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BEE BRIEF Plymouth Branch Newsletter
December 2017 / January 2018
Merry Christmas
and a
Happy New Year
Plymouth Beekeepers
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DECEMBER
Sunday 10th
Branch Christmas Lunch – Boringdon Golf Club Meet at 12.15 for sit down at 12.30
JANUARY 2018
Thursday 11th
Branch Meeting: Speaker Clare Densley – Preparing for Spring. Elburton Village Hall
7.30pm
Wednesday 24th
Winter Study Group: Beekeeping Quiz (lots of fun & will serve as a knowledge refresher) Venue: Blindman’s Wood Scout Centre, Outland Road PL3 5TB
7pm for 7.30 start
FEBRUARY
Thursday 8th
Branch Meeting: Speaker: Terry McAuliffe – Beekeeping and the Law Elburton Village Hall
7.30pm
Wednesday 21st
Winter Study Group: Film Night “More than Honey” Venue: Blindman’s Wood Scout Centre, Outland Road PL3 5TB
7pm for a 7.30 start
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
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS’ Apiary Programme 2017 / 18
Meetings will be held at the Branch Apiary Site unless advised otherwise
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG 1
THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY
In 2013 I entered a national competition for a judicial post in the South West. The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) ran the selection tests and the subsequent interviews and those tests were very tough indeed. So I was delighted to have been successful, but as the main requirement was to prove to the selectors that you were fair, unbiased and even-handed in your approach, I have been surprised and rather disappointed to be accused of bias and unfairness when acting as chairman, twice in two months by the same person. At the committee meeting we held on 10 October, I was subjected to a tirade of verbal abuse in an ill-tempered outburst, witnessed by all committee members present. The second occasion was the AGM on 23rd November and although my accuser’s tone was more measured this time, the content was essentially the same; a character assassination of me and an assault on my integrity as chairman.
Those of you who attended the AGM will have heard the second of those accusatory speeches and a further speech by one of my accuser’s supporters. You will have been told all about my shortcomings as a chairman. I am not going to dignify them by replying. I am simply going to ask everyone to look at a Latin phrase about disputes that I first met when I was studying law; that is audi alteram partem. It means, ‘you must always hear the other side.’ You only heard one side at the AGM because my accusers knew that I was not in a position to respond to them. So, if you would like to know what really happened at the committee meeting on 10th October, do please contact our secretary, Jean French and ask her to send you a copy of the minutes of that meeting. They are currently in draft form but have been approved in draft by a majority of the committee.
A REMINDER - 2018 MEMBERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS
Your membership subscription for 2018 will soon be due and should be renewed by end
of December 2017. (Membership runs from January to December).
As per last year, payment can be made electronically, by cheque or cash.
If you are making an electronic payment, please do remember to complete a membership
form and send to Bernie.
A copy of the 2018 membership form can be obtained from our Treasurer
(Bernie Talling) or myself.
Jean French – Branch Secretary
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PLYMOUTH BRANCH CHRISTMAS LUNCH The branch Christmas lunch has been organised for this Sunday 10th December at Boringdon Park Golf Club – arrive from 12 noon for 12.30pm sit down.
One course £10.00 Two courses £15.00 Three Courses £20.00
If you did not indicate your intention at the AGM to attend, please advise by telephone or email as soon as possible. Many thanks
JEAN & STEVE RUSSELL
Social Secretaries Tel: Plymouth 215827 Email: [email protected]
We have had a few queries from members of the public and BKAs
throughout the UK asking about speakers who cover alternative topics to
those listed in our current 'Speakers List.'
Topics such as cosmetics, mead making and alternative medicines have all
come to the fore.
Please communicate this to your membership and if anybody is interested,
could you kindly ask them to contact the office at [email protected].
If anybody is available to talk on cosmetics in early 2018, one of our Yorkshire
BKAs has expressed an interest in hosting a speaker at their eve
Kind regards
Claire Hartry
Fundraising Administrator BBKA
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG 2
I would like to use Blog 2 to send warmest season’s greetings to all members
from Valerie and me. It has been an uplifting experience to receive so much
support from committee members and the general membership throughout
2017. It has not been an easy year but there have been some notable ‘high
spots’ such as commissioning the new ‘portacabin’ and the most successful
honey show the Branch has held in recent years. I could not have continued in
my role without your support, and again, with your support, I hope to continue
my work as chairman throughout 2018. In closing I would like to extend my
heartfelt thanks to those many committee members and general members
who e-mailed me, telephoned me or spoke to me with messages of
encouragement after they witnessed the verbal attack on me and my integrity
as chairman at the AGM.
DEVON BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION
Registered Charity No 270675
General Secretary - Barry Neal,
Badgers Barn, Withacott, Langtree, Torrington EX38 8NL
Tel: 01805-601715; 07789-435477;
Email: [email protected]
Annual General Meeting 2018
The Devon Beekeepers’ Association (DBKA) Annual General Meeting
will be held in the Bridge Suite, the ISCA Centre, Summer Lane,
Whipton, Exeter EX4 8NT
at 10.15 am on Saturday 3rd March 2018
An agenda and further details will be published in due course
in Beekeeping Magazine
Proposals for agenda items and nominations for election to DBKA County Officer
posts (DBKA Website refers) must be forwarded to the DBKA General Secretary
no later than Wednesday 3rd January 2018
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PBKA member Joel Rouse returned from the Caribbean in October
where he was supporting Operation Ruman; a Humanitarian Aid
and Disaster Relief operation to support the British Virgin Islands
after Hurricane Irma.
Joel wrote, “I happened to be photographing someone when a swarm of bees
landed on a tree right next to us. If you look closely you can see them flying
around the man with the umbrella. They somehow survived a category 5
hurricane, followed by a category 3 hurricane and seemed to be thriving
despite the lack of vegetation which was totally striped from all the islands.
I visited a few islands during my time out there and noticed bees on each of
them.”
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Dear Devon Beekeepers, We are beekeepers near Totnes, in South Devon, who are responding to the fact that Asian Hornets were found in North Devon this autumn as well as Tetbury and North Somerset in 2016. Having read Martyn Hocking’s article that was published in both the November editions of 'Bee Craft' and ‘Beekeeping - Devon Beekeepers’ magazine' about his experience of finding Asian Hornets in his apiary near Woolacombe in North Devon this autumn - see p. 172 at this link: http://www.devonbeekeepers.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017-Novemberweb.pdf; we have been in touch with him and have called an open meeting – detail on next page As we are expecting much interest in this meeting, we would appreciate being contacted by anyone wishing to attend, so can have sufficient refreshments available at the hall during the meeting and we can put anyone needing accommodation in touch with the local B&B’s in the area. A follow up article has since been written by Martyn, in which he makes various suggestions about how beekeepers can be given better support should they find themselves in his situation. This second article will be printed in the December/January edition of ‘Beekeeping - Devon Beekeepers’ magazine’. Martyn feels that there is only a short time in which to get organised and prepared for the arrival of the next Asian Hornet queen, if we are to have any chance of keeping this non-native species out of the UK. We have invited beekeepers from across SW England, in the hope that representatives from each county in the SW are present to share experiences and thoughts for the future and there are already beekeepers coming from Cornwall, Dorset, South Gloucestershire and Bath. We would be most grateful if you could please advertise the above information to all beekeepers in your branch. We are also hoping that representatives from other organisations with an interest in the Asian Hornet will be present at the meeting and we are in touch with the Devon Non-Native Species Initiative. We look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Jill & Ken Beagley
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Open Meeting
Our guest speaker will be Martyn Hocking from Woolacombe,
who will be talking about his experience of finding Asian Hornets in his apiary. After which, there will be a discussion about a range of issues that have
arisen.
2.00pm - 5.00pm on Saturday, 20th January, 2018
in Harberton Parish Hall, Harberton, Totnes, TQ9 7SD
Beekeepers from across SW England and representatives of organisations
with a special interest in the Asian Hornet have been invited.
Ample parking is available, though to help reduce numbers of cars, if possible, please share lifts.
Please contact Jill & Ken Beagley if you would like to attend.
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Your Committee for 2017/2018 as elected at the AGM 23.11.17
Office
Present Holder
Honorary President
Bill Finnemore
Chair
Terry McAuliffe
Vice-Chair
Vacant
Secretary
Jean French
Treasurer
Bernie Talling
Apiary Manager
Patrick Mansfield
Apiary Manager’s Assistants
Allen Blight, Neil Downing Waite & Claude Pool
Librarian
Lizzie Wallis
Editor
Dawn Clarke/Neil Downing-Waite
Assistant Editor
VACANT
Education Team
Neil Downing-Waite, Jean French, Patrick Mansfield, Terry & Valerie McAuliffe & Annette Quartly (on passing her BBKA Basic Assessment)
Social & Honey Show Secretary
Steve and Jean Russell
Microscopists
Mac McCorry
Spray Liaison Officer
Annette Quartly
Jean French, Branch Secretary, on behalf of The Committee
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PBA member Anne Blight submitted an article in the Telegraph about this research – I couldn’t access it well enough to reproduce so have found a link to another summary. Many thanks Anne
Bees can be left- or right-handed, researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have discovered. In a paper published in the journal PLOS One, the scientists, led by Marielle Ong of the university’s Queensland Brain Institute, also demonstrate that honeybees can discriminate between the sizes of two apertures while travelling towards them and choose the larger one through which to pass. This behaviour, the researchers suggest, indicates that the insects select for passages – through foliage, for instance – that carry less risk of injury. Ong and her colleagues conducted a battery of tests with bees, using a variety of two-aperture screens. Where the two holes differed in size, the bees, on average, opted for the larger one – a tendency which increased sharply as the size differential increased. Tests using two holes of the same size revealed an interesting outcome. When all flights by all bees were averaged, there was no bias towards the left or right hole. Looking at repeated flights by individual bees, however, revealed a different pattern. Some 55% each chose the left or right hole roughly an equal amount of times. But the remaining 45% showed distinct bias – split equally between those that favoured the left hole, and those that preferred the right. The bias remained even when the two holes were of different sizes. The researchers note that “transit time was longer if a bee’s intrinsic bias forced it to engage with the narrower aperture.” Ong and her team note that the research is the first to show definite handedness in individual bees. They suggest that the distribution of this type of bias is advantageous to the colony as a hole, because it is helpful in “facilitating rapid transit of a group of bees through a cluttered environment, without any centralised decision-making or control”.
Source: https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/bees-can-be-left-or-right-handed
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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
Contact Details – Plymouth Branch
Link to PBKA Library
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com/LibraryBooks
Chairman
Terry McAuliffe
219573
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
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The Buzz – Honeybees & Beekeeping
Syrian beekeeper tastes sweet success with British honeybees
Building anew in northern England, refugee Ryad Alsous has become an advocate for native species and passes on his beekeeping knowledge to others.
Read more on the UN Refugee Agency website:
http://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2017/12/5a26b73b4/syrian-beekeeper-tastes-sweet-success-british-honeybees.html
What Is It Like to Be a Bee?
A philosophical and neurobiological look into the apian mind.
Read more on the Atlas Obscura website:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bee
Watchdog links pesticide to bee decline
Pesticides made by some of Europe’s agrichemical giants can have a negative effect on the health of honeybees, according to the Continent’s top food safety agency. Draft findings from the European Food Safety Authority feed into a long-running, heated and so far inconclusive debate into why Europe’s bee populations are in decline.
Read more on the Politico EU website:
https://www.politico.eu/article/food-safety-watchdog-links-pesticide-to-bee-decline/
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Due to illness a lapsed member is hoping to sell his hives and equipment at a nominal cost.
Included are the following:
· Two cedar hives– there are no bees
· Bee jacket
· Smoker and hive tool
· Two feeders
· Super plus frames
· Various new brood frames and foundation
Please contact Steve on 07902 152653 if interested.
Ivybridge area
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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 TQ11 0HN
Tel/Fax: 01364 642517 Mobile: 07769878476 Email: [email protected]
Please phone before you visit
