Apis-UK August 2003

EDITORIAL

I think that this August will be remembered all over Europe for the weather. We even hear of temperatures in the UK breaching the 100F mark for the first time since accurate records began. Here in Spain the normal sleepy pace of life in the heat of summer has become a battle to get anything done at all. Seville last week recorded 54C and if you have ever tried beekeeping in that you will agree that it is not pleasant. What is especially depressing however is the constant drone of waterbombing aircraft and helicopters flying back and forth to the nearby lake to replenish their water to fight the bush fires. Thousands of acres of wild park land, forests and even village surrounds are going up in smoke and this of course includes thousands of bee hives. The authorities have estimated that most of the fires are started by humans often by throwing cigarette butts out of car windows, or by families having picnics. Sadly, we have another obituary in this issue, and we send our condolences to the widow.

Serbian on line beekeeping magazine
This month’s Apis UK includes our usual mix of news, articles, letters and events and we continue the poetry section with a haiku sent in by a Serbian beekeeper who also edits an online beekeeping magazine. (See below and the poetry section). It is good to know that there are others out there that are trying to spread beekeeping news on the www and I wish the editor all the best. See the article below and then take a look at this interesting site.

Bees cause tragedies
Bees are our hobby or our income or both, but to many, they are stinging insects that can terrify and kill (see in the news below). News like this often confirms in peoples’ minds that everything horrible they have ever read about bees is true and whilst tragic incidents like these will always occur at some time or another, they are extremely rare and it is often up to bee keepers to put things into perspective. Accidents with bees amongst non beekeepers are extremely rare with deaths occurring from poisoning, horse riding, freezing to death amongst many others being far more frequent.

New facts
Last month’s fact file about the causes of swarming has been questioned by a reader (See letters). This is just the type of reply that I value. It increases the amount of shared knowledge available to readers, editors and scientists who cannot possibly read everything themselves and is what an online magazine like Apis-UK is all about; the dissemination of knowledge. Keep letters coming into us and share your knowledge with an increasing number of readers. One of our news items below relates directly to this subject with the news of new components of the honey bee queen retinue pheromone. (See In the News).

Apimondia
As I write, the world body of beekeeping, APIMONDIA is holding its two yearly beekeeping extravaganza in Slovenia. Every two years I vow to go to the next one and as each date approaches I find that I can’t make it for one reason or another. However, I am there in spirit and we wish the Slovenian beekeeping authorities every success. Next month we hope to bring news of event, as it happened.

Local beekeeping associations
Every now and again, I take down from the bookshelf one of my volumes of the Lincolnshire Beekeepers Association quarterly magazine, all now dated from the 80s and early 90s, and I enjoy a good read of all that happened in that area during those years. The magazines are little glimpses of the history of an area and the people who inhabit it and are fascinating to read. I know that in the UK and in many other countries (sadly not in Spain), there are a myriad of local beekeeping associations that keep beekeeping going throughout the year with meetings, local shows, lectures, teach ins and demonstrations. Organisers of these activities and editors of local magazines are welcome to advertise their activities in Apis UK and to send in news items or articles about their activities and events in their local areas. Whether you experience triumph or tragedy or somewhere in between, your news will be of interest to others. Many of you write to us already, but there are many who don’t, so let us know your news. I am sure that we will all be enriched by it.

So in this very quiet and very hot August period, we present our latest edition of Apis-UK. I hope that you enjoy it and that you will keep in touch.

David Cramp. Editor.

NEWS

NEW HORNET COOLING THEORY ADVANCED
Individual insect temperature control is an interesting subject which may seem somewhat esoteric but its study can have practical results, for instance the use of heat to control varroa. I remember many lectures on the subject of the tropical mandarin hornet that attacked bee hives (I think Apis cerana). The bees' defence was to mob the hornets and raise the temperature of the insect to a couple of degrees above their critical upper limit. The bees upper limit being higher, they were not affected. Clever stuff indeed, but if left to themselves, how do hornets individually keep within limits? Israeli scientists now think that they know how.
Hornets, which often face temperatures of more than 40C have recently excited the attention of Israeli researchers who claim that in order to keep cool, these creature use their skin as an electrical heat pump, claim Israeli researchers - the first and very controversial suggestion of such a mechanism in an animal.

Other scientists though say that hornets are unlikely to have a heat pump, and don't need one anyway, they argue. It's a bold proposal, admit Jacob Ishay and colleagues at Tel Aviv University, who came up with it. But a pump could answer a lot of questions about how hornets, wasps and even other insects stop themselves overheating during a day's work.
Foraging in sunlight, the insects can face air temperatures of more than 40 C, but have no sweat glands to help them dispose of excess heat. The thorax, which contains a hornet's flight muscles, can become hotter still. Physiologists think that heat from here is dissipated through the body by a blood-like fluid. The team used a heat-sensitive camera to photograph oriental hornets (Vespa orientalis) flying round a nest near their lab. They saw evidence that parts of the insects' bodies are often several degrees cooler than their surroundings.

Removing heat from a surface that is already cooler than its surroundings - as in a commercial refrigerator - requires the right hardware, not to mention a source of energy. The structure of the hornet's cuticle, is well suited to the task, says Ishay's team. They suggest that the cuticle works as a thermoelectric heat pump. Such devices use electrical energy to shunt heat the wrong way - from cool to hot. The process relies on thermocouples. These are junctions within electrical circuits where conductors of different materials meet. If a voltage is applied across one, heat moves fromone side of it to the other.Commercial thermoelectric heat pumps have a stack of thermocouples, usually several centimetres thick. They are used to cool a huge range of substances, from water in the office drinking fountain to the motor in a dentist's drill. The hornet's cuticle has the same structure, albeit packed into a thickness of a few thousandths of a millimetre, claims Ishay's team. Generating power would not be a problem - as well as the insect's metabolic energy, the cuticle itself generates a voltage when exposed to sunlight or ultraviolet rays, much like a man-made solar battery.

Other researchers have greeted the proposal with scepticism. " It needs a lot more evidence," says Julian Vincent of the University of Bath, UK, who studies insect cuticles. Vincent suggests that the cuticle is not arranged in layers, but is composed of ordered molecules that just look like layers under the microscope and he disputes the assertion that hornets are cooler than their surroundings. Although the insects look cold in the thermal photographs, the air around them could be colder still, he warns. The team needs to nail down the details of how heat moves between a hornet and its surroundings, suggests other researchers. The hornets' apparent coolness in the photographs could be due to their shiny surfaces, which may reflect heat as well as light.
With more work to be done, the researchers now hope to catch a hornet's heat pump in action and find out whether similar pumps are present in the hornet's relatives, such as wasps.

If you wan to read the paper in full, see: Ishay, J. S., Pertsis, V., Rave, E., Goren, A. & Bergman, D. J. Natural thermoelectric heat pump in social wasps. Physical Review Letters, 90, 218102, (2003).

WARWICKSHIRE MAN DIES AFTER BEE STING
Sadly, a Warwickshire man recently died 10 days after suffering from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Mr Graham Williamson (47) never recovered consciousness after being stung on the foot in his garden whilst mowing the lawn. His wife was unable to resuscitate him and he was taken to Solihull hospital. Staff there said that although he probably didn't know it, he was allergic to bee stings and suffered anaphalactic shock.

SHROPSHIRE COUPLE IN HOSPITAL AFTER BEE ATTACK
An elderly couple, Stanley and Rose Chapman, both 88, were recently taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital after Mr Chapman knocked over a hive in their garden in Cound. Mr Chapman was stung over 400 times and when his wife tried to help, she was attacked as well. Paramedics who were called to the scene claimed to have never seen anything like it, and by covering themselves as best they could, dragged the couple unceremoniously to the safety of their house.

LORRY DRIVER TRAPPED BY BEES
In yet another incident involving bees on 26 July, a lorry driver was trapped for more than 10 hours when a swarm of bees settled on his truck. John Taylor, 59, watched as hundreds of bees descended on his vehicle after he stopped at a motorway service station in Devon.
He rang police and Exeter City Council's pest control department for help and was advised to stay in his cab in case he antagonised the insects. The swarm did not leave his lorry though until nearly 10 hours later.
Mr Taylor, who was delivering bacon to Exeter from Cambridge, where he lives, said: "It was pretty scary." The BBC commented that it was thought to be a swarm of European honey bees! (I certainly hope so. Ed).

HAVING ELEPHANT PROBLEMS? FORGET MICE; USE BEES
An article recently in Bee World by Eva Crane, details the use of bees in warfare, and as we know some governments are at this moment experimenting with bees for various military uses; sniffing out explosives, aerial reconnaissance and so on, but it is nice to hear of a use for bees that not only uses their undoubted powers but also can assist in the preservation of another species and protect mans’ farming investment in poor countries. Few of us think of elephants as a problem (not in the UK at least) but their ability to destroy crops brings them into conflict with man, a conflict that can only mean problems for the elephant. So it is nice to read a report suggesting that bees can help in this matter.

Naturwisennshaften, a German online publication reports that bees can be used to frighten off elephants from marauding valuable farm crops in Africa. Beehives might keep African elephants off farms, say researchers. The insects could help stop elephants eating crops, and make lucrative honey for farmers. Elephants can destroy whole crops, especially where farms border reserves. In Kenya, researchers have enlisted the notoriously touchy Apis mellifera scutellata) to help protect plants such as maize and cassava. Like most bees, the scutellata attack anything that threatens their hives. Angry bees are reputed to have chased herds of elephants over several kilometres. Elephants avoided all the trees hung with full hives, report Fritz Vollrath, of the Mpala Research Centre and Ian Douglas-Hamilton, of the Nairobi-based conservation organization Save the Elephants. Even empty hives were enough to reduce elephant damage, probably through their smell. More than 90% of trees without hives had branches ripped off and bark stripped. With beehive being much cheaper than fencing, the possibilities for protection and profit are enormous.

The local Masai people are skilled beekeepers, researchers add and believe that some local people will start adopting [hives] Beekeeping is being promoted in East Africa as an environmentally friendly industry. “If it can also deter elephants, that’s wonderful”, Redmond says. Noise, fences, chillies, smoke and shooting have also been tried as elephant deterrents, with varying degrees of success. Hives could be deployed like biological minefields around farmland, say the research team. Or they could be used to protect valuable trees, such as ancient baobabs. Elephants may even avoid the sound of bees. One old bull that had been badly stung several years earlier turned tail at a tape recording of a buzzing hive, the researchers point out. The control treatment - a Bach violin concerto - left elephants unmoved.

If you want to read more on this, see the following paper: Vollrath, F. & Douglas-Hamilton, I. African bees to control African elephants. Naturwissenschaften online publication.

HIVE BEETLE TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Small Hive Beetles were recently featured in an edition of Apis-UK and their spread around the world is a known and very worrying feature of apiculture on a global scale. (See Apis-UK No.7). In response to beetle attacks, bees often propolise the beetles and more or less keep them as unfed, unwanted prisoners. But the beetles don't die. This has baffled scientists until recently when researchers at the Rhodes University in South Africa under Randall Hepburn made video recordings which showed that the beetles use their antennae to tickle their guards, just as other bees do when soliciting a drop of food. ie they use the same begging language as bees. Peter Neumann, a biologist at the Martin Luther University in Halle, Germany says that this is a brilliant example of the arms race between a parasite and its host.

With a free lunch unknown in nature, scientists are baffled at the way the beetles have developed this trick. Perhaps says Hepburn, the beetles are giving the bees some hidden advantage but it is difficult to see what. For the beetles, by surviving in the hive, they will be there if and when the hive is abandoned and will therefore gain a huge head start over other plunderers, just by being there first. (Only if they can get out of the propolis surely. Ed.)

BEE FARMERS?
Most of us know that there are several instances of one insect or another using the produce of other insects for mutual profit and that often some insects 'farm' others. Ants frequently look after and tend aphids, and bees use aphid secretions to make honeydew which is often prized above honey in some countries. Recently, scientists have now found a bee that 'farms' another insect gaining profit for itself and protecting the other. The bee species is called Schwarzula and at half a centimetre long inhabits holes in trees vacated by moth caterpillars. Inside each nest of this bee species live some 200 scale insects of the species Cryptostigma. Thus in their own nests, the bees have an unlimited access to large stocks of carbohydrate excreted by the Cryptostigma. The bees provide the little scale insects with sanitary benefits (cleaning them up from their own waste) and protection by offering them a home in the nest. The Cryptostigma also produce wax from glands on their back. The bees scrape this up and use it for nest building. Thus the bees have no need to make their own wax, having a constant source of this valuable building resource.
The scientists who discovered this bee from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil speculate that the bees may even carry the scale insects around the forest. The relationship between the bees and the insects is close. All bee nests contain the scale insects and the scale insects do not live outside the bees' nests.

FATHERLESS DRONES. WHY?
An international team of scientists has now discovered why a drone bee has no father. We all know (I hope) that drones develop from an unfertilised egg and workers and queens from fertilised eggs and that queens probably measure the cell dimensions to determine which is going to be which. The journal 'Cell' now includes a report which sheds much more light on this subject and now enables us to understand more fully exactly why this state of affairs exists. It is all to do with a gene called a csd or complementary cell determinator. Workers and queens have two such copies of this gene, one from each parent, and these trigger female development. Unfertilised eggs have only one copy of this gene and result in drones. There are 19 versions of csd and females have two different types whilst males have only one. It is believed that the two csds pair up to make an active protein thus driving female development whilst the presence of only one csd means that no active protein is developed and a drone bee results.

BUBBLEGUM BEES
In an interesting letter to Bee World (IBRA), a correspondent from the USA tells us of the innovative use of bubblegum - by honey bees! The incident occurred in Los Angeles County, California and the author witnessed honey bees collecting full loads of bubble/chewing gum which was made pliable by the hot weather. The bees persisted until they were able to cut off and remove pieces of gum, often stretching the gum for quite a length before managing to get it away. He states that surely the use of gum to be used as propolis negates all the beneficial value of natural plant derived propolis which is known to have anti microbial properties. He also alludes to the fact that there is plenty of this resource available on school campuses in the USA.
The full letter can be seen in Bee World Vol 84 No2.2003. (IBRA). www.ibra.org.uk (So next time you use tincture of propolis for your sore throat, note the taste. Ed)

NEW COMPONENTS OF HONEY BEE QUEEN RETINUE PHEROMONE
In last months issue of Apis-UK, we mentioned QMP and its effect in the hive particularly with regard to swarming. Recent research carried out by scientists at the Simon Fraser University Canada has shown that whilst QMP consists of 5 synergistic components and is the only chemically identified pheromone in the queen bee, QMP alone does not fully duplicate the pheromonal activity of full queen extract. Research was carried out to identify the remaining unknown compounds for retinue attraction. Four new compounds were identified from several glandular sources that account for the majority of the difference in retinue attraction between synthetic QMP and queen extract. These compounds are inactive alone or in combination and only elicited attraction in the presence of QMP. There was still unidentified activity remaining in the queen extract. The scientists go on to say that 'The queen therefore produces a synergistic, multiglandular pheromone blend of at least nine compounds for retinue attraction, the most complex pheromone blend known for inducing a single behaviour in any organism'. (See also historical note below. Ed)

NATIONAL HONEY SHOW - LONDON 13th-15th NOVEMBER 2003 (INTERNATIONAL CLASSES)
The National Honey Show website has now been updated with this years programme. Visitors can download information files and the schedule of classes. The FAQ section should answer most questions. Visitors are invited to join the support mailing list for show news and advice on entries. www.honeyshow.co.uk

Ian Coleman
It is with great regret that I am informing you that Ian Coleman died on the 6th. July after a short but very painful illness.
Ian only took up beekeeping a few years ago but had established himself as a keen, enthusiastic member of BBKA.
Many things drew me to Ian, one was his sense of humour - slightly quirky, off the wall and satirical. Joan, his wife, said that Ian was responsible for the power failure at the house on the day of the funeral, which was only repaired after the funeral - much to the relief of the caterers. Another, was his eternal optimism through out life, for family, friends, cooking, work (he was an active union representative) and of course bee-keeping. Many set backs during his last months would have depressed lesser men.
Ian, also, had a wonderful out apiary which overlooks a railway line, but is right out of the way, he found this site as a novice - no mean achievement.
Ian will be sorely missed by family, friends and all at BBKA.
Ian’s funeral opened with the Haka (the Moari’s War Dance) and closed with Monty Python’s “Look on the Brighter Side of Life”. This sums up Ian for me. God Bless. Lindsay Wright

Ian was a contributor to Apis-UK in 2002 at: http://www.beedata.com/apis-uk/newsletters/apis-uk0702.htm Ian was beekeeper of the month in the July 2002 Bromley branch newsletter which is archived at: www.kentbee.com/bromley/newsletters/julybbk02.htm and you can see pictures of Ian’s garden at: www.beedata.com/ian-coleman/

THE BEE PRESS

BEECRAFT
Beecraft August 2003 Volume 85 Number 8
The latest issue of Bee Craft offers a wealth of information, advice and items of interest for all beekeepers in its monthly columns. http://www.bee-craft.com/ The following is its contents list:

Editorial; A beekeeping treat Nicola Bradbear, PhD; Getting started: mid-season Margret Thomas, NDB; Heather going (part2) Michael Badger, MBE; Fans, cooling drinks and vibrations Celia Davis, NDB; Herbs for bees and beekeppers: thyme Alison Mouser; In the Apiary: childrens bee books (1945 -1968) Karl Showler; Profile: Len Davie Michael Badger, MBE; Crowds at Stoneleigh Don Hannon; Book Review Beekeping Equipment by John Yates; Beekeeping in Ireland Eddie O'Sullivan.

ARTICLES

Our first article this month is taken from an online Serbian beekeeping magazine edited by Predrag Cvetkovic. The site, www.pcela.co.yu is in English as well and is very interesting. Predrag tells me that he is not totally happy with it at present and is completely redesigning it in the very near future, so do take a look at it and keep up to date with the many beekeeping topics raised. This article by Miljko Sljivic gives an excellent overview of beekeeping in the area and will be of interest to all beekeepers. I have no doubt that Predrag and his Sebian colleagues will have many different perspectives on the beekeeping scene and I for one will be interested in their news and views. Predrag also has sent us in a poem in the haiku form and this can be seen in the monthly poem section below.

BEEKEEPING IN SERBIA
Good natural conditions, moderate continental climate and richness of plant life make Serbia excellent environment for beekeeping. On its area of 88,361 sq km (34,116 sq mi), inhabited by 9.8 million people, there are around 30,000 beekeepers with approximately 430,000 hives. Honeyflow potentials make a much bigger number of hives possible – 1,200,000 according to experts’ estimates.

Let us now consider the orientation of the oval brood-nest. We will assume that the eight squares in Fig 1 represent a frame of comb in the brood- nest and Fig 2 is the same frame rotated through 90 degrees. In Fig 1 the distances from the centre of each square to point A are measured and compared with similar measurements taken to point B in Fig 2 .It will be found that the distances to point B are 40 percent greater than those measured to point A.

This 40 percent figure applies when the rectangle is twice as long as it is deep. When the rectangle is three times longer than it is deep and similar measurements are taken this percentage increases to 60.
Where the bees are evenly distributed throughout the brood area and the varroa are evenly distributed amongst the bees, it would be reasonable to suggest that a brood frame which is twice as long than it is deep, when rotated through 90 degrees, would enhance the distances varroa require to travel to reach drone brood when they are located at the bottom of the frame.
The increased distance of 40 percent lengthens the time the varroa is liable to be groomed which would increase the varroa drop accordingly.
This benefit may be further enhanced to 60 percent by increasing the depth/length ratio from 2-1 to 3-1.
An oval brood-nest therefore when orientated with the major axis vertical would again be of advantage to the bee.

Ian Rumsey -to be continued next month-

And now – a spooky poppy. This spring I grew (with the help of people who really know what they are doing) an acre of wild flowers, on a farm near Winchester. Lots of people take an interest and report on the latest thing to emerge. There was some excitement when a bizarre poppy appeared, so I went over to see. This could be the making of a plant-breeder’s fortune. It was a wonderful flower, but a complete freak. For a start it had dozens of petals, and right in the middle of the flower head was a second, smaller flower. What happened here was the coding which differentiates the development of the flower parts had gone awry, and the sexual parts had all grown as petals. The stamens had grown into short curly petals, and the stigma had grown into a second complete floret. So no chance of growing this one from seed, since there was nothing that could produce seed. I didn’t even have my camera with me, so it’s been and gone, and won’t appear again.

ME AND MINI NUC'S by Peter Springall
I first started to take an interest in Queen Breeding in 1965 when I joined what was then known as the Village Bee Breeders Association. Unfortunately I allowed my membership to lapse and when I re-joined, the association had become B.I.B.B.A. with the emphasis on British Isles. Now of course a second change in name to Bee Improvement has widened the field, but in my case the original concept still holds good.

In those early days I made use of 3,4 and 5 frame nucleus hives (hence the abbreviation to nuc') using British Standard frames. When I started transporting these nuc's to mating sites, I quickly found them to be too cumbersome and started to use mini nuc's. I first tried the Apidea, but found they very quickly became overcrowded so turned my attention to the Kirchhain model.

I soon discovered a facility for feeding mini nuc's to be essential and of course the designers of both these hives had provided for that, but at the expense of four features. 1. Valuable comb space is used. 2. Control of rate of feed is difficult. 3. One cannot monitor the food situation without opening up. 4. The colony is disturbed when the feed is replenished. Having made up the nuc', it is often necessary to close it up and put it in a cool dark place for several days to prevent the bees from returning to their original hive. During this time they can use a remarkable amount of stores especially if they are asked to draw new comb. Monitoring and replenishing are of course almost impossible when the hives are closed up.

At this stage I produced an external feeder based on a wooden holder to carry a standard honey jar which was attached to the outside of the hive. Inevitably the wood developed into a syrup sponge and was extremely attractive to all sorts of insects especially the local wasp population, not a thing to be encouraged. The next move was to make a mould and the feeders could then be produced in small quantities (one a day) from poured polyester resin with a chalk filler (the material used when laying up fibre glass). Although slow to produce these feeders proved completely satisfactory.

This solved all my feeding problems. 1. No more internal space used which could then be devoted to comb space. 2. As standard honey jars are used the rate of feed is easily regulated by punching anything from one to twenty holes in the lid before upturning the jar onto the feeder and changing the lids according to the rate of flow required. A note on the holes seems timely at this stage. In the case of metal lids I found it best to place the lid on a piece of wood and punch the holes from the inside using ordinary fine frame nails. In the case of plastic lids, plain punching doesn't work, as the holes tend to re-seal. I found it best to hold the nails with pliers, get them red hot and pierce the holes which of course seals the edges and prevents the holes from closing again. 3. With the external glass container monitoring is easy, and the addition of a little thymol with the syrup will prevent mould forming inside the glass which can be a little unpleasant. 4. To replenish the feed when the nuc' is closed up it is only necessary to raise the feeder slightly and slip a card under thus preventing the bees from escaping.

Having the majority of my hives in residential areas, I decided that docility was the main feature I would select for. With several sites in the district and having learned that docility comes down the paternal line, I inserted a sheet of drone foundation into the brood chamber of my most docile stocks. Whenever I found a stock to be a little temperamental I would give it a black mark and if it happened twice I would cull the queen. It took several years but it worked.

Word got around and local beekeepers would come to the allotment gate and buy my docile queens which I sold at a very low rate in the knowledge that the blood of my choice would be distributed in my area.

Now this is where the Kirchhain Nuc' came into it's own. With the increased number of frames I found I could remove a queen and leave the stock to it's own devices and low and behold within three to four weeks a new queen would be out and laying.

The Kirchhain Nuc' is designed to use plain top bars with a wax starter. I found this gave problems and I resorted to creating a sort of frame using wire as you can see in the photos. The wax foundation is cut to size with a tab left at the top, which is inserted into a slot in the top bar. Little slips of metal that are wrapped around the side bars (or should I call them side wires) and pinched onto the wax to retain the sides of the sheet. Getting these nuc's started especially in the early season when the all important weather can be somewhat indifferent was proving a problem. This was overcome by constructing a mini frame holder (this version was made to fit in a hive using 14" x 12" frames). The holder is placed in a strong hive which then draws the comb and hopefully fills it. Each of these mini frames are placed in a separate nuc together with adhering bees and additional bees thrown in making absolutely sure the queen is not included. It is tempting but not advisable to put this holder in the centre of the brood to encourage a quick response, but when the brood is separated the bees will often start queens from the larvae in the isolated section. Better to place it between the last area of brood and the first frame containing pollen. This positioning will also encourage depositing of the all essential pollen in the mini frames.

My method is to shake several combs of bees onto a plastic sheet such as an empty compost bag, where a metal sheet was used) and leave for fifteen to twenty minutes which allows the flying bees to return to the parent hive whilst the more desirable young bees remain. The plastic can then be folded into a trough and the required dose of bees slipped into each hive. A queen cell is placed in each hive which is then closed and taken to the mating site. I my case, my home apiary is usually the mating site, and as I have suggested before, I have to take the added precaution of closing up the hive for several days to prevent too many bees from returning to the parent stock.

If I am making up a nuc' and no queen cells are available I make sure that there are eggs in the donor frames. In this case I try not to include any larvae as it may take a day or so before the bees start queen cells and I would prefer that they do not select a larva that is too old. Now the purists among you will throw your hands up in despair at the idea of using small stocks to produce queens and I have spent a lot of time grafting and spoiling strong stocks in the quest for perfection, but I cannot say that that the results justified the effort in my case.

In the late eighties I got interested in the 'Black' bee and in the early nineties I joined a party of six led by Brian Palmer on a weekend visit to John Dews in Yorkshire, a most instructive and enjoyable time had by all which set the seal on my interest in the 'Black' bee, but that is another story. Unfortunately I discovered EFB in my apiary in 1993 which persisted for seven years and curtailed my breeding program. By 2000 I was reduced to one stock but got the 'All clear' in August. Hopefully the drones in the district will do what is expected of them and by next year I will be back into production. Sadly most of the locals have given up due to the onset of varroa. Let us all hope that this world wide trend is only temporary and that newcomers will come along in the knowledge that varroa is only a minor part in the challenge of beekeeping.

FACT FILE

About this section
(These fact files in Apis-UK are designed from the start to bring to the reader interesting and little known facts about honey bees and also to destroy any beekeeping myths and erroneous beliefs which abound in our craft/science. But they are not only a 'lecture' from us to you. After all, you may be (and probably are) even more of an expert on a particular aspect of beekeeping than anyone else. So if you know more, or have heard of more research on the subject being discussed, or if you have any ideas of your own which may be pertinent to the subject in question, do let us know. Spread your knowledge, so that we can all advance. (As an example, see letters below). (Ed).

Q. How far do drones drift?
Q. Does age affect the proportion of drones that drift?
Q. How many drones drift, what is their frequency and do they have a drifting pattern?
Q. Can apiary design (for the commercial beekeeper) reduce drift?

Many beekeepers are worried about the extent of worker drift in rows of colonies, mainly because in regulated colony rows (which are easier to work) colonies can become unbalanced in terms of worker numbers and of course drifting can spread disease and mites. Apiary design may serve to reduce or even eliminate this drift and some beekeepers rest happy in the knowledge that in their apiaries this tendency has been radically reduced to negligible levels or even eliminated. Diseases won't spread and all colonies will (or should) have their full share of workers.
But what about the drones? Worker drift has in fact been extensively studied, but little is known about drones and their drifting habits. Until recently it was thought that drones drift on their orientation flights and usually remained in their colonies to which they drift thereafter, but an interesting study carried out by the University of Manitoba several years ago provided much enlightenment on this little known subject.

The researchers suggest that drones and their drifting pattern could play a major part in vectoring diseases or parasites throughout an apiary and even by using different apiary designs; it is not possible to prevent this except by placing colonies more than 150 metres apart.

The drifting behaviour of drones also hampers the selection of drones for breeding purposes because you don't know where they have come from and therefore who their mother is.

Drifting behaviour of drone honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in commercial apiaries. RW Currie; SC Jay. Dept of entomology, University of Manitoba, Canada. JAR 30(2): 61-68 (1991).

HISTORICAL NOTE

For the last two editions we have mentioned swarming and looked at what we think may precipitate this and as more research into subjects like this continues, the more complex the whole issue gets and the more the beekeeper has to know. So this month's historical note goes back to the subject again and looks at those times of yore when the whole thing was far simpler as is shown by the Rev John Thorley's advice on when to look (or listen) for after swarms.

Eight or nine days after the prime swarm is departed, one of the young princesses, addressing herself in a very humble and submissive manner to the queen-mother, petitions for leave to withdraw, and erect a new empire with a select body of the populace. The regent for a time seems silent, and for a day or night there is no answer, nor any grant given; however the young princess, bent on a crown and kingdom, continues her suit and at last succeeds. The second night you may hear the queen, with a very audible voice (being an eigth) giving her royal grant and proclaiming it (as by sound of a trumpet) thro' the whole kingdom. Her voice is a grant, her silence denial. And the day following, the weather being tolerable, you may expect the swarm.

The Female Monarchy
Being an ENQUIRY into the nature, order and government of Bees.
The Reverend John Thorley
Chipping Norton
The County of Oxford
November 1743.

LETTERS

Dear UK Apis Editor,
Recently, I took over the responsibility of editor of the urban beekeeper's magazine - Apis Melbourne The magazine is a simple affair, I'll send you one, next issue ! 5 A4 pages printed 2 pages to a side so 20 pages half A4 (Should that be A8?). Black and white - produced via Microsoft Publisher.

The magazine comes "free with membership" of the group, and as its name suggests its membership is mostly urban and amateur beekeepers, though there are many exceptions.

With the enthusiasm that comes with a new role, I have a number of plans to boost slowly sagging membership. I also have other plans, the bravest of which is to place an electronic version of the magazine on the internet.

To do so I would need to convince a committee mildy concerned about membership that this would enhance membership and not compete with it. I would also like to be convinced myself! Of course, membership could come with a password etc etc but this somewhat defeats the purpose of going electronic!

Do you have any idea, or does UK Apis of the likely impact of offering free on the internet, a newsletter that normally has to be paid for through membership and subscription.

Regards from a devoted Apis Uk reader (though not a paying subscriber) Bob Buntine

(There are many beekeeping clubs in the UK facing the same dilemma and it seems that we are not alone. If any one of you club secretaries, association magazine editors or club members has any ideas or comments please get in contact with us or with the writer of this letter from Australia. Ed)

A reply to the above. Dear Bob,
A good example of a beekeeping magazine making successful use of the Internet for its own promotion is "Bee Culture" (Editor Kim Flottum) URL: http://www.beeculture.com/beeculture/index.htm
“Bee Craft” the official journal of the British Beekeepers’ Association (Editor Claire Waring) URL: http://www.bee-craft.com/ By way of contrast in my opinion the website lets them down badly and seems remote from the magazine.

If Apis Melbourne is the magazine for the Melbourne Beekeeping Association, it will have no detrimental effect on membership levels if the entire magazine is published online, adding a new dimension which can only augment its prestige.

As Apis Melbourne publishes only in black and white, you can have enhanced web versions with colour pictures and not be limited by the number of pages. I edit our branch newsletter and always add extra stuff in the web version. Have a look at the URL: http://www.kentbee.com/bromley/newsletters/ By all means send us a copy of Apis Melbourne (publisher file) and we will allow our readership to download a pdf version as a complementary copy in the next Apis-UK. Regards Steven Turner

IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS SECTION

Dear David,
I have noticed large numbers (approximately 20 in the last 2 weeks) of dead bumblebees in a small area beneath a buddleia in my garden. I don't use any chemicals in the garden and I don't believe that my immediate neighbour does either. The bodies of the bees appear to be hollow. Could this hollowness be due to emergence of the larva of a parasitic fly? I would be interested to know whether anyone has experienced a similar occurrence and can suggest a possible alternative cause. Kind regards. Brian Hughes Northampton.

Dear David,
I recently have acquired the print, "Bee Yard" (Artist- Ward H. Nichols) in Atlanta, and found that this signed and numbered (# 917 of 2000) print was made to honor the Southern States Beekeepers Federation about 1979. There are no aftermarket prints made of this particular print, and I can find no other information about it. I was told that since it was a special edition, and no other aftermarket prints would be made that the value would be about the same as the higher end of the other 2nd edition works the artist did. I can find no information on the web, other than from a Ward H. Nichols distributor in North Carolina that the print was made especially for the organization. I am trying to determine the value and would appreciate any help I can get.

Dear Editor,
Why at some time during the day, generally early afternoon, does a colony behave for about 10 minutes as if it is starting to swarm? (If anyone has any answers to this do let us know. From the description it appears to me to be the frequent 'play flights' of bees orientating themselves to the hive. Probably new foragers. They bob about in front of the hive, mainly facing the hive resembling a bunch of dancing lozenges and do indeed look like a swarm about to emerge. Any other ideas?. Ed)

Dear Editor,
Re: QMP. You say that "This threshold level has never been proven" (for QMP). I was at a presentation by Winston three years ago when he presented summary of research that proved the threshold level both for old queens and large colonies. Perhaps you should contact him for confirmation. Ross Gregory Swindon bee_ross@hotmail.com (I contacted Mark Winston, see his reply below, who indeed confirms a hypothesis concerning QMP probably in relation to bee boost or some other product. See also the news item re queen retinue attraction above. Ed)

The amount is somewhere between 1-10 queen equivalents a day, probably closer to 1. However, there is not yet a release device that accomplishes this release rate, and we do not recommend using the product for that reason. Mark L. Winston, FRSC Professor of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby, B.C. V5A 1S6 Canada phone: 604 291 4459 FAX: 604 291 3496 e-mail: winston@sfu.ca http://www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/winston/

BEEKEEPING COURSES STARTING 2004

Organisation: Derbyshire Beekeepers
Venue: Broomfield Hall Derby College, Morley near Derby
Title: Introduction to Beekeeping
Starting: 8th May 2004. Eight Saturday mornings 10 am to 12 noon
Fee: £92
Tutor: Margaret Cowley M.Sc., Cert. Ed
Contact details: course@threeroofs.org.uk

Organisation: London Beekeepers Association
Venue: Roots and Shoots, Lambeth.
Title: The London Beekeepers Association will be running introduction courses in practical beekeeping.
Starting: January 2004
More Details: The course follows the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) syllabus over ten Thursday evenings commencing Thursday 15th January 2004 from 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm. All evening sessions take place at Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, Kennington, Lambeth. For those driving to Roots and Shoots the timing avoids congestion charging. Further details on booking.
The aim of the course is to introduce the beginner to all aspects of practical beekeeping and the natural history of bees in order to raise awareness, interest and enthusiasm for beekeeping.
The evening course will be followed by practical sessions during the day at weekends. These will be held at the small apiary in the Wildlife Garden at Roots and Shoots, which includes an observation hive. Attendance at the practical sessions requires attendance at the preceding evening course.
The evening course will enable an individual to consider setting up their own hive(s), though the course will also appeal to anyone wishing to understand more about the biology and natural history of bees. It is only essential to follow up with the practical course if it is wished to set up with hives.
Fee: The course will cost £30.00. This is payable on booking and includes a copy of the book 'Guide to Bees and Honey' by Ted Hooper.
Contact details: If you wish to know more about the course please feel free to telephone:
David Perkins, Wildlife Outreach Worker, The Wildlife Garden at Roots and Shoots: 020 7582 1800 or e-mail: david@rootsandshoots.org.uk

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Event organisers are welcome to forward dates and details of their events to the editor (by e-mail) for incorporation on this page.

Saturday 13th September 2003 - The Bromley and Orpington Honey Show and Beekeeping exhibition. Opens to the public at 2.30pm FREE ENTRY. Emmanuel Church, The Grove, West Wickham, Kent. See quality products of the hive; buy pure English honey; things for kids to do; watch the bees at work safely behind glass in the demonstration hive; beekeeping exhibits and more. Refreshments available. Honey Show Schedule and entry forms from the URL: http://www.kentbee.com/bromley/news/honeyshow2003.htm

20-21 September 2003 - WEST SUSSEX HONEY FESTIVAL. If any reader would like more information or a schedule of classes, please contact me, Roger Patterson at r.patterson@pattersonpressings.co.uk 01403 790637, John Stevens at ieem@compuserve.com. 01243 533559, or Entries Secretary Mrs Sue Cooper, Malthouse, Lower Street, Pulborough, Sussex, RH20 2BH. Woodbugs@pgen.net 01798 874061

13-15 November 2003 The National Honey Show Download PDF 15KB NHS 2003 The National Honey Show is held at Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, UK. You will be able to download the show schedule from the National Honey Show site from the support pages URL: http://www.honeyshow.co.uk

22-24 November 2003 - 1st International Beekeeping Congress of CARI Louvain-la-Neuve
What Future For European Beekeeping?
The aims of this congress are to: analyze the situation of beekeeping in the European Union; estimate the importance of the present changes and the impact that they have on our way of beekeeping. The challenges to cope with are numerous (declines, quick evolution of genetics, new techniques of environmentally friendly beekeeping more friendly that involve less curing products, accession of new European partners (PECO), development of quality products, new products, the place of the honey bee in the environment). We must cope with these challenges if we want to defend and develop our way of beekeeping. During these two days we shall participate in debates based on several real examples presented by lecturers coming from several countries of the Union and from the PECO. A simultaneous translation to the French language is provided. An exhibition of posters showing the state of development of research in various subjects as well as an exhibition of new equipment will also be shown. It is possible to reserve a meal on the spot for those who want.

Provisional program
Saturday 22nd November 2003
THE HONEY BEE
09.00 Official Congress opening
09.20 Which bee for tomorrow?
12.00 Lunch
14.00 The honey bee in our environment
16.00 To an integrated way of beekeeping
Sunday 23rd November 2003
THE PLACE OF THE HONEY BEE AND BEEHIVE PRODUCTS BEEHIVE IN OUR SOCIETY
09.15 Reception of participants
09.30 The honey market
12.00 Lunch
14.00 Tracks for tomorrow
16.00 The honey bee in our society
16.40 Final debate and recommendations
Monday 24th November 2003 (optional)
Discovering Belgium
Optional tour: Bruges or Brussels.

Registration Fees
Before 31" August: 30 Euros (20 Euros for one day)
After 1St September: 40 Euros (25 Euros for one day)
After the 30th October: we cannot guarantee the provision of earphones for the translation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL CART asbl - Place Croix du Sud 4 B - 1348 LOUVAIN-La-NEUVE (Belgium) Tel: +32 10 47 34 16 FAX: +32 10 47 34 94 E-mail: info@cari.be http://www.cari.be

22-25 February 2004 - Apimondia Symposium on Tropical Beekeeping: Research and Development for Pollination and Conservation. Heredia Costa Rica More detail is available from: Isanchez@una.ac.cr

23-27 February 2004 - 7th Asian Apicultural Association Conference Los Banos College, Lagunas, Philippines. More information from: cleofas.cervancia@up.edu.ph

24th April 2004 BBKA Spring Convention and Exhibition

6-10 September 2004 - 8th IBRA Conference on tropical Bees: management and diversity. Ribeiro Preto, Brazil.

16th April 2005 BBKA Spring Convention and Exhibition

Editor: David Cramp Submissions contact the Editor
Web Editor: Steven Turner
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