If either of these is likely to be your response as the first queen cells start appearing (potentially in the next six weeks or so) then make a bee line for Bishops Cannings Village Hall on Saturday March 14th, 10.00am – 12pm when Jeremy will demonstrate the Art of Swarm Catching: this is a particularly important talk to attend if you are a new or novice beekeeper!
Its also 2 for 1!! Roger is going to give us an update on the Yellow Legged Asian Hornet: a particularly important talk for all beekeepers!!
Where to start? I’ve been abroad since mid-January, visiting one of my daughters and her family in New Zealand and then stopping off on the way home (NOT) in Cape Town to catch up with friends (South Africa is a VERY long way from New Zealand!!) I didn’t miss the rain completely – in both places there were a few days of torrential rain and wind – but maybe not quite as much as you seem to have experienced here! In Auckland I cheekily invited myself to an open day at a local apiary (where the honeybees forage during all 12 months of the year) and in Cape Town we spent a few days at one of the wineries deep within the fynbos (natural shrub / heathland on the western and eastern cape where I saw remarkably few pollinators (it’s a tough life 😉)).
My plan was to tell you a bit about each of those visits in this newsletter but Jeremy and Gemma have been out and about and it seems more timely to report their outing! I’ll keep my news for next time….. and maybe the time after that!
We received a request from the Muddy Boots, Kennet group which provides support for Beyond Dementia (formerly Alzheimer’s Support) to give a talk on beekeeping to clients and their carers. Jeremy and Gemma took up the mantle and went along with beekeeping kit and honey! Unsurprisingly there was a range of attention and capacity but informal feedback indicated that the talk and demonstrations / tasting were very well received – this can, I think, be seen in the pictures below……..
…… and even the dog liked the honey!!
I’m so pleased that we were able to support this request: in previous newsletters I’ve noted (even briefly) the great work that KBKA members undertake with schools, Beavers and Cubs and being able to engage with people at the other end of the age range shows that we really are able to engage with all members of the community, whatever stage of life!!
Very brief comments on beekeeping this month – when in doubt, add fondant and if you have yet to prepare your beekeeping kit for the coming season, get on with it! 😉
I hate this time of year in the beekeeping calendar!
You go into the winter with strong colonies: well-fed, plenty of stores, treated for varroa, fondant as a precaution, all in a nice, dry well-insulated hive headed by a relatively young queen…. then, come this time of year, the hive is ominously silent. A quick look under the crown board reveals a cold and lifeless interior. It’s a lottery: similar hives in an apiary survive differently and for no apparent reason.
So, what are the common causes of colony loss and what can we do to reduce it?
In no particular order: varroa with its attendant Deformed Wing Virus [follow an annual monitoring and treatment regime]; a cold, damp hive [open mesh floor, insulation, avoid damp areas]; blocked entrance [check and clear through winter]; starvation [well fed in autumn, hefted through winter, fondant over feed hole as a precaution]; isolation starvation [remove queen excluder before winter, reduce hive size to maintain warmth, accessible stores in upper boxes]; weak colonies [unite colonies in autumn to increase size and strength]; Nosema [yellow or golden streaks of dysentery at entrance and tops of frames (change brood frames on a 3 year cycle)] and last but by no means least: Queen failure [replace regularly]. At last year’s Bee Day, Roger Pattinson said that queen failure is increasing year on year and my experience over the last couple of decades backs him up.
Studies in Europe note that Yellow Legged Hornets hunting outside a hive stops the bees from emerging, significantly reducing foraging and leading to starvation. Similarly, last year’s biblical wasp invasions in some areas [e.g. both Association apiaries] dramatically reduced foraging behaviour and I wonder if that contributed to winter losses: the bees took advantage of a late flow of ivy once the wasps had gone, leading to frames full of ivy honey that the bees find difficult to consume. We sometimes forget that we are facing a global insect Armageddon and the data speak for themselves. And whereas the valiant summer bees are replaced, having lasted only 6 weeks or so, our poor queens are stuck in the hive for 3 or 4 years, surrounded by goodness knows how many ‘forever chemicals’ and other nasties bought in by the workers and trapped in the wax.
The annual survey shows that anything from 10% to 30%+ colony losses is the norm and I’ve known really excellent beekeepers who have lost almost every colony over winter so don’t be despondent if you have too, as long as you followed the winter preparation guidance; it is the way of things in nature [and not helped in recent times by mankind].
However, with the Spring comes a renewal of hope and enthusiasm as the cycle begins again. Don’t rush to open your hives as it is still far too cold. If you prepare now to change out those old dark brood frames, in a couple of months the only thing on your mind will hopefully be how to deal with those early swarms! Oh, and once it’s warm enough, mark any new queens whilst you can find her easily.
Jeremy, Apiaries Manager KBKA
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I’d like to contribute this passage from ‘The Practical Bee Guide’ (Rev JG Digges, 1904) recently donated by a member along with some other books. The language is lovely and the sentiments sweet:
“The Bee in Spring – Signs of Survival
Throughout all the long wintertime, the living mass clinging to the hive-combs has maintained life and warmth. The bees of the cluster have been steadily changing places; those on the outside passing to the centre of the sphere, their places taken by those within in steady rhythm. Now, with the lengthening of the days, as the sun, in genial humour, peeps through the open door and gives to the long imprisoned inmates assurance of kindlier conditions without, the bee-man, watching for signs of survival, delights to see the first one, and then another, and presently many of his little pets appear upon the alighting board. Discreet in their new found joy, they risk no long excursion, nor venture overmuch. Scenting the freshness of the air, they seem to revel in it, and the heat and light which stir the life in them. They move about the entrance; examine the doors and porch; meet and salute each other; and rising, fly for a moment in front of the hive. A gladsome hour this for the bee-man also; an infectious happiness. He knows now that snow and storms, and all the frost and cruel winter hardships, have failed to work their devastation within the little home which his foresight and loving care secured and sheltered before the falling leaves had left the branches bare. With each succeeding sun the bees in larger numbers move abroad – creatures “fanatically cleanly” who will suffer much and long and yet refuse to sully the purity that their incessant care preserves within the hive.”
Although it is still far too early to inspect, for those of us that are fortunate enough to be witnessing the first signs of hives that have survived the winter, I thought this passage summed up the feelings that come with it.
In 2026 the NBU will not be allowed to participate in spring queen trapping (DEFRA). All beekeepers will need to be vigilant monitoring for YLH from early spring: see next month’s newsletter for more information.
Wednesday, 4th March: Roger Allen (YLH update) and Jeremy (Swarm management)
That’s all for now – if you’ve got thoughts about items you’d like to see noted or covered in this newsletter, please get in touch.
Andrea
Andrea Waylen
Chair, Kennet Beekeepers Association
Email: andrea.waylen@gmail.com Tel: 07876 157826
