Dear Kennet BeeKeeper,
I am sending February’s Newsletter out really early as we have Dan Basterfield giving our first Wednesday in the month talk on 1st February at 7.30 pm (doors open for tea and coffee from 7.00) at Bishop Cannings village hall. This will be one of Dan’s Advanced Beekeeping lectures on
Making and using nucs. It is hard to get speakers to come in person so I do hope many of you will turn up for a real live person and NOT a Zoom talk. Richard Rickett has also donated Dan’s latest book on using Apideas for Queen Rearing to our KBKA library.
Guide Honey Price. Every year we give a guide honey price. – this is the charge the Association will make when selling honey at Fetes and Fairs. It is only a suggested price and for 2023 it is £7.50 for 1lb, £6.00 12 oz and £4.00 half pound – don’t forget this is only a guide and you may of course charge what you like for your honey.
Apiary site available. A lady with four acres in the Bromham area would like to offer a site to a responsible beekeeper. If you are interested contact Chris Wilson:- Z4cmw@btinternet.com
From the 1st April the new apiary will be open every other Saturday afternoon from 2.00 – 4.00. So that is 1st and 15thApril. We will place all the dates on the website. It is hoped that you will all turn up at some time when we will have tea or coffee facilities, making a visit to the apiary a bit more social. Full directions for finding the apiary will be sent later but for security not posted on the website. Also attached to this email you will find information from our Apiary Manager entitled Notes on the Apiary.
Peter May mayofbeech@hotmail.com our Asian Hornet AHAT coordinator has written a good article attached at the bottom of this email. Do take a look and read it . Also if you have this coming Saturday free (4th February) you might well like to join the BBKA’s free Zoom Asian Hornet Conference 2023 – they have all the important speakers there, so there will be no excuse for not recognising an A. Hornet! I may dip in and out as it is for the whole day !!!
Don’t forget the winter losses often come in February so do check your hives for stores, mice, wood peckers, roof still on etc, and be prepared for a busy spring and summer -it always surprises everyone just how fast nature catches up with us beekeepers in April and May!
Please see email for all the latest information from the BBKA.
I also look forward to seeing many of you at Wiltshire BKA AGM on Tuesday 31 January at the Corn Exchange in Devizes @ 7pm. when there in a most interesting talk by Beth Harris on The Electric Ecology of Bees and the day following we have our talk by Dan Basterfield. – so next week, things should be busy for BeeKeepers in our area. Hope to see you there.
All best wishes
Robert