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Plymouth Branch Newsletter
October 2017
HONEY SHOW
PLYMOUTH BRANCH OF DEVON BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
Open to all members
New members especially welcome
Doors open at 7pm ~ judging starts at 7.30
See page 5 for more information
Thursday 12th October 2017
Elburton Village Hall
JUDGE: Jack Mummery
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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
DECEMBER
Sunday 10th
Branch Christmas Lunch – Boringdon Golf Club (sit down 12.30 pm / £5 deposit) TBC
12.30 pm
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
Meetings will be held at the Branch Apiary Site unless advised otherwise
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CHAIRMAN’S BLOG
Hello again. All too soon the beekeeping season is over; it seemed to whizz by this year and I’m not sure why. It only seems like last week when I was wondering how long we would have to wait before it was warm enough to open the hives and carry out the spring inspection. Now we’re thinking about putting the mouse guards on for winter; and maybe for other reasons….. Our worst fear when the 2017 season began was that we would have to learn to deal with the dreaded vespa velutina nigrithorax more commonly known as the Asian hornet. Well, at the time of writing, the menace has now been spotted here in Plymouth and also Woolacombe on the north coast of Devon. Thankfully, the NBU team has found the Woolacombe nest and destroyed it. Last year’s embryonic invasion in South Gloucestershire was successfully nipped in the bud by the NBU and their team of Bee Inspectors; they did a sterling job and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. But on the day I am writing this, a report of an unconfirmed sighting in St. Budeaux, Plymouth was received and local media has taken up the story. I was interviewed by BBC Radio Devon this afternoon, and BBC Spotlight ran a headline article where viewers were shown a secondary (large) nest and a live hornet in a glass tube. The Spotlight report focused on Woolacombe, but did mention the unconfirmed sighting in Plymouth. The NBU has advised that it is a very credible report so it is highly likely that Plymouth is now home to the Asian hornet. We await confirmation. Whatever the future holds with regard to this pest, I would strongly advise members to be careful about countermeasures; it is easy to over-react and waste money in doing so. The first fact to be aware of is that the hornets do their dirty work by ‘hawking’ i.e. hovering a short distance away from the hive entrance. They prey on the flying bees returning to the hive and can be observed flying in close, trapping the bee and decapitating her. They then cut off and discard her abdomen and return to their nest with her thorax, as that is rich in protein because of the high concentration of muscle tissue. One hornet can kill up to fifty bees per day by this method. As soon as one hornet has flown back to the nest, another one takes her place and continues the process. The only time Asian hornets are likely to enter the hive is when it is so depleted of worker guard bees that it is no longer viable or if the hive’s wellbeing is compromised in some other way such as queenlessness. When they do enter the hive, they remove the protein-rich brood and carry it back to their nest to feed their own brood. Our beekeeper friend in France says that by the time the hornet has entered the hive, it’s too late to save that colony. He advises that floor-type Asian hornet traps are of little or no value because of the way the Asian hornet works. In fact, Professor Stephen Martin, professor of entomology at Salford University and a leading expert on the Asian hornet says there is no point at all in using traps; the only way to control Vespa Velutina is to destroy the nest; not a job for the beekeeper! If you’d like to hear Stephen (and he’s well worth listening to) keep an eye open for advance publicity for the Holsworthy Spring Convention (24 February 2018) as Stephen will be one of the main speakers at that event. Some beekeepers might consider using mouseguards to prevent hornet entry, but it’s important to remember that a restricted entrance could prevent returning workers from gaining quick access to the hive if there is a ‘hawking’ hornet operating. On a more mundane topic, this year I’ve managed to keep on top of the maintenance jobs, which for me is unusual. I’ve applied a blowlamp to all the internal surfaces of my spare boxes, floors, queen excluders and crown boards. And also this year, for the first time, I’ve stacked my spare boxes and frames and treated them with acetic acid. I’m told that the vapours will kill nosema spores, Ascosphaera apis (the chalk brood fungus) and the
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dreaded wax moth larvae. I do know that the top of our garden smells a bit like a fish and chip shop! As always, there is a cost associated with this process. Valerie did some research on the Internet and found a supplier willing to send a 5 litre container of 80% strength acetic acid for £22 plus £8 for delivery so that’s £6 a litre. As I used just less than 1 litre plus a few scraps of old towel for the whole treatment, I don’t think that’s too much to pay for (hopefully) eradicating some of our other enemies. Some beekeepers have been told by suppliers that although they will supply the acid, the beekeeper has to collect it from the supplier’s premises. This can often involve a very long journey. Few suppliers are willing to send it, but they do exist, so if you are having a problem getting hold of it, do get in touch. I would also advise that you don’t source your acetic acid from a beekeeping supplier, as you are likely to pay significantly more for the same thing. Valerie and I have noticed over the years that if you prefix the word ‘beekeeping’ onto any common item, such as a food-grade plastic bucket, the price of that item can lift by as much as 50%. We can’t imagine why.
All the best,
Terry
PLEASE HELP BERNIE
Our treasurer works very hard and does an excellent job keeping the branch accounts in order, so can I appeal to all member to think about making his life less difficult during the period when subscriptions are due. There are now less than three months before we all have to renew our subscriptions. When you do, and if you use the on-line BACS transfer facility, please download and complete a membership renewal form, scan it (if you have a scanner) and send it to Bernie (his email address is [email protected]) or post it as soon as you have transferred the funds. By doing this you will save him the bothersome task of trying to match payments to missing forms.
Thank you
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From Bee Base
Vespa velutina (Asian hornet) is smaller than our native hornet, with adult workers measuring from 25mm in length and queens measuring 30mm. It's abdomen is mostly black except for it's fourth abdominal segment which is a yellow band located towards the rear. It has characteristically yellow legs which accounts for why it is often called the yellow legged
hornet and it's face is orange with two brownish red compound eyes. Spring After hibernation in spring, the queen, usually measuring up to 3 cm, will emerge and seek out an appropriate sugary food source in order to build up energy to commence building a small embryonic nest. During construction of the nest, she is alone and vulnerable but she will rapidly begin laying eggs to produce the future workforce. As the colony and nest size increases, a larger nest is either established around the embryonic nest or they relocate and build elsewhere. Summer During the summer, a single colony, on average, produces 6000 individuals in one season. From July onwards, Asian hornet predation on honeybee colonies will begin and increase until the end of November and hornets can be seen hovering outside a hive entrance, waiting for returning foragers. This is the characteristic “hawking” behaviour. When they catch a returning bee, they will take it away and feed off of the protein rich thorax; the brood requires animal proteins which are transformed into flesh pellets and then offered to the larvae. Autumn During autumn, the nest’s priorities shift from foraging and nest expansion to producing on average 350 potential gynes (queens) and male hornets for mating, however, of these potential queens, only a small amount will successfully mate and make it through winter. After the mating period, the newly fertilised queens will leave the nest and find somewhere suitable to over-winter, while the old queen will die, leaving the nest to dwindle and die off. The following spring, the founding queen will begin building her new colony and the process begins again.
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Thanks to Jean French for sharing these news items from the Guernsey Press
14th September 2017
Guernsey Beekeepers’ Association president Chris Tomlins with the Asian hornets’ nest that was found in Torteval last week. The nest has been frozen over the past few days to kill any unhatched larvae. (Picture by Peter Frankland)
The nest is about 30cm across and 55cm deep and it is estimated it was home to more than 2,500 hornets. Guernsey Beekeepers’ Association president Chris Tomlins said they had found a number of queens around the nest. ‘On Friday [before it was removed] we were watching large hornets, which had to be queens, flying,’ he said. https://guernseypress.com/news/2017/09/14/asian-hornets-likely-to-be-an-ongoing-problem--beekeeper/
27th September
More Asian hornet sightings have been confirmed indicating that two nests are still likely to be on the island. Agriculture, Countryside and Land Management Services say there have been four confirmed reports in the vicinity of the Longfrie Inn, as well as two unconfirmed but credible reports in Rouge Rue and Bulwer Avenue.
These are the first since a nest was found in Torteval on 7 September and destroyed.
https://guernseypress.com/top-stories/2017/09/27/asian-hornet-sightings-indicate-two-more-nests/
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PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS LIBRARY
There are two library books missing with no indication of them being borrowed. If you have either of these books please bring them to the Honey Show and return them to me. They are:
A Practical Guide to Beekeeping in Schools by Dr John Feltwell
Beekeeping Study Notes by JD & BD Yates
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
www.plymouthbeekeepers.btik.com/LibraryBooks
There is an electronic product available for monitoring the Asian
hornet. For further information about this contact Claude Pool.
Email: [email protected]
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The Buzz – Honeybees & Beekeeping
Honey tests reveal global contamination by bee-harming pesticides
Neonicotinoid insecticides are found in 75% of global honey samples and half contain a cocktail of chemicals
Read more on the Guardian website:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bees
From north Wales to Norfolk, distraught beekeepers ask: who’s stealing our hives?
More than 100,000 bees have been targeted by rustlers in the past month alone – and keepers fear the culprits are from their own ranks.
Read more on the Guardian website:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/23/beekeepers-ask-who-stealing-hives-north-wales-norfolk
Introducing the Harrington honeybee gin causing a buzz
"Woodsmoke. Beeswax. Honey. The smell inside your car after you’ve been beekeeping is brilliant. It captures a point at the height of summer,” says distillery manager and beekeeping fanatic Jonny Easter, bobbing about in a field in Northamptonshire as we admire seven very smart new beehives emblazoned with the words Warner Edwards. You might already have heard of Warner Edwards – the gin producer has been hugely successful since its first bottles went on the shelf in 2012.
Read more on the Warner Edwards website:
https://www.warneredwards.com/gins/honeybee-gin
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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
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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
