Plymouth Branch Newsletter May 2017 - Microsoftbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site2056/Bee Brief...
Transcript of Plymouth Branch Newsletter May 2017 - Microsoftbtckstorage.blob.core.windows.net/site2056/Bee Brief...
2
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
MAY (Bank Holidays: Mon 1st + Mon 29th)
Sunday 14th
Sunday 21st
Sunday 28th
Novice Meeting
General Meeting
No Meeting (Bank Holiday Weekend)
10 am
10 am
JUNE
Sunday 4th
Saturday 11th
Sunday 18th
Sunday 25th
Improvers Meeting
Novice Meeting
General Meeting
Novice Meeting
10 am
10 am
10 am
10 am
JULY
Sunday 2nd
Improvers Meeting
10 am
Sunday 9th Novice Meeting 10 am
Sunday 16th General Meeting
10 am
Sunday 23rd Novice Meeting
10 am
Sunday 30th Novice Meeting
10 am
AUGUST (Bank Holiday: Mon 28th)
Sunday 6th
Improvers Meeting
10 am
Sunday 13th Novice Meeting 10 am
Sunday 20th General Meeting 10 am
Sunday 27th No Meeting (Bank Holiday Weekend)
SEPTEMBER
Sunday 3rd
Improvers Meeting
10 am
Sunday 10th
Novice Meeting
10 am
Sunday 17th
General Meeting inc. Apiary Maintenance – all members
10 am
OCTOBER
Thursday 12th
Branch Honey Show – Elburton Village Hall – Judge: Jack Mummery
7 pm
NOVEMBER
Thursday 23rd
Branch AGM - Elburton Village Hall
7.30 pm
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS’ Apiary Programme 2017
3
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
Directions to Branch Apiary at Lee Mill, Ivybridge:
Turn left off the A38 at Lee Mill and follow the signs for Tesco
Drive past the Tesco entrance, take next right for Central Avenue on the industrial estate
Drive down the hill of Central Avenue, looking for East Way on your right
Drive along East Way, looking for Cadleigh Close on your left
Drive into Cadleigh Close; the apiary site is behind the big iron gates of the tyre factory
Park inside the gates, walk up the concrete path & the portacabin is on your right
…………………………………………………………………………
Thinking of
redecorating the PBKA portacabin?
Essener Wallpaper produce this lovely
wallpaper in different colours– £36.47 a roll +
p&p on EBay
Meetings will be held at the Branch Apiary Site unless advised otherwise
4
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
CHAIRMAN’S BLOG
Hello again Plymouth (and district) beekeepers. Now that May has arrived after an unpleasantly cold snap, I imagine that most of us will be busy trying to ensure that our bees don’t swarm. This is, of course, the time of the year when the risk of swarming peaks, but as Patrick will tell you, he’s had call outs for swarms as early as March and as late as October! If you are a novice or an inexperienced beekeeper, do give your bees enough space to thrive and please check carefully for signs of swarm preparation. What you may think is a play cell (AKA play cup) near the edge of the frame might well have a small grub at the bottom surrounded by white royal jelly. It’s very easy to miss, so it’s important to look carefully. If you see a grub in a queen cup, it is the beginning of a new queen cell and is a sign that your bees are preparing to swarm. You will need to take timely action to prevent this from happening. Don’t wait until you see the long, monkey nut shaped capped queen cells because if you do, it will probably be too late; your bees may already have swarmed. As well as causing alarm to neighbours, swarms will seriously deplete your honey crop because at least half of your colony will disappear with a prime swarm. And if you have a number of casts (secondary swarms) afterwards then you are unlikely to get any honey at all because your colony will be so badly depleted. So even if you have lost a prime swarm, it’s worth having a thorough check through the brood frames for further sealed queen cells (there may be several); choose one or two to preserve, and knock the rest down because every emergent queen can result in a cast. For more detailed reading on queen cells in your hive please follow this link….. Good advice from Wally Shaw
Now those of you who still read my monthly blog will remember that last month, I promised to explain why I thought that an appropriate collective noun for beekeepers was a dichotomy. It’s not a commonly used word and several definitions can be found on-line. However, the clearest is “a division into two contrasting parts or categories”. I first came across this word in my late teens, so yes; it was a long time ago! I was reading a book called the Industrial Archaeology of the Tamar Valley, written by Western Morning News journalist Frank Booker, and now long out of print. The first chapter is an introduction to the character of the valley and Mr Booker entitled it ‘The Strange Dichotomy.’ My youthful vocabulary didn’t extend to this word so I had to find a dictionary and look it up. When I started reading this chapter I soon understood what Mr Booker meant. He used ‘dichotomy’ to illustrate that the Tamar Valley is:
An area of outstanding natural beauty with breathtaking scenery where a variety of luscious fruit and colourful flowers are grown; but is also
An area with a recent history of polluting heavy industrial activity including mining for copper, silver, lead and the highly toxic metal, arsenic
5
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
Well, if you’re still reading you may by now be wondering what this has to do with beekeepers (apart from the fact that beekeeping also thrives in the Tamar Valley). The clue is in the contrast. Ever since Valerie and I were novices we have witnessed and experienced in other beekeepers, amazing generosity of spirit, willingness to give up time to teach or to help other beekeepers in difficulty and an ever-present readiness to solve technical problems when less experienced beekeepers ask for help. When I had to move my bees because of my next-door neighbour’s anaphylactic reaction to a sting, I was inundated with offers of help to move them; many from Plymouth Branch members I had never even met. It seemed to us that beekeepers were often the most generous, kind-hearted, caring and sympathetic of people. However, to satisfy the definition of dichotomy and demonstrate a contrast, it is necessary to explore the alternative strand. This emerges when one of those same kind, caring, generous beekeepers has a difference of view with another equally kind, caring and generous beekeeper. Then, sadly, acrimony can sometimes emerge. Now I must emphasise that this does not apply to all beekeepers but it does apply to quite a few that I have met around the county. Many beekeepers tend to have deeply entrenched views about the correct way to carry out various elements of colony or association management, and if another beekeeper has a different view, the tension between the two can often boil over into a bitter dispute. At national level a year or so ago, matters became so toxic between a few BBKA trustees (all beekeepers of course) that the BBKA Executive Committee tried to remove one of them from office. The attempt was not successful but the BBKA spent thousands of pounds of (our) money in trying, including paying for a retired barrister to chair the Special Delegate Meeting to decide on deselection. So yes, beekeepers can find all manner of things to disagree about and sadly, sometimes the disagreements get personal. But I think it’s a fair bet that any two beekeepers locked in an acrimonious dispute would still, as individuals, exhibit the same generous, sympathetic and caring nature towards others that I mentioned earlier.
So, I contend that I have presented some fairly persuasive evidence that at least some beekeepers represent a dichotomy. But do I really think it would catch on as a collective noun? No, not really, but I do hope it’s given you all something to think (and maybe smile) about.
Until next month, All the best
Terry
6
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
To: Homebase and other UK retailers Don't sell plants treated with bee-harming pesticides
A 38 Degrees Campaign has been created by Beekeeper Martin Corbett who says, “Harmful pesticides are killing our bees at an alarming rate. They're currently banned across fields in Europe, but many garden centres are still selling flowering plants that have been treated with the killer pesticides.
I'm a beekeeper, and I was really pleased this week when B&Q announced that from Feb 2018 they are going to stop their suppliers from using these pesticides on any of the flowering plants they sell. There's no reason that other garden centres can't introduce the same rule to protect our bees”.
Use this link to sign the Petition
7
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
Please don’t forget to send in your photos now the season
has begun and you are in your apiaries more often
Steve and Jean Russell
One of Steve and Jean’s apiary sites in the summer time
8
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS LIBRARY
A complete list of the books is available on the website, so please spare a few
minutes to look at the available titles. The library also has a small quantity of
DVDs. Books and DVDs can be borrowed for one calendar month, after which
they should be returned or renewed. Renewal can be by telephone or by email. Failure to
return or renew results in a small fine.
If you have a request on a particular topic and would like help to choose the right book please
contact me and I’ll be happy to help. If you read one of the books and can recommend it (or
otherwise) then please let me have your feedback.
Liz Wallis, Windlestraw, Penquit, Ivybridge PL21 0LU
01752 698384
Link to PBKA Library
http://www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com/LibraryBooks
…………………………………………………………………………
It’s that time of year again; the Seasonal Bee Inspector is out and about….
Martin first inspected Neil’s home apiary (2 hives) which backs onto Ham Woods and these were given a clean bill of health. He then inspected Neil’s out apiary - a sentinel apiary at May & Fry’s Allotments. The debris on the inspection tray of the hive at the sentinel apiary was sent to the NBU laboratory for analysis. The results came back positive for Varroa – surprise, surprise, but thankfully negative for Asian Hornet, Small Hive Beetle and Tropilaelaps.
The bees were given a clean bill of health which was a relief as there are hives with European Foul Brood (EFB) within a 3 km
radius.
PBKA member, Neil with
Martin Hann, Seasonal Bee Inspector
9
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
DBKA County Honey Show - 18th to 20th May 2017
DEVON COUNTY SHOW HONEY SALES
How about sending your hive products to
join the wonderful display of members’
products to be sold at the County Show this
year?
We sell anything and everything from the
hive: for example honey, candles, cosmetics,
marmalade, chutney, bee decorated mugs
and greetings cards, you name it the sales
team will do their best to sell it!
Devon beekeepers takes 20% commission on the selling price. For selling prices please
see DBKA website. Anything to sell that is not in the list, you set the price.
Please let me know as soon as possible what you can offer and don’t forget the donation
of a jar or two of honey to the taste of honey stall really helps to sell yours.
Jack Mummery
Tel: 01598 760209
10
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
The Buzz – Honeybees & Beekeeping
Can Mushrooms Save the Honey Bee?
Scientists continue to search for causes of honey bee decline and some have turned their attention to developing new, more sustainable solutions. One of the more surprising and promising of these strategies is the use of compounds produced by a widely-distributed mushroom (Metarhizium anisopliae) that is known to parasitize a number of different insects. Researchers from Washington State University have found that spores and extracts from this mushroom are particularly toxic to varroa mites but—in low doses—leave bees unharmed. In fact, bees in hives treated with Metarhizium tend to be much healthier and live longer than those in untreated hives. Read more on the Biographic website:
http://www.biographic.com/posts/sto/can-mushrooms-save-the-honey-bee
How the Varroa Mite Co-Opts Honey Bee Behaviours to Its Own Advantage
While the Varroa destructor mite is not highly mobile on its own, it takes advantage of the behaviours of honey bees in managed beekeeping settings to spread. In particular, bee colonies in close proximity to each other and less swarming allow mite populations to grow, according to new research.
Read more on the Entomology Today website:
https://entomologytoday.org/2017/05/10/how-the-varroa-mite-co-opts-honey-bee-behaviors-to-its-own-advantage/
The flight of the honey bee is considerably messed up thanks to a common pesticide
A key to the epidemic of honey bee colony collapse may be an agricultural pesticide that impairs bees’ ability to fly, according to a paper published on April 26th in the journal Scientific Reports.
Read more on the Quartz website:
https://qz.com/969630/the-flight-of-the-honey-bee-is-considerably-messed-up-
thanks-to-a-common-pesticide/
11
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
Contact Details – Plymouth Branch
Chairman
Terry McAuliffe
219573
Vice Chair Claude Pool 787212 [email protected]
Secretary Jean French 338279 [email protected]
Treasurer Bernie Talling 709470 [email protected]
Editor Dawn Clarke 309483 [email protected]
Branch Librarian
Liz Wallis 698384 [email protected]
Apiary Manager
Patrick Mansfield
07887 997764
DBKA Website - Members Area Password:
If you have forgotten the password, contact Terry McAuliffe or Jean French.
Member Advert
12
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
FOR SALE
Double Hive Stand
Made out of
4” x 2” wood
£10
Contact:
Bill Finnemore
Tel: 01752 404184
Roger Round. [email protected]
Telephone 01752 701945
13
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
HEMBURY BEE SUPPLIES
Agents for the main
manufacturers.
We can supply all your Beekeeping needs.
Foundation – Hives – Frames -
Jars And many, many more
We can be found at:
John Harler
Outer Finches Hembury Cock Hill,
Buckfast TQ11 0HN
Tel/Fax: 01364 642517 Mobile: 07769878476 Email: [email protected]
Please phone before you visit