some cases recovered from EFB. I have been given a
cutting from the FT which I would like to share. It is by Philippa Davenport
extolling the virtues of ‘real’ honey and talks about Jill Mead and Steve
Benbow who you have probably heard about who keep hives on the roof of their
Tower Bridge block of flats . They set up the London Honey Co. and produce honey
from six different London Postal code areas and have been featured in BKQ. She
quotes from The Lake Isle of
Innisfree by W.B.Yeats “I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, and a
small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; nine bean rows will I have
there, a hive for the honey bee, and live alone in the bee-loud glade ……” There is another
interesting piece from the Times about the great ‘honey shortage’, naming a
few British honey shops. The prices range from £2.00 for 12oz to £6.28 for
1lb. The supermarkets are now stocking all their brands but without using
Chinese honey in the blend, so I don’t think our popularity will last for
long. Bridget Janet has had a letter from Philip Jacobi, who is the secretary of Bee Diseases Insurance, asking us all to write to our MP about the excessive administrative costs that are burdening them and threatening the future of BDI. I was a bit dubious about the sense of writing to my MP so I have had a long telephone conversation with Philip Jacobi about the problem. It appears that the real bug is the obligation, since The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 came into force on Dec 1st 2001, for any company/association/or whatever that deals with financial services to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Thus BDI come under the same umbrella as all those companies with turnovers of billions of £s who offer ISAs, insure our cars or houses, give mortgages etc. This means that they have to pay £400 a year for their FSA return, their audit expenses are ridiculously inflated and they are as liable as all the others if a member goes into liquidation. This is extremely burdensome on such a small concern run by unpaid volunteers. It is also a fact that FSA has the authority to issue waivers for companies if it thinks it appropriate. It would appear to be appropriate in the case of BDI who actually are obliged to have reserves of £150,000 (as this would cover all their claims for several years, they themselves would never need to be bailed out.). The FSA appears to be a headless figure with no-one willing to make any decisions so if you would write to your MP it is believed that some pressure could be brought to bear on the problem. A copy of Philip Jacobi’s suggested letter is enclosed, you can fill it in as it is or alter it as you see fit. It may help!!! Ken has agreed to remain our swarm liaison officer. If you are prepared to pick up swarms in your area, or if you would like a swarm wherever it is, please get your name on his list so that he can phone you when he hears of one. Most members of the public want swarms removed as soon as possible.
Ken’s phone number: 01873 852512
A Puzzle from Graham Fill in the clues to reveal the a specialist writer in beekeeping in the highlighted down spaces. 1. Surname of a famous beekeeper, with a Christian name of Lorenzo. [10] 2. The subject of the specialist writer [3.7] 3. Word for when a queen bee kills another queen bee [10] 4. A newly mated queen can be lost because of this [8] 5. The man who made the famous board! [9]
6. The type of egg that produces a drone [12] 7. A method of swarm prevention [7] 8. An abbey famous for beekeeping [8] 9. A bee disease that is treated with Fumadil B BEEKEEPERS
HELP THE ENVIRONMENT ‑ AND NOW YOU ARE TAXED FOR
DOING SO! PLEASE
WRITE TO YOUR M.P. The
objective of BDI is to improve the health of bees by encouraging beekeepers
through insurance and by other means to comply with The Bee Diseases Control
Order 1982 which imposes legal obligations on all beekeepers in Great Britain. We
work closely with DEFRA (previously known as MAFF) to ensure that disease in
bees is properly dealt with and DEFRA acknowledge our help. Beekeeping
Associations own BDI. Each Member Association has a legal share now with a net
asset value of approximately £1,000 per Association built up over the last 65
years. Recent Government Legislation is now eating into our premiums and
membership fees. We,
on your behalf, already have to pay the following:5% of membership fees and
premiums goes in Insurance Premium Tax! We
have to make an Annual Return to the Financial Services Authority for which they
charge us a filing fee of £400. In
addition to the above we are now being told that we, beekeepers, must pay
towards supporting policy holders of insolvent insurance companies and to pay
the administrative costs of a new body called The Financial Services
Compensation Scheme. So far this year we have received the following invoices
for payment: £129.89
following the appointment of provisional liquidators at Chester Street
Independent Insurance. £279.00
in respect of the Financial Ombudsman Service If
this continues it may affect the future of BDI and this in turn will ultimately
affect the health of bees and the future of beekeeping as well as the
environment. Please help to keep our beekeeping activities free of this financial and
bureaucratic burden by writing to your M.P. The
name of your M.P. may be found by visiting the World Wide Web (www.parliament.uk.)
and search index or telephone me on 01202 880789. below you will find a
suggested draft letter. You may like to use this draft or use your own words. Philip
Jacobi Secretary, Bee Diseases Insurance, Highbury, Furzehill WIMBORNE, BH21 4HD House
of Commons LONDON SW1A
OAA
Date ................. Dear.......................... I
write to you as a member of (or on behalf of )
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Beekeeping Association. I
am sure that you will know that the honey bee plays a vital role in the
environment by pollinating both wild flowers and many agricultural crops as they
forage for nectar and pollen. The value of such crops grown in the UK is
estimated at billions of pounds annually. The essential and valuable activities
of bees depend upon the beekeepers maintaining a healthy population of honey
bees. As
with other forms of livestock, honey bees are subject to a range of harmful
diseases and Beekeepers have to comply with the Bee Diseases Control Order 1982.
This Statutory Instrument requires beekeepers to inform the Minister for the
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if they have reason to believe
their bees have one of the specified diseases. On confirmation of the disease
the Ministry Inspector may require the diseased bees and equipment to be
destroyed by fire so as to prevent the spread of disease. To
help and encourage beekeepers to comply with the law beekeepers set up 65 years
ago a self help organisation called the Bee Diseases Insurance Limited (BDI). We
have 8,000/10,000 beekeepers who each contribute 60 pence per year per colony of
bees to a common fund from which those who suffer a loss are compensated. BDI
work closely with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural affairs and
DEFRA acknowledge the help given. We do not want another outbreak of disease
like that experienced last year with Foot and Mouth Disease. Bee Diseases
Insurance is an organisation run by beekeepers on a voluntary basis. The
officers are mostly retired people who undertake the administrative work from
their homes and without payment. There are no premises and no staff. Unfortunately
BDI have become caught up over the last few years in excessive government
control and financial restrictions intended for Commercial Organisations. We
have to pay Insurance Premium tax to Customs and Excise and Filing Fees to
Financial Services Authority. In addition during the last few weeks we have been
asked to pay £279.00 towards the support of the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme and a further £129.89 following the appointment of provisional
liquidators at Chester Street Independent Insurance. All this has nothing to do
with our hobby of beekeeping. Please
may I ask you to intervene with the FSA/DEFRA to save our self‑help group
which is working to improve the environment. For 65 years we have worked to
support MAFF/DEFRA and this is now at risk. We have to be excluded from this
excessive legislation and particularly the Financial Services Compensation
Scheme. We look forward to hearing from you in due course. |