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Chairman
David Milford
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Secretary
Jean French
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Jean [email protected]
Treasurer
Bernie Talling
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Editor Dawn Clarke 309483 [email protected]
Plym Branch News Letter May 2014
PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS APIARY PROGRAMME 2014
MAY / JUNE / JULY
MAY (Bank Holidays Mon 5th + Mon 26th)
Sunday 11th 10 am Novice Meeting (5) Sunday 19th 10 am Novice Meeting (6) Sunday** 25th 10 am Improvers Meeting (3) – All Members
JUNE
Sunday 1st 10 am General Apiary Meeting – All Members Talk: Summer Plans – Kathy Lovegrove/Steve Arthur Sunday 8th 10 am Novice Meeting (7) Sunday 15th 10 am Novice Meeting (8) Sunday 22nd 10 am Improvers Meeting (4) – All Members Sunday 29th 10 am General Apiary Meeting – All Members
JULY Sunday 6th 10 am General Apiary Meeting – All Members Sunday 13th 10 am Novice Meeting (9) Sunday 20th 10 am Novice Meeting (10) Sunday 27th 10 am Improvers Meeting (5) – All Members
Branch Meetings 2014
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Chairman’s Blog – May 2014
What a difference this Spring has been compared to last year. Beekeepers tell me that their colonies are strong and mine are the same. Indeed, swarm cells are being built in some of my colonies, so action is necessary. Whatever you do, don’t panic when you see queen cells. A calm evaluation of the situation is needed. Is the “old” queen still there? If
so, how old is she? If she is into her third year, her laying rate may or may not be slowing, so you can either (a) bump her off, (b) put her in a nuc or (c) do an artificial swarm. If you decide on a or b, you will need to go through the hive and select a good unsealed queen cell. Make sure it is well charged, knock off any other QCs on that frame and go through the rest of hive twice or more to remove any other QCs. Make sure you mark the frame with the QC. 4 or 5 days later, return to the hive and check that the QC you selected is undamaged and sealed. Destroy any other QCs. Some beekeepers recommend leaving two good QCs. The choice is yours, but the emergence of the first queen may lead to that colony swarming before the second one emerges. A few weeks later, weather and good fortune permitting, you will have a healthy young queen laying like mad. The reason for (b) is that if it all goes wrong, you can unite the old queen back to the colony.
If you decide on an artificial swarm, there are a number of ways to do this. I like a simple life, so I use a simple method. Prepare a new hive (NH) complete with frames of foundation and site it temporarily behind the parent colony (PC). Open the PC and find the queen. Check that there are no queen cells on this frame and place it in the centre of the NH. Fill the NH with the remaining new frames and put the crown board on. Put a frame of foundation in the PC to replace the one you removed with the queen on it. Close up the PC and move at least six feet (2 metres) away. Put the NH on the original site. All the flying bees will return to it. Any supers should be placed on the PC. It will be helpful to feed a gallon of 1:1 sugar syrup to the NH, especially if the weather is mixed. You can also go through the PC and reduce the number of QCs to one or two – I prefer one good one. Then leave both colonies alone for a few weeks, after which an inspection should reveal two thriving colonies. It will come as no surprise to our older members that this is the method that John Yates recommended and he was never wrong!
I am delighted that we have a good number of applicants for the Basic Assessment this year. I am confident that they will all pass, but will one of them continue the tradition started this year that a Plymouth member will win the Frank Alston skep for achieving the highest marks? Only time will tell.
The busiest months of the beekeeping year are upon us, so let us all hope that we will have a great summer, bumper honey crops and minimal swarming.
Enjoy!
David
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First Swarm of the Season? 17
th April 2014
Photos submitted by Neil Downing-Waite
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AN UPDATE FROM YOUR EDUCATION TEAM
Hi there........... this month the branch apiary programme consists of:
- Two Novice sessions (11th and 18th)
- An Improvers meeting on Sunday 25th run by David Milford
All members are very welcome to attend the Improvers session (I find the ‘Question and Answer’ session very helpful) so do please come along.
The Novice sessions are running well with lots of interest and enthusiasm shown from our new beekeepers. Feedback is very positive. Here’s a quote from one of our new members “I really enjoy the bee meetings and I must say that the standard of teaching is excellent & very informative”.
Anyone interested in taking their BBKA Basic Assessment this year, please contact David Milford.......if he has not already contacted you. Full details of the Basic Assessment can be found on the BBKA website.
The DBKA Celebrity Lecture on Tuesday 8th April was well attended, with 8 people coming from Plymouth branch. Although the lecture itself was a bit short time-wise, the ‘Question’ session was very ‘lively’ and it was a great opportunity to meet beekeepers from the other Devon branches. I’m sure there will be more Lectures and Conferences planned during 2014 – we will keep you posted.
The General/Improvers meeting held on Sunday 27th April began with the general meeting where Kathy L/Steve A talked about Spring Plans including swarming (and it’s prevention), how to raise a ‘quality’ nuc and what makes a good nuc. This was a very inter-active and enjoyable session with lots of questions being asked and beekeeping experiences shared. Following this, David M. headed up the Improvers session; the main topic was the BBKA Basic Assessment but also included a very useful ‘Question and Answer’ session, with everyone participating and a few stories thrown in for good measure!
The meeting was well attended, with 24 members plus 2 visitors from Totnes and Kingsbridge branch (John Harler and Joe McGuckin) who advised us that Totnes and Kingsbridge branch will be hosting a Beekeepers Convention again this year (Saturday 18th October). More details will follow and I am sure we can arrange some car sharing for those wanting to attend.
Finally, the Education Team would appreciate your feedback on the Improvers and General Meetings..........so I look forward to your emails with your comments in due course.
See you at the next branch meeting.....
Jean French On behalf of the Education Team
(David Milford, Kathy Lovegrove, Steve Arthur, Neil Downing-Waite, Roger Round)
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SOME of Plymouth’s roadside verges will be changing this month to prepare for some ‘V.I.Bee’ guests in a pioneering project.
Plymouth City Council is thought to be the first local authority to create bee verges – which are specifically designed to appeal to pollinators such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies. The highway havens will have low-growing wildflower meadow plants such as red clover, birds-foot trefoil and knapweed to provide nectar and pollen for the bees and bugs. To prepare the way for the busy bees, council staff are carrying out work along some of the main verges into the city, including Tavistock Road – near the Crownhill flyover, Embankment Road near the Laira turn off, Weston Mill bypass and along Billacombe Road.
Our species of bees and other pollinating insects including butterflies, moths and hoverflies have experienced decline in recent decades, raising concerns about the potential effect on food supplies, gardens and the countryside. Factors including pesticides, loss of habitat and more intensive agriculture are thought to be to blame.
The Council has been working closely with the charity Buglife – whose slogan is ‘saving the small things that run the planet’ to ensure what’s planted will create a buzz among the city’s insects.
Councillor Brian Vincent, Cabinet member for the environment said: “Plymouth has heaps of green space – more than many other cities – but we all need to make a concerted effort to counter some of the worrying trends. "Making a small change locally could help the global picture – without the bees, we would all be in serious trouble.”
Work on the verges has started and the whole planting scheme is expected to be carried out in two phases – firstly, removing turf and preparing the soil, then sowing the wildflowers. Councillor Vincent added: “Bear with us while we carry out the work – come spring, the colours of the countryside will be lining the entrance to the city.”
Buglife and Plymouth City Council has been working to create five hectares of meadows as part of Plymouth’s Buzzing, a two-year project that has been supported by a £45,000 Heritage Lottery Fund grant. Rupert Goddard, project officer at Buglife, said: “It’s great to work with our council to continue the work of Plymouth’s Buzzing beyond our parks, out into our road networks. Buzzing bees spend summer collecting nectar and pollen to feed their young, and in the process pollinate our wildflowers, garden plants and crops. Other insects such as beetles, butterflies, flies and moths also perform this important task of pollination. Wild insects pollinate our food for free, without our pollinators we wouldn't have crops such as apples, cherries, pears, plums, pumpkins and strawberries. By transforming unused grassland into bee-friendly verges and wildflower meadows, we are helping to reverse this trend.”
Jerry Fowler | Project Engineer Defence Systems Technology | Marine & Technology Babcock International Group Devonport Royal Dockyard | Plymouth | Devon | PL1 4SG Tel: 01752 325 302 | Fax: 566883 | [email protected] www.babcockinternational.com/
Article from the Plymouth Herald (9/4/14) http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Britain-s-bee-verges-created-Plymouth/story-20922896-detail/story.html
Submitted by Ian Dinnacombe
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More information about Buglife can be found at: www.buglife.org.uk/local/buglife-south-west
DON'T SELL ALL YOUR HONEY YET!
Devon County Show honey sales needs your honey and other hive products
to sell at this years County Show.
Jars of Honey always sell well. Containers of cut comb usually sell out rapidly (83 sold last year). Honey fudge, Candles, Wax bars, Wax polish and other hive products all sell at the show. So get making and use this opportunity to promote your products. Our customers usually purchase honey from the area where they come from, so take the opportunity to
promote your honey by donating some jars for the Taste of Honey Stall;
sampling your honey is the best way to sell it!
The County retains 20% of the selling price as commission.
Please look at the DBKA website for a list of this year’s prices, and offer form, http://www.devonbeekeepers.org.uk/Honey%20Sales%20%20price%20list%202014.pdf
OR contact Jack Mummery with your offers of produce by 4th May 2014.
Jack Mummery (Devon County Show Honey Sales Coordinator),
Jabeda Barton, West Buckland, EX32 0SG; 01598-760209; e-mail: [email protected]
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Free to Members A good quantity of sacking suitable for smoker fuel, free to anyone who needs it.
CONTACT Roger Round [email protected] 7, Buena Vista Close, Glenholt, Plymouth PL6 7JH Telephone: (01752) 701945
Member Adverts
FOR SALE Top Bar Hive
£10 Contact: Bill Finnemore
Tel: (01752) 404184
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Sunday 1st 10am General
Apiary Meeting –All Members
Wednesday 4th Visit to National Bee
Supplies (Detail inside)
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
12 Hembury Park
Buckfast
Devon
TQ11 0SE
Tel/Fax 01364 642517
\Mobile 07769878476
Email [email protected]
Please Phone before you make a visit
