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www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com
JUNE
Sunday 10th Beginners Meeting (7) – Martin Hann 10 am
Sunday 17th General Meeting – Jean French 10 am
Sunday 24th Beginners Meeting (8) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am JULY
Sunday 1st Improvers Meeting – David Milford 10 am
Sunday 8th Beginners Meeting (9) – Jean French 10 am
Sunday 15th General Meeting – Jean French 10 am
Sunday 22nd Beginners Meeting (10) – Neil Downing-Waite 10 am
Sunday 29th Apiary Maintenance Morning – all members welcome 10 am AUGUST (Bank Holiday: Mon 27th)
Sunday 5th Improvers Meeting – David Milford 10 am
Sunday 12th Beginners Meeting (11) – Patrick Mansfield & Terry McA 10 am
Sunday 19th General Meeting – Jean French 10 am
Sunday 26th No Meeting - Bank Holiday Weekend SEPTEMBER
Sunday 2nd Improvers Meeting – David Milford 10 am
Sunday 9th Apiary Maintenance Morning – all members welcome 10 am OCTOBER
Tuesday 9th Branch Honey Show, Blindmans Wood Scout Centre Doors open 7pm
NOVEMBER
Thursday 15th Branch AGM – Blindmans Wood Scout Centre 7.30 pm DECEMBER
Sunday 9th Branch Christmas Lunch – to be confirmed NEW DATE Saturday 15th
DBKA AGM / Beekeepers Day (hosted by Plymouth Branch)
TBC
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS’ Apiary Programme 2018
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JANUARY
Tuesday 8th Branch Meeting / Quiz: Blindmans Wood Scout Centre
7pm for 7.30 start
FEBRUARY
Tuesday 12th Branch Meeting: Blindmans Wood Scout Centre 7pm for 7.30 start
OCTOBER
Tuesday 8th Branch Honey Show: Blindmans Wood Scout Centre 6.30pm for 7.30 start
NOVEMBER
Tuesday 12th AGM: Blindmans Wood Scout Centre 7pm for 7.30 start
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 Bandvulc tyre factory
Park inside the gates, walk up the concrete path & the portacabin is on your right
The Blindmans Wood Scout Centre is on Outland Road, Plymouth PL3 5TB
Meetings will be held at the Branch Apiary Site, Lee Mill, Ivybridge unless advised otherwise
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS’ Apiary Programme 2019
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG
Hello Again
As this issue of Bee Brief hits your inboxes, we will be into June and hopefully, our colonies will be approaching their maximum population. Maximum population means maximum food consumption, so at this time of the year I make a point of issuing a gentle reminder that we should all be fully aware of the quantity of stores in our hives. This is because the risk to our bees is of starvation due to a temporary summer absence of nectar-bearing flowers. This phenomenon is known among beekeepers as “the June gap” although I am optimistic about the prospect of a very short June gap or even none at all this year because the Spring flowers were two or three weeks late due to the cold start to the season. But please don’t assume that this is correct. Too many colonies are lost due to starvation in June because their stores run out. Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen to our colonies. If stores are heavy and on several frames then there should be no problem. If there are mainly empty stores frames in the hive then you must feed. If you’re not sure whether your bees have sufficient stores, remember David Milford’s aphorism; “if in doubt, feed.”
In the last issue, I was delighted to welcome the branch’s latest intake of beginners (we have moved away from the old-fashioned term ‘novices’ as we’re not trying to persuade them to become nuns or monks!) During the last meeting of the branch’s education team it was decided that Valerie and I would hand our responsibility for the Improvers’ Group to David Milford and instead, take over the majority of the tuition on the Beginners’ Course. Thus far it has been a highly rewarding experience. Group members have listened intently to the classroom sessions, asking sensible questions and they are all building up their confidence in handling the bees. Initial reluctance and nervousness has now been replaced by a calm and positive attitude to frame inspections. I look forward to continuing to watch their confidence grow. I’m grateful to Valerie, who has taken charge of course organisation, and also to Jean French, Martin Hann, Allen Blight, Patrick Mansfield and Neil Downing-Waite who kindly agreed to deliver some of the training material. We are especially fortunate that Martin, now a branch member, has agreed to talk to the group about bee diseases. I can think of none better than an NBU Seasonal Bee Inspector to introduce this interesting, complex but somewhat depressing subject.
If you think that I have devoted an unusually large amount of space to beginners in this issue then you are correct, but I’ve done so for a good reason. That is to provide a reminder to all of us more experienced beekeepers, that today’s beginners are tomorrow’s branch committee members, bee inspectors, mentors and beekeeping tutors. We need our annual intake of beginners to secure the future of our branch; they are our future so let’s look after them. I would ask if any of our beginners contacts you and asks if you would be willing to act as their mentor, that you will be sympathetic to their request. Helping someone to develop their beekeeping knowledge and practical skills is mutually beneficial and I commend it to you.
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To finish, I would like to give you a very important date for your diaries, and that is Saturday 15 December 2018. This is the date for the first ever Devon Beekeepers’ Day and Plymouth Branch has the honour of hosting this DBKA event this year. It will be held at the Future Inn, William Prance Road, Plymouth International Business Park, PL6 5ZD. The idea is that Devon Beekeepers’ Day will be hosted by different branches around the county each year. As we are the first hosts for this event, it would be really great to see as many branch members as possible willing to support it. Details of the day will follow later in the year. Wishing you all a great season. Until August, All the best,
Terry
ASIAN HORNET UPDATES
May 2018 - New Asian Hornet Trap Recording in BeeBase Beekeeping Records
The National Bee Unit (NBU) has added a new BeeBase feature to help understand UK Asian hornet surveillance.
In April 2018 a single Asian hornet queen was photographed by a member of the public in Bury, Lancashire, on a
cauliflower which was traced back to a farm in Boston, Lincolnshire. The NBU has continued to monitor for the hornet’s
presence in both counties but to date, has found no Vespa velutina at either of these sites.
Many Beekeepers are monitoring for Asian hornets and BeeBase apiary records have been improved so beekeepers can
record when traps are located in their apiaries. Please update your records to help us understand where traps have been
placed across the UK in the ‘my apiary’ tab. Guidance on how to use the new recording feature, as well as additional
information about how to log into your BeeBase account can be found in our Beekeeper Pages FAQ.
The NBU will continue to update you on Asian Hornet surveillance throughout the year.
An article appeared in the Sun 29th May 2018 referring to a sighting in Truro:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6406713/uk-invasion-killer-asian-hornets/
Editor’s Note The Sun is not a paper I read but the article was found in an internet search for any updates on the Lancashire sighting; I cannot find any official confirmation on the DEFRA or NBU sites but thought I’d share it.
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News from France:
Warning as Asian hornets emerge early
Beekeepers in southwest (France) say they have trapped high numbers of queens already - and warn that the aggressive insects could be a menace this summer.
The mild winter has prompted bee-killing Asian hornet queens to emerge from hibernation earlier than normal, beekeepers have warned.
Apiarists in the Haute-Garonne say they have already captured more early emerging queens than in previous years - and said that they expect insect numbers to be higher than normal this summer. The hornets will be building nests under roofs, in attics, hedges, garages or even dog kennels now.
After spending the winter underground, each queen hornet builds a new nest every year. A mature colony can have up to 5,000 hornets.
First seen in the south-west of France in 2004, the Asian hornet has rapidly spread across the country. They made it as far as Rennes, Brittany, by 2011 - and have now crossed the Channel to the UK.
While its venom is no more powerful than its European counterpart, the aggressive hornets are known to attack people who come within five metres of their nests.
As reported, mild conditions over winter have already prompted the early return of mosquitoes, which were first reported in the Haute-Garonne in February.
Thanks to Brian French for sharing this item from The Connexion, French news and views
https://www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Warning-as-Asian-hornets-emerge-early
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SURVEY ON COLONY LOSS
Terry
Letter from COLOSS
Dear Beekeeper.
In the last decade, elevated losses of western honey bee colonies have been observed, mainly in
Europe and North America, but the underlying causes still remain unclear. In 2008, European and
USA honey bee experts formed a network "COLOSS" realising that efforts by individual countries
to identify the drivers of losses were unlikely to succeed, given the current consensus that causes
are complex and can be different between regions and between the years. Now more than 1000
scientists are working together in this network in specific working groups.
The epidemiological working group have developed a standardised questionnaire to identify the
underlying causal factors of losses and provide beekeepers sustainable management strategies.
We now invite you to fill in the questionnaire for 2018 which you will find below. This will enable
us to compare your answers with other beekeepers. With your data we can estimate the relative
risk of colony losses for beekeeper decisions such as Varroa treatment, migration of colonies and
comb replacement. We also aim to identify differences in relative mortality risk between regions.
This will enable follow up research projects in specific regions.
At your option your personal details may be recorded however we undertake not to disclose them
to any third party to protect your privacy.
Finally your help is much appreciated. Please can I ask you to promote this survey and the
questionnaire link through this open letter to as many English bee keepers as you are able to do
so. Feel free to share the link by email, word of mouth, newsletters or social media and to your
local bee keeping organisations. In doing so you will be making a contribution to tackling the
problem of colony losses and ensuring that English data is represented as an equal partner in the
COLOSS European community.
The survey link : http://www.bee-survey.com/index.php/246176?lang=en
Thanking you
Dr Anthony Williams
COLOSS Survey Coordinator for England
De Montfort University
A Member of Leicester and Rutland Beekeepers Association and Rugby Beekeepers
Association
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0116 207 8468
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PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS LIBRARY - UPDATE
The library books and DVDs are now permanently
kept at the apiary site on a very smart new shelf unit.
The books are still separated into the three
categories (Novices; General; Specialised) and have
been re-numbered with a colour-coded system to
help you more easily choose the right book for you.
The new numbers are on the website.
The DVDs remain with their old numbers.
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
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com/LibraryBooks
Has anyone else tried the Mugwort that Martin Hann mentioned at the 2017 honey show? I used it and it seems to work well deterring wax moth. More about Mugwort can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort
Liz Wallis
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Stingless Peruvian Bees By Matthew Elmes
During my trip to Peru I stayed with the Shipibo people. I told them I am starting beekeeping and the next morning they took me to the forest to show me a tree with bees in it. They harvested the honey and left the brood and the bees rebuilt the hive. I then gave them $50 to have a box hive built by a carpenter so they could sustainably harvest the honey next time around. I'm looking to put a proposal together to go out and help them make some more hives at a later date. I have some amazing videos and am currently researching the species and methods so I will send to you when I'm finished.
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Contact Details – Plymouth Branch
MEMBER ADVERT
Chairman
Terry McAuliffe
219573
Acting Vice Chair
Neil Downing-Waite
309483 [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
Social Secretaries
Jean & Steve Russell
215827 [email protected]
DBKA Website - Members Area Password:
If you have forgotten the password, contact Terry McAuliffe or Jean French.
Member Advert
For Sale
Colonies of overwintered Bees £110
6 Frame Nucleuses with first cross Italian Queens ready from
June onward £85.
8+ frame colonies £110
First cross Italian Queens £18 ready from June onwards.
Contact Roger Round.
7 Buena Vista Close, Glenholt, Plymouth PL6 7JH
Telephone 01752 701945
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UPDATE
Asian Hornet The experience of Martyn Hocking, the Woolacombe beekeeper who correctly identified the Asian Hornet last year, led to an event in Devon which was attended by local beekeepers and members of the NBU. Video link. Asian Hornet Action Teams were initiated by Colin Lodge, Torbay BKA, with the aim of fighting the establishment of Asian Hornets, by speeding up the identification and verification process, to enable the NBU to deal with any Asian Hornet incursion/s efficiently and cost effectively. This new website AHAT.org.uk provides more information about the aims of the AHAT concept, guidance for beekeepers and association/branches and a place to register your BKA’s Asian Hornet Action Team. While we all hope we can keep this pest at bay, let’s be prepared. So take a look and encourage your group to set up an Action Team now, just in case the Asian Hornet does appear in your Apiary. You will be providing much needed support to both the NBU (National Bee Unit) and the NNSS (Non-Native Species Secretariat) for the protection of our bees.
Not Bothered by Balsam?
Bee Craft is planning to write an article about non-native 'invasive' species of plant that bother some naturalists but which can be of benefit to our bees. In particular, we would like to hear from you if large quantities of Himalayan balsam grow in your area. If you feel your bees benefit from this flower, and especially if you get a crop of honey from it, deputy editor Richard Rickitt would like to hear from you. You can contact him at [email protected] I hope you find at least some of the above of interest, but don't forget we also use our Facebook page to pass on even more information we think you might like to know. So check us out there too and please Like our page and follow us. Until next time Wendy and the Bee Craft team
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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, Devon,
TQ11 0HN Tel/Fax: 01364 642517 Mobile: 07769 878476 Email: [email protected] Please Phone before you make a visit
