 |
Steven
Turner demonstrating at Ashford Branch wearing
BBWEAR full protection. Photograph taken by Julie Bowden. |
EDITORIAL
Autumn is here, and a busy period begins for many beekeepers.
Harvests, hive cleaning, varroa treatments and taking stock of the
situation in advance of winter.
The controversial
subject of GMOs seems to dominate much of the bee press recently,
especially in the UK, and it seems that any attempt to debate the
issue is stifled by the outraged cries of 'No' from those honourably
and vehemently opposed to the entire concept. The controversy seems
to be coming to a head now with the EU proposing to end the moratorium
on GM crops. (See 'In the News' below). I am as worried as most
by the whole thing but I am rarely able to hear the whole story.
An opposing view was expressed by the Editor of the Australian Beekeeper
magazine writing in the latest edition of the Beekeepers Quarterly
(BKQ), and he made some good points. A debate 'almost' started.
Like the nuclear bomb, GM technology is here. May it not be the
case that we are sufficiently advanced as a society both morally
and technologically to enable us to take the good things from this
technology and discard the bad. If, and I repeat if, there are ways
to better feed starving people in their millions by using GMOs and
'if' there are ways of producing crops for those and other millions
that will prevent disease, then is there not a case to answer for
the use of those crops? Can we not use this technology in areas
where it is required and not in areas (such as the UK) where it
is not? We are told by many that organic methods can produce healthy
crops and reduce the need for herbicides and other chemicals. But
can organic farming produce crops in the quantities needed to feed
the starving of the third world at a cost that they can afford?
Can they? Where are the statistics and studies? Sure, we can indulge
in it here in Europe, by spending a bit more money, but at the moment,
that is all we do. We are also told that better irrigation in those
countries that need food the most can increase crop production enormously
and so this should be done instead of using GMOs. But is there enough
water? Where is this water? And if found, can better irrigation
produce enough food? It may well be able to, but where are the statistics
and studies on this? It would be tragic if we let a few more hundreds
of thousands of people starve while we find out. You see, what worries
me is that those in favour of GMOs, especially the companies involved
are forever having to (quite rightly) produce reports and statistics
to support and defend their case, but you very rarely if ever see
any form of statistical research (or proof if you like) from those
proposing alternatives. Just bald statements saying 'this way is
better'. If there is some proof around of better alternatives, let
us hear it, and let the man in the street hear it, and let us as
beekeepers and consumers debate the issues involved and find out
if something can be salvage from this mess. So far, I think we have
let ourselves down, and we will end up getting GMOs, warts and all.
The ever present
varroa situation keeps us all busy and two items of interest come
to light. A very interesting re-evaluation of the 'small cell concept'
by Roger White in Cyprus writing in the BKQ and a report on how
US bee scientists are getting on with the Russian Primorski bee.
(In the News). Also on this subject is a very interesting article
on the decline in the proportion of varroa mites resistant to pyrethroids
(In the News).
Of interest
to all beekeepers is the availability and use of appropriate technology
for beekeepers in poorer countries. The use of the top bar hive
is advocated by many. I remember reading a letter written in Bee
World 10 years ago by that eminent bee scientist and bee keeper,
Prof Roger Morse of the Cornell University in the USA. (Co-author
of the Beekeepers Encyclopaedia with Ted Hooper). I quote from the
letter. "It makes me sad to watch people recommend second rate
equipment and methods. An example is the use of the top bar hives.
Top bar hives are not efficient. A colony of honey bees in such
a hive makes much less honey than does a colony in standard equipment.
The natural nest of a honey bee is vertical not horizontal. It is
difficult to rear queens to make new colonies using top bar hives.
Combs of honey from top bar hives are not easily extracted. To encourage
second rate methods will keep people poor, ignorant and down on
the farm. Meanwhile, the rest of the world continues to fly by."
So has anything changed? Apparently not if you read below (Articles).
To put a bit more balance into the picture though, I want to introduce
you to an extremely interesting and well put together web site devoted
to Top bar hives. See: http://www.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/main.htm
Here you can read of beekeepers who use these hives, with economic
comparisons, answers to your questions, supering, queen rearing
etc. All very fascinating. If you want to read about them in print,
go to the American Bee Journal Vol 14 No 11 where you can see the
article 'using Top bar hives. A kinder, gentler beekeeping' by Dr
Malcolm Sandford. (Editor of Apis US).
I hope you
enjoy this edition. Have a good Autumn and keep in touch. David
Cramp. Editor.
BEEKEEPING
NEWS
AFB COVENTRY
AREA
There has been a very serious outbreak of AFB in the Coventry area.
Mike Brown, from the NBU, rang as soon as they realised the extent
of the problem. It is important that all bee keepers in the area
are made aware and check any suspect colonies. This is the time
of year when robbing is prevalent, please be vigilant to minimise
the spread of this outbreak.
It is hoped that Foul Brood Inspectors will have their contracts
extended to enable them to get on top of this outbreak. This alone
reflects the severity of this outbreak.
Please contact the NBU (01904 462 510), or your local inspector,
if you would like assistance. Ged Marshall
THE EU WANTS
TO END GM CROPS MORATORIUM
"We cannot continue forever with this moratorium, it must end
at some stage. We are now getting to the point very soon where we
have enough legislation in place for consumers to be satisfied that
they are adequately and sufficiently informed and protected as a
result of the legislation that we have put in place. When we have
it in place, I believe that is the time to consider making the moves.
this would have to be done in conjunction with the member states.
I believe that we are now getting to the point where consumers are
sufficiently protected and they are given sufficient information."
David Byrne on the moratorium on growing GM
crops, speaking last week.
The European Commission says that it hopes that stricter rules to
approve GM crops will prompt the end of a moratorium and give consumers
enough information to decide for themselves.
The commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, David Byrne
said on Tuesday (10th Sep) that the time had now come for the EU
to give people the choice whether they wanted to consume GM food
or not.
This would end an effective ban on on farmers growing GM crops,
dubbed Frankenstein foods by some critics. A law laying down tougher
legal criteria than in the past to allow farmers to grow GM crops
was due to come into effect in Mid October he said. By applying
stricter rules, the commission hopes to foster agreement at the
next stage of the approval process by a regulatory committee of
representatives of the EUs 15 member states. Since 1988 this committee
has opposed relaxing any regulations which effectively created a
moratorium on growing GM crops.
Mr Byrne's remarks which echo the commissions known stance on GM
crops and food were the strongest line so far taken by the commissioner
on a possible end to the EUs official opposition to GM crops. Mr
Byrne went on to say that, "I do feel that Europe must act
now to prevent the biotech field being hindered by emotional reaction
and apprehension. But at the same time, we must never compromise
on safety, public health or the environment. I believe that then
we will have to look into the situation very carefully, bearing
in mind that we have legislation in the pipeline on labelling and
traceability. This is not a public health issue, this is a consumer
choice issue." (It is perhaps his last statement that I
find most astonishing considering that most peoples' anxieties about
GM crops stem from health related worries. However, all is not lost
for some. The Canadians will be pleased. We can hardly ban imports
of their honey on the basis that they may contain GM pollen on food
safety grounds if we are producing the same stuff ourselves. Ed).
Which leads us nicely on to the next piece of news.
GM POLLEN
FOUND IN HONEY
The Sunday times of last week reports that GM pollen has been found
in English honey, but is this true or perhaps and anti GM story?
You can read this article by Mark Macaskill on the TIMESONLINE
Website by filling out a membership form; this allows access to
current articles. URL: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
The Search key word used to find the article was 'Honey'. I also
refer to this Bee-L message for readers to log on to from James
Fischer E-mail: <jfischer@SUPERCOLLIDER.COM> (http://listserv.albany.edu:8080/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0209C&L=bee-l&P=R4583)
. It really is a tangled web and as I mentioned in my editorial.
People need facts from both sides. Not half-truths or small snap
shots of the situation.
Press Release 20 September 2002 from the British Beekeepers
Association (BBKA) National Bee Keeping Centre, Royal Agricultural
Show Ground, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire CV8 2LG 02476 696679. For
further information/comment contact:
Glyn Davies (Chairman BBKA): 01364 652640 or 07711200911
Ivor Davis (Vice-Chairman BBKA): 01934 832825 or 07831 379222
Website: http://www.bbka.org.uk/
British
Beekeepers Stand Firm on 6 Mile Limit
There is a clear need to maintain Honey quality
Strong views and penetrating questions characterised today's (20
September) conference on GM Crops, Beekeeping and the Honey Industry
. The meeting, organised by the BBKA was attended by over 80 beekeeping
delegates from across the country, including members of the Scottish
and Welsh Beekeepers Associations together with representatives
of the UK honey industry (Bee Farmers Association and Honey Association).
The meeting
gave beekeepers an exclusive forum to discuss their concerns over
impending commercial planting of genetically modified crops in the
UK. They were able to put their views and question, at close quarters,
representatives of DEFRA, ACRE, SCIMAC, the Agricultural Biotechnology
Council and the Food Standards Agency.
The importance
and relevance of the 6-mile hive-exclusion zone was debated. The
BBKA policy on this was strongly endorsed and that commercial planting
should not occur pending the publication of further research. It
was accepted that even with such a limit, it would not be possible
to totally exclude any trace of GM pollen getting into honey. Debate
of the acceptable definition of non-GM honey, which is clearly principally
composed of nectar, suggested that the same criteria should be applied
to honey as other food-stuffs, again the importance of the 6-mile
limit to help to ensure this was underlined. Much needs to be done
to reassure and convince the public of the benefits and safety of
GM crops and all reasonable steps should continue to be taken to
avoid involuntary introduction of GM pollen into honey.
Glyn Davies,
Chairman of the BBKA, pronounced himself satisfied that beekeepers
had had their opportunity to discuss these important issues and
to be heard by the nation's GM regulators; above all, beekeepers
and workers in the industry wished to uphold the reputation of UK-produced
honey for quality and wholesome-ness amongst consumers.
Thomas Heck
of the Honey Association said that their main concerns were that
honey should be treated by legislators as a horticultural product
and that in the event that GM-crops are commercialised, the current
non-GM status of honey is accepted by retailers and consumers alike.
John Randall
of Leicestershire & Rutland Beekeepers said that the meeting
had provided a good platform and a great many factual points relevant
to beekeepers on the impact of GM crops. Further, that if we want
to sell GM free honey, we must make sure that our hives are 6-miles
or more from any GM crops to satisfy the public's concerns.
Alan Johnson
who with his wife farms 60 colonies of bees, felt that we had to
open our eyes and understand the wider implications of GM material.
If GM crops are licensed for commercial use it will be impossible
to claim that honey is totally GM free. Ends immediate release
DECLINE
IN THE PROPORTION OF MITES RESISTANT TO FLUVALINATE
Apidologie the Franco German apicultural research journal reports
in one of its papers that researchers have found a decline in the
proportion of mites resistant to fluvalinate in a population of
Varroa destructor not treated with pyrethroids. The abstract of
the research paper states:
The reversion of resistance to pyrethroids in Varroa destructor
Anderson & Trueman was studied in Friuli (northern Italy), where
resistance was detected in 1995 and pyrethroids had not been used
since. Mites were sampled in 7 localities each year between 1997
and 2000 and assayed in the laboratory for resistance to fluvalinate
by using paraffin coated capsules. Survival at the diagnostic concentration,
expected to kill all susceptible mites (200mg/Kg), decreased in
all the localities by about ten times in three years from 19-66%
to 1.3-7.8%. Thus the disadvantage associated with the resistance
to pyrethroids in V. destructor is small,
as usual when resistance is due to monooxygenases. Its impact on
the selection of resistant mites during annual application of treatments
is negligible; appreciable effects of reversion can be expected
only over many generations of the mite.
The full report was published in Apidologie 33(2002)417-422 and
was written and researched by Norberto Milani and Giorgio Della
Vedova of the Universita di Udine, Italy.
The full contents of the July/August edition of Apidologie is given
below.
THOSE RUSSIAN
BEES
All of us have been trying for years to come up with a workable,
safe and healthy treatment for varroa in our colonies. Chemicals,
smokes, dust and flour to clog their pores, walnut husks in alcohol
(sounds the most interesting to me. Ed), essential oils,
acids, pollen traps and walnut leaf smoke, drone removal etc etc
etc. But what ever happened to those (once) famous Russian bees
the Primorski bees being tested by US scientists at the USDA at
Baton Rouge. Well they are looking good. The honeybee breeding ,
Genetics and physiology lab have been comparing the hygiene behaviour
of these Russian bees with domestic ones. In the latest tests conducted
this year. These tests showed that 41% of the Russian bee colonies
tested hygienic (with a 95% dead bee removal) whilst only 21% of
the domestic bee colonies did. The scientists have been working
with these bees since 1994 and you can see their reports from then
up to now on: http://msa.ars.usda.gov/la/btn/hbb/.
It's worth a look. The photos are quite graphic and telling in favour
of the Primorski bee. A report has also been written in the American
Bee Journal 142:58-60.
BEE STINGS.
SPEED NOT METHOD IS THE IMPORTANT THING
I read several years ago a report that said that it was irrelevant
how you removed a bee sting as long as you did it quickly as over
80% of the venom was injected in the first few seconds. Since then
I have been unable to find it and still read in all beekeeping books
and magazines especially those directed at beginners that you must
scrape the sting out otherwise if you attempt to pluck it out you
will inject all of the venom in the sack into yourself immediately.
Well at last, there is an authoratative article on the subject.
An article by US researchers that expands on information previously
published in the Lancet suggests that there is no morphological
basis for scraping off the sting, and that such advice is liable
to slow down removal of the sting and thus cause greater envenomisation.
The scientists found that the method of removal does not affect
the amount of venom injected. Advice to scrape the sting out probably
derives from a misunderstanding of the structure and function of
the honeybee stings. Once in the skin, the sting continues to inject
venom but it is a valve system, not contraction or compression of
the venom sac, (the wall of which contains no muscle), which pumps
the venom.
The data in the report illustrate that the advice that patients
should be concerned about how bee stings are removed is in fact
counterproductive in terms of minimising envenomisation. The method
of removal is irrelevant, but even slight delays in removal caused
by concerns over performing it correctly (or getting out a knife,
or credit card) are likely to increase the amount of venom received.
The advice should be changed to emphasise that bee stings should
be removed, and as quickly as possible. (Another beekeeping myth
destroyed. Ed).
The full report was written by P. Kirk Visscher, PhD Richard S Vetter
MS Both of the department of entomology, University of california,
Riverside, CA. Scott camazine MD, PhD Department of entomolgy, Pennsylvania
State University, State College, PA. It can be found on: http://bees.ucr.edu/stings.html
BEES USE
OPTICAL ODOMETERS
We have heard recently of bees being trained to sniff out bombs
with the backing of the Pentagon, (http://www.cyberbee.net/news/beemine.html),
but military research has also being going on to investigate the
development of pocket sized surveillance technologies featuring
insect vision. This research, backed by the US Advanced Research
Project Agency and the Australian Defence, Science and Technology
Organisation is looking at what exactly bees rely on to gauge distance
information. We all know about the bees waggle dances which give
directional and distance information concerning nectar sources (disputed
by some), but upon what do they base their measurements? Studies
suggest that they use cues based primarily on image motion to monitor
flight distances of hundreds of metres in natural outdoor environments.
For example if a bee passes many visual landmarks such as trees,
it makes the insect feel that it has travelled a long way. Whereas
it was previously suggested that bees used the amount of energy
expended to gauge distance, in 1996, a team of researchers found
that bees flying between very tall buildings performed dances suggesting
that they had travelled half the distance as bees travelling near
to the ground over the same course. This is presumably because as
the ground drops away, it doesn't appear to go by as fast in the
bees eye. Building on this work, Professor M V Srinivasan of the
Australian National University's Centre for visual science together
with Shaowu Zhang of the same institute and M.Altwein and J tautz
both of Germany's Universitat Wurzburg, have prompted bees to waggle
even when food is close to the hive, by bombarding their eyes with
optical cues during short journeys. To test the bees' odometers,
the researchers sent the bees down a narrow tunnel 6.4 metres long
for food sources. The food source was placed between 35 and 41 metres
from the hive, a distance known to provoke only round dances from
bees. Decorating the tunnel with random black and white patterns
90% of bees gave waggle dance information although they gave round
dance information when flying similar distances between feeders
on the University campus. When the tunnel was decorated with horizontal
black and white stripes, 86.7% of the bees gave round dance information
apparently because they were flying parallel to the lines and not
receiving an exaggerated amount of information. The paper concludes
that flying close to the tunnel walls particularly those decorated
with patterns amplified the bees perception of distance and skewed
the bees optical odometer by as much as a factor of 31. Consequently
a distance of 6 metres inside the tunnel appeared to the bees as
186 metres. They found that the bees waggle one millisecond for
every 17.7 degrees of image motion it sees. The formula isn't absolute
the researchers stress because a bees perception of distance is
environment dependant, but the findings will help scientists better
understand the optical mechanisms.
The original source of that article was the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
SOUTH AFRICA
TO VASTLY INCREASE HONEY PRODUCTION
A project that aims to push up South Africa's honey productionto
10,0000 tons from the present 2000 tons has been launched by the
Bee Foundation. Currently, domestic demand is met largely by imports,
but this project would aim to meet this demand and to produce honey
for medicinal purposes such as treating tuberculosis. This extra
production would also have considerable export potential being organically
produced said Jean-Marie Julienne of the Bee Foundation. The project
aims to increase the number of hives from the current number of
around 90,000 to somewhere in the region of 5 million and the intention
would be to provide honey production units to communities around
the country and to provide them with a guaranteed offtake market.
The Bee Foundation would provide the necessary funds to equip the
bee farmers with high tech injection moulded hives, each unit having
15 of these and each hive producing around 20 Kg of honey annually.
(Although in some more favourable areas this could reach 60Kg).
The report also adds that each hive would be equipped with a global
systems mobile device providing such information as owner details
and geographical position.The Bee Foundation is working with the
University of Pretoria on this project which is called Inyosi. (The
source of this newstory is http://allafrica.com/
).
UGANDAN
BEEKEEPERS TO STEP UP PRODUCTION
Ugandan
beekeepers have stepped up production to meet the increased demand
from Western Europe following the ban on Chines honey. "Honey
prices have risen steadily eversince the EU banned the import of
Chinese honey in which health officials found traces of banned antibiotics".
Ramsey Owott the president of the Ugandan beekeepers Association
said. (The source of this story is http://allafrica.com/
).
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.
11th -13th October 2002
THE CENTRAL ASSOCIATION OF BEE-KEEPERS Bringing Science to
the Beekeeper. Leamington Weekend. The Manor House Hotel,
Royal Leamington Spa.
Friday 11th October.
4.00 pm onwards Registration
7.00 pm Dinner.
8.30 pm Paul Harcourt-Davies, Hidden World: Photographing insects
and orchids.
Saturday 12th October.
9.15 am Celia Davis NDB, Warwickshire: Organisation of colony reproduction
in the honey bee
10.15 am Coffee.
10.45 am Dr Peter Wright, University of Edinburgh: Cognitive processes
in honey bees?
11.45 am Prof. Nigel Franks, University of Bristol: House hunting
in ants and honey bees.
1.00 pm Lunch
2.00 pm The Pavord Memorial Lecture: John Goodman, Scottish BKA:
Beekeeping in Honduras.
3.15 pm Tea
3.45 pm Bob Ogden, Devon: In pursuit of liquid gold.
6.30 pm Sherry reception
7.00 pm CABK Annual Dinner with entertainment by "The Broadway
Duo".
Sunday 13th October.
9.45
am Celia Davis NDB, Warwickshire: The lives of the wild bees and
wasps.
11.00 am Coffee
11.30 am Dr Tom Wenseleers, University of Sheffield: The anarchistic
societies of the bees without sting.
1.00 pm Lunch
3.00 pm Beekeepers Harvest Festival service at Stoneleigh Parish
Church.
4.00 pm Tea with Warwickshire B.K.A. at Stoneleigh Village Hall.
Conference
fee, including tea / coffee for CABK members £25
Conference fee, including tea / coffee for non CABK members £27
Further details
from: Mrs M.R. English, 6 Oxford Road, Teddington, Middx. TW11 OPZ
Tel: (020) 8977 5867
14th - 18th
October 2002 - The Apimondia Apitherapy Commission is organising
an international apitherapy course in Cuba at the Callixto Garcia
Faculty of Medicine in Havana. The programme includes the biochemical
composition of hive products, the techniques of producing medicines
from hive products, and clinical practice. This course will be given
from 14 to 18 October 2002 by the following professors:
Prof Théodore
Cherbuliez, MD, President of the Apitherapy Commission
Prof Roch Domerego, biologist, Vice-President of the Apitherapy
Commission
Prof Ramos, MD, Head of department at the Callixto Garcia hospital
Prof Cristina Mateescu, Doctor of biochemistry, Director of Research
Prof Franco Feraboli, Surgeon
Prof Amina Damiri, Chemical engineer
Prof Adolfo Perez Pineiro, biologist, Director of the Experimental
Bee-keeping Station
Dr Adolfo Gonzalez Salvador, doctor, Head of department at the Frank
Pais hospital
Dr Celia Alex Toro Aung, Head of department at the Callixto Garcia
hospital
Dr Guillermo Lázaro Prado González, MD, Head of clinic
at the Finlay Institute
(It is possible that other professors who are members of the Commission
may join us at the last moment).
A level 2 programme
will also be organised at that time for those who are already performing
in apitherapy. If you want to subscribe at that level, please contact
us.
For each level, the prices will be:
USD 500 for nationals of the following countries: Australia, Canada,
the European Union, the USA, Japan, New Zealand and Switzerland.
USD 250 for all other countries.
This
price includes:
40 hours of training
the certificate of attendance
the apitherapy CD-ROM
the various documents handed out during the course
tea and coffee during the breaks.
We suggest
staying at the hotel Bello Caribe - three stars - for a price of
USD 60 per day. This price includes accommodation in a double room,
half board (breakfast and evening meal) and transport morning and
evening from the hotel to the faculty.
We will arrange
the allocation of double rooms in situ for people travelling alone
who prefer to share a room. Single rooms will be available for a
supplement of USD 25 per night. We kindly ask you to register before
15 September 2002. Reservations and payments by credit card may
be made by telephone to +32 23 46 22 60, or by fax to +32 23 45
19 95 (indicate on the fax: the number of the Visa, MasterCard or
American Express credit card and the expiry date). To register after
this date, an additional charge of USD 100 will be levied on the
price of the course. Download course programmes level 1 and 2
http//www.beedata.com/files/14-19oct2002level1.pdf
http//www.beedata.com/files/14-19oct2002level2.pdf
http://www.beedata.com/files/registration-symposium-apitherapy.PDF
Roch Domerego
Vice-President.
Email: roch.domerego@euronet.be
14th, 15th, 16th November 2002 - The National
Honey Show the biggest honey show in the world at Kensington
Town Hall, Horton Street, London, England UK. The show schedule
files are now available for downloading in PDF and Word97 formats.
Visit the new look National Honey Show website for all the latest
news http://www.honeyshow.co.uk
. Below a collection of friendly faces from last year's
National Honey Show.
Dear supporters of the National Honey Show, Please note the dates
below for:
PARKING CONCESSION AT KENSINGTON There is a car park underneath
the Kensington Town Hall. Fifty parking spaces per day have been offered
to the Show at a cost of £12 for a whole day in the period 14th
to 17th November. If you wish to book space for any of the days of
the Show a request should be made indicating the day(s) required and
including a cheque payable to the 'National Honey Show' for the full
amount. The request should be accompanied with an SAE with postage
paid for £1.00. The closing date for booking requests to be
received is 3rd October, 2002. Tickets will be sent after 5th
November. First come first served. All bookings should be sent to:-
L. Chirnside, Bryn-y Pant Cottage, Upper Llanover, Abergavenny, Mon.
NP7 9ES 01873 880625 or E-mail: chirnside@kolvox.net and cc chirnside@talk21.com
Please note that NO LATE BOOKINGS CAN BE ACCEPTED.
ENTRY
FORMS This form must be returned, together with the total remittance
shown on the other side of the form, to the Membership Secretary,
Mr WD Fildes, 18 Andersons, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex SS17 7JF to arrive
by 14th October, 2002. Entries sent after this date may still
be accepted up to the 1st November,2002, provided the single
late entry fee is included. Late entries for Video, Photographic and
Essay Classes are not accepted.
2-7 December
2002 - Canada/United States 2002 Joint Apicultural meetings.
This series of meetings brings together The American Association
of Professional Apiculturists; The Apiary Inspectors of America;
The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists; The Canadian
Honey Council; The Empire State Honey Producers' Association and
the Ontario Beekeepers Association. For more information: http://www.honeycouncil.ca
or http://www.ontariobee.com
Saturday 11th January 2003 - West Sussex Beekeepers
Association present 'Managing Bees with Minimum Medication'
at Brinsbury College on A29 north of Pulborough. Lectures and Workshop
to enable beekeepers to plan for the coming season. Lecturer/Facilitator
Maurice Field with Glyn Davies, Chairman BBKA. From 10am until 4pm.
Tickets £5 in advance or £6 on the day from Andrew Shelley,
Oakfield, Cox Green, Rudgwick, West Sussex RH12 300. (sae appreciated)
Refreshments available in the College Restaurant. Further details
on 01903 815655 or e-mail john_bateman_hunt@hotmail.com
Saturday
22 February 2003 - SBKA 2003 LECTURE DAY Somerset Beekeepers'
Association will be holding their Lecture Day on (Those who already
have their 2003 diaries, please note this is a different date to
the one announced at the 2002 Lecture Day) We are putting together,
what we think, is an interesting programme of lectures. Finalisation
of the programme has been delayed as one of the lecturers had to
withdraw, but the programme should be available early in October.
The lecturers are Dr Ruth Waite (nee Spinks), Dr Michael Keith-Lucas,
Roger Phippen, Margaret Thomas NDB and Richard Ball, RBI. The cost
for the Lecture Day for non-SBKA members is £12 and this includes
a ploughman's lunch with dessert and refreshments during the day.
The venue is the St. Ivel Lecture Hall at the Bath and West Showground
near Shepton Mallet. If any of your members would like to attend,
tickets will be available from the SBKA Education Officer, Mrs Caroline
Butter, The Old Manse, Draycott, Cheddar BS27 3SF from 8 January
2003. Prior to that date tickets will only be available to our SBKA
members. From 8 January 2003 tickets will be available on a "first
come, first served" basis as we are limited to 100 seated in
the lecture hall. If you require any more information, please do
let me know. Mrs
Sharon Blake e-mail: m-s.blake@overstratton.fsnet.co.uk
THE
BEE PRESS
BEECRAFT
The latest issue of Bee Craft offers a wealth of information, advice
and items of interest for all beekeepers in its monthly columns.
The following is its contents list:
|
|
Beecraft
September 2002 Volume 84 Number 9
http://www.bee-craft.com/
Editorial
Preparing a colony for winter Helena Monks
Return to beekeeping 'Magpie'
Beginner's Bazaar Matthew Allan, NDB
Bees without Frontiers P.A.M, NDB
Smelly bees Michael Boki
Beekeeping in Ireland Eddie O'Sullivan
Moving colonies of bees Ernest Chant
A beekeeper's equipment:bee hives Andrew Gibb
Edward Bevan: a double mystery Karl Showler
Book reviews
Obituaries Maurice Bond; Denis Harmsworth; Bill King
Ask Dr Drone
Letters to the Editor
Around the colony
The Bee Craft crossword Stuart Ching
Classified advertisements
Calendar |
BEE
BIZ magazine under the editorship of John Phipps aimed
at the professional and non professional beekeeper. The September
2002 issue covers the following topics:
Cover photo:
|
|
Competition
for space during the honeydew flow in the Menalo Forest of Greece
leads to some beekeepers placing their hives on the roadside. (Photo:
John Phipps).
Contents
Editorial
Letters: Peter Taylor, Zimbabwe; John Atkinson, UK; Robert
Gulliford, Australia.
In The News: Events: National Honey Show (UK); Apitherapy
Symposium, Cuba; Apimondia 2003, Slovenia. Honey: Revised EU honey
directives; Honey and nuts fight cholesterol; China attacks Europe
over honey ban; High honey prices raises cost of manufactured food.
GM Crops USDA report exposes GM Crop economics myth.
Pests/Diseases: Varroa resistant bees possible; Microbial control
of varroa; Surveillance shows varroa bee mite has spread in New
Zealand.
People: Secretary of UK Bee Farmers Association retires
Business Profile: Glory Bee Foods - the story of the firm
renown worldwide for their HoneyStix
Commercial Beekeeping in Argentina - a brief look at three bee farms,
Roy Cropley
POLLINATION: Kiwi Fruit Pollination Association:
Part Two - Hive Standards and Hive Auditing Cliff van Heaton, New
Zealand Pollination fees can give beekeepers a good income, but
the hives need to be in tip-top condition. How would your colonies
stand up to an audit?
OUT OF AFRICA: Africanised Bees in the Americas Tom Sandford,
USA.
Behavior Characteristics of the Africanized Bees, Apis mellifera
scutellata Elizabeth L. Sears
Beekeeping Problems in Zimbabwe. Peter Taylor, Zimbabwe. Beekeeping
disintegrates as violence and intimidation drives white farmers
out of Mugabwe's ZImbabwe.
FORAGE: Chinese Nectar Sources Dr Li Jianke, China . An in-depth
look at the major forage plants of the world's largest honey-producing
country.
QUEEN REARING: Overwintering Large Numbers of Queens in the
Northern Hemisphere Dr Alexander Komissar, Ukraine. Overwintering
large numbers of nucs in temperate zones presents many problems
for beekeepers - however, using the right equipment and given good
management, success is assured.
Aid and Development: Pam Gregory/DEFRA Apimondia 2002 award
Small-scale beeswax processing in remote western Nepal Naomi M Saville.
In many rural areas of the developing world, just a few stocks of
bees can add enormously to the incomes of families or villages.
Visitors to the Hive Spiders can cause problems both inside
and outside of the hive.
WHAT A GOOD IDEA! Share your tips with beekeeping colleagues
around the world - in this issue: modifying a hive lid for easy
feeding and uniting of colonies.
BOOK
REVIEWS:
Crop Pollination by Bees, K S Delapane & D F Mayer
Bees of the World, Charles Michener
Strengthening Livelihoods, Nicola Bradbear, Eleanor Fisher &
Helen Jackson
Honey Bees: Estimating the Environmental Impact of Chemicals, edited
by
James Devillers and Minh-Ha Pham-Delegue
JOURNAL
OF APICULTURAL RESEARCH
APIDOLOGIE. JUL/AUG 02. VOL 33. No4.
First
report of varroa destructor resistance to pyrethroids in the UK.
How a honey bee colony mustered additional labour for the task of
pollen foraging.
Sounds in Melipona costaricensis (Apidae:Meliponini): effect of
sugar concentration and nectar distance.
Differential infestation of honey bee, Apis mellifera, worker and
queen brood by the parasitic mite varroa destructor.
Determination of residues in honey after treatments with formic
and oxalic acid under field conditions.
Resistance to Acarapis woodi by honey bees from Far Eastern Russia.
Decline in the proportion of mites resistant to fluvalinate in a
population of Varroa destructor not treated with pyrethroids.
A scientific note on the reproduction of two bumblebee queens (Bombus
hypnorum) infested by the nematode Sphaerularia bombi.
To read online abstracts from any of these papers go to: http://www.edpsciences.org/articles/inra-apido/abs/2002/04/contents/contents.html
NOTE
If any beekeeping organisation/association or company wants to publish
the contents list of their local or in house magazine, simply send
the information to the editor by the 15th of each month for inclusion
in the newsletter. Those from overseas are welcome, and in any language.
ARTICLES
ACARINE
By John Yates.
Acarine
is not a well known ailment (although well known about), and there
are many myths and uncertainties associated with it. This article
by John Yates sheds some light on the subject which I am sure will
be of great use to many beekeepers. Ed.
I
received a telephone call from a member of my beekeeping association
who was undertaking a grand clean up at his apiary that is jointly
owned with two other beekeepers. Disease had been a problem that
had spread from hive to hive in the apiary by drifting and robbing.
He had taken all precautions by disinfecting his frames with acetic
acid, treating for Nosema and had, last autumn, wanted to treat
for Acarine which had been diagnosed, by our Branch microscopist,
in samples from his apiary. The query was "what do I use to
treat my colonies for Acarine?" It motivated me to think about
the problem as there is, at present, no recommended treatment for
this endemic disease in the UK. Clearly something is wrong when
there have been remedies available for this ailment during the past
65 years.
When Dr. Rennie
discovered Acarapis woodi as the culprit, he recommended treatment
with a mixture of chloropicrin, camphor and methyl salicylate which
was partially effective in checking the pest. It was not regarded
as a cure according to my copy of "Beekeeping New and Old described
with pen and camera" by W. Herrod-Hempsall FRES. (Incidentally
volumes 1 and 2 of this book, a beekeeping classic, demand a price
of about £300 for the pair in reasonable condition). On 17th
November 1927, Mr. R. W. Frow published in The British Bee Journal
an article entitled "A new treatment for Acarine Disease in
bee hives" that recommended his famous mixture of nitro benzene,
saffrol and petrol. This medicament certainly stood the test of
time as it has been regularly used in UK until the mid eighties
when supplies dried up. It was packaged in convenient doses in a
soft flexible plastic phial whereby the tip could be cut off and
the contents squeezed out onto an absorbent pad to be placed on
top of the colony. Someone, somewhere, decreed that it was carcinogenic
and it is no longer sold by the bee appliance merchants. I wonder
who?
In the late
seventies Folbex strips became available; a cardboard strip containing
chlorobenzilate which was lit and then put in the hive to smoulder,
the smoke fumigating and killing the inhabitants of the bees' tracheae.
This was an effective treatment. Then Europe became infested with
varroa and Folbex VA, containing bromo propylate, became available
in the eighties which was effective against both Acarapis woodi
and Varroa destructor previously Varroa jacobsoni. Someone, somewhere,
decreed again that both these types of strip were carcinogenic and
supplies of them have become extinct. I wonder who? The Folbex VA
strips, had they been available, would have assisted with our varroa
problem cheaply at £1 per colony.
Other treatments
shown to be effective in the laboratory have included menthol and
formic acid both of which are repellent and injurious to bees according
to Bailey. Methyl salicylate has been used as a winter treatment
when the bees are virtually confined to the hive. It is a synthetic
product produced by the action of salicylic acid on methyl alcohol
but oil of gaulthenia, or oil of wintergreen, contains 99% methyl
salicylate and the other 1% of ketones are said (by whom?) to make
the treatment more efficacious. A 1 oz. (28ml) bottle and wick is
all that is required; I have never used it personally. Corrugated
paper soaked and dried in a solution of saltpetre and then again
in a solution of flowers of sulphur in carbon bisulphide used in
the smoker are said to have been effective in Switzerland.
Another old
treatment includes crystals of menthol (25gm) sprinkled on top of
the frames or oil of peppermint from which menthol is derived.
In our experience
Acarine is not as troublesome as Nosema..However, having said that,
in some years Acarine seems to recur with a vengeance. Our last
bad year was in 1988 when we found no colonies with Acarine in the
spring but virtually every colony was found to be badly infected
when we checked our colonies in the autumn for adult bee diseases.
That was when we finished our stocks of Folbex and Frow Mixture!
Since then we have not treated any of our colonies; perhaps we have
been lucky, perhaps not. In the mid nineties Varroosis was discovered
in the UK and stocks of bees have been treated regularly in the
autumn with either Bayvarol or Apistan both very potent acaricides.
These acaricides would be very effective against such a small arachnid
as the Acarapis woodi compared with the much bigger Varroa destructor.
I am of the opinion that the treatment for Varroosis has been a
prophylactic in the case of Acarine. These regular annual treatments
with synthetic pyrethroids have been effective also in the demise
of the bee louse, Braula coeca; I haven't seen one for years and
the queens must feel a lot better without them!
However, even
with the present scenario we have had one or two beekeepers coming
along seeking advice for the problem of Acarine in their colonies.
I am at a loss as what to advise them except try a Bayvarol strip
for 3 weeks. It seems that beekeepers have been left high and dry
on this one and a little guidance from the NBU would not go amiss.
JDY. July 2002.
The news
item about South Africa boosting its honey crop (above). I mentioned
in the editorial that some suggest that perhaps appropriate technology
may not be the best technology for successful apiculture in these
countries and the news report above concerning South African efforts
to step up honey production also indicates that modern methods are
now being pursued, and older, simpler technology such as top bar
hives are being abandoned. The following article below is abridged
from an interview conducted by AllAfrica.com with Farouk Jiwa, 28
years old and a 4th generation Kenyan Asian. Farouk went to Canada
to gain a degree in environmental biology and returned home to look
for a niche in the environmental market, which he found making honey.
Ed.
HONEY MONEY: A NEW APPROACH TO AN OLD PROBLEM IN KENYA
Sustainable bee keeping has become Jiwa's livelihood. Armed with
self-confidence and determination, as well as his new skills and
the will to succeed, Jiwa teamed up with two like minded Kenyans.
They added their confidence and commitment as well as US$150,000
apiece and Honey Care Africa was born. The company's motto is "Honey
from Africa: Honey for the World".
Honey Care Africa is one of the projects of the Kenya branch of
the Global Environmental Facility's (GEF) Small Grants Programme
(SPG). This is implemented by the United Nations' Development Programme
(UNDP). Farouk Jiwa was in South Africa to attend the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD). He had a stall set up at UNDP's
Ubuntu Community Kraal at the Ubuntu Village, a few miles from the
WSSD conference venue at Sandton.
AllAfrica's
Ofeibea Quist-Arcton went along to meet Jiwa to find out more about
his bee-keeping enterprise, its novel approach and the reaction
of Kenya to new-look, new-tasting honey.
I am a Kenyan and I am the general manager of Honey Care Africa.
It is a small company in Kenya that is promoting community-based
bee keeping.
Precisely what does that mean? What we try and do is make it
accessible for small-scale farmers who live in communities and who
now access beehives on a lone basis. We get people in collectives;
individual ownership of hives exists, yes, because we are all capitalists
at heart. But at the same time we try to make sure that we develop
some sort of cooperative or some sort of association, where farmers
can work together. All hives are provided either on a loan or cost-sharing
basis. We are also working to promote bee keeping with more than
400 independent self-help groups, development groups and community-based
organisations all over the country. In addition, we have numerous
bee keeping projects with various individuals, where the size of
the apiaries range from 5 hives up to 800 hives.
When did you start and what set you along this course? Did
you learn about this sustainable form of bee keeping in another
country? When I returned back home to Kenya after my university
education in environmental biology at Queen's University in Canada,
I decided to go back and see if there was any way that I could get
involved in any sector of agriculture in any particular way. Bee
keeping made the most sense, because it worked really well for the
environment, had no negative impact and, at the same time, it worked
quite nicely in developing incomes and generating money for communities
as well.
Of course, there was bee keeping in Kenya before you got back home
but how does the manner in which you are making honey differ from
what was happening before? I think first and foremost, probably
the most important thing is that there has been a change in technology.
We use the Langstroth beehive, which is a system of bee keeping
that has been used in North America and Europe since the end of
the First World War. It has never been used in Kenya and in East
Africa in an organized way before.
How does the Langstroth method differ from conventional bee keeping?
It does two things. First and foremost you separate where the queen
and the brood live from where the honey is produced. The second
thing that you're doing is that you have recyclable honeycombs.
So you are not cutting down the combs at the end of every season
and you are not destroying the queen of the bees. So you have a
continuous supply of honey throughout the year.
So tell us what normally happens? Are the queen bees and
honeycombs destroyed? Traditionally most communities in Kenya
use log hives or basket hives, where you go in and smoke out the
bees. You use a knife to cut out all the combs and put everything
into a bucket. What you've basically done is you've damaged the
beeswax, which is the most expensive thing, from an energy standpoint,
for the bees to produce. At the same time you have destroyed the
success of generations of bees that are being built in there as
well.
Expensive in terms of time and effort for the bees? Expensive
in terms of time, I think, for the bees, and it just distracts them
from producing honey because, until the combs have been built, you
can't put any honey into the hives at all. You say that in North
America the Langstroth method has been going for more than fifty
years.
How come it hasn't traveled round the world and reached Kenya?
I think the first thing is that Kenya took the wrong turn in terms
of bee keeping in the 1960s with the introduction of the Kenya Top
Bar hive. It was at a time when people thought that appropriate
technology was the best thing to do, never realizing that, at some
stage, the best technology in the world was what people wanted.
The Top Bar hive unfortunately derailed the way bee keeping in Kenya
was being developed. And nobody thought the structures were in place
for the Langstroth hive to work. Explain what the Kenyan method
was, because I suppose in the 1960s people thought it was the best
way. It was considered to be appropriate for the level of development
of the communities where you did not have to do a lot of training,
where you did not have to go out and help the farmers extract the
honey and they could go out and do it on their own. Unfortunately
they produced very poor quality honey and it wasn't even marketable.
What do you mean by poor quality? In terms of the moisture content
of the honey, in terms of the smoke and in terms of the general
appearance and taste of the honey. It was very smoky, very cloudy
and the international market refused to accept that honey.
So who was eating the Kenyan honey? It was primarily being used
by local farmers and local communities.
And now? Now we have 12,000 Langstroth hives across Kenya. We
are producing large volumes of honey, approximately 65 metric tonnes
this year. And we are able to supply almost all of that honey exclusively
into the local market in Kenya. It is a high quality honey, an organic
honey with unique natural flavours. We are supplying major retail
outlets, hotels and industries in Kenya. It is available right across
the country and we also have some surplus to start exporting now.
Have you begun exporting yet and if so, where to? We have basically
started exporting into Uganda and Tanzania. We started about a month
and a half ago, but primarily the focus has been producing high
quality honey for Kenyans first and foremost. The funny thing about
agricultural production in Africa is that Kenya, for example, produces
the best coffee in the world and yet Kenyans drink the worst coffee.
For a change we thought why don't we produce a high quality product
which Kenyans know and Kenyans like: supply the local market first
and then worry about the European market later.
How soon are you going to begin worrying about the overseas market
rather than the east African regional market? I think we have
a lot of work to do in terms of first of all saturating the local
market at every single level. The next thing we are trying to do
is move away from glass jars into small little sachets, 15g sachets,
like you get your tomato sauce when you go and buy chips in a sachet.
We intend to have those available for 2 Kenyan shillings so that
communities can now afford honey, before we think of the export
market.
So now that you have consolidated your product in the local market
and made sure that Kenyans are eating what you call good honey,
how soon do you think you will begin marketing the idea of Kenyan
honey outside your country in other parts of the continent? You
have mentioned Tanzania and Uganda, but what about other African
countries? Do you see such collaborations being a possibility?
I think the important thing for us to do is, first of all, to perfect
the model that we have tried to develop in Kenya, make sure that
we reach some saturation point and check that we are not overextending
ourselves. I think Uganda is the next most logical step for us.
We are now slowly building alliances with people in Lesotho and
Swaziland. This has emerged from the WSSD for us. And the idea now
is to look at things strategically and decide, No. 1, where the
money is going to come from and No. 2, who is actually going to
go out and manage these projects.
How does the price of your honey compare with a pot of the old-style
honey and what's the competition? Are people buying it, and are
they satisfied? Absolutely. I think people are buying primarily
because of quality. But the other amazing thing that we have found
is that social marketing does have a value in Kenya. People would
like to know that their honey is being produced by communities and
that it is supporting communities back at home. So, on those two
bases, the community aspect of the work that we do, and the quality,
people are absolutely opting for our honey, every time.
So how much is a pot of your honey? How much does Honey Care Africa
honey cost? How much do we sell it at? We sell it at approximately
US$2.20 a jar.
How does that compare with your competitors? We are comparable
with international honey. It is probably about one and a half times
the price of the local crude honey.
And that doesn't put people off, the fact that it's more expensive?
I think Kenyans are becoming far more savvy than they were probably
20 or 30 years ago. They want a high quality product. They have
Australian honey sitting on the same supermarket shelves and honey
from the United States. You have to convince them and give them
a good reason why they should opt for Kenyan honey versus honey
from outside.
What do Kenyans primarily use honey for? That's an interesting
question. There are 42 different tribes in Kenya. First and foremost,
if you were a young man and you wanted to get married in many communities,
without 5kg of honey to take to your bride-to-be, you would not
get married. Apart from the traditional and cultural value that
honey has in Kenya, it is used for sweetening tea and pastries,
but also on bread or just eating on its own. The medicinal value
of honey, of course, cannot be underscored for African communities.
It has been there all the way through and it continues to be revived
as a result of the organic movement and other movements in North
America that seem to be filtering through and reminding people of
the value honey had in their communities before.
How much support do you get from the Ministry of Agriculture?
It was initially quite challenging with the Ministry of Agriculture,
but we have now broken down a lot of barriers. We are working very
closely with them in Kitui and Taita-Taveta Districts and in Kwale
District and a whole number of other areas. The district bee keeping
officers and my project officers share motorbikes and drive around
to villages together, so things have improved a lot.
What were those initial barriers? I think because they were
very closely involved with the introduction of the Kenya Top Bar
hive that had established a hegemony in every single village about
who had the information. But that has now changed, because we have
gotten them trained, we have given the proof that you can see bigger,
better harvests and your farmers are getting paid more.
So that must mean that you have managed, or are managing, to change
the mindset of the officials, but how did you change the way in
which communities think? Why did they accept your method, what was
in it for them?
The biggest thing was going out and doing a lot of demonstrations
and ensuring as much as possible that we were able to provide training
to the farmers; and then putting your money where your mouth was,
offering a guaranteed market to the farmers, to buy back whatever
honey they were going to produce. And we have a simple process:
it's called money for honey, cash payments on the spot at the farm
gate for the farmers. After the first harvest or the second harvest,
people finally began to believe that here is a private company with
a different way of doing business. Once they see the money in their
pockets, things change quite dramatically!
And has honey made you money? Are you a rich man now? We are
hoping to turn a profit at the end of this year. It's been about
two and a half years of very hard work, reinvesting our salaries
every month, but I think at the end of this year we should be able
to make a breakthrough.
Who are 'we'? We, at Honey Care, are myself and two other likeminded
investors who I coaxed into making investments of US$150,000 each
and promised to look after their money. They are two other Kenyans,
apart from myself.
So it's a wholly Kenyan-financed, Kenyan-operated project? 100
percent Kenyan, all the way through. Who thought of the name
of your company, Honey Care Africa? I think it was a combined
effort. We wanted to put across three simple things. We were dealing
with a particular commodity, which was honey. We were based in Africa
geographically and we were trying to demonstrate the fact that this
is a slightly different company, that we want to do this in a fair
trade manner and we want to be an ethical organization. And we really
do care about the communities we want to work with. We are building
long-term partnerships.
So, that's how Honey Care Africa emerged as a name. I suppose now
Kenyans have a reason to be proud of their honey? I think they
are coming to a stage when they can appreciate the fact that they
are producing world class honey in different flavours, mind you,
depending on the flowers bees go to, you get different types of
honey. For example? We have coffee honey, which we are just
beginning to slowly start marketing. We are blending honey today.
But eventually we'll have acacia honey, coffee honey, passion flower
honey, wild comb and African Blossom. We might even be getting coconut
honey very soon. All these are different flavours where you can
actually taste the exotic fruits and flowers from which this honey
is derived.
Does coffee honey have a coffee-ish flavour? It does. We don't
know what the caffeine content is, but it definitely tastes like
coffee. And what about your assessment of the World Summit of
Sustainable Development here in Johannesburg. Has it been useful
for you and positive? It has been a wonderful experience and
an eye opener in many ways, because it has given us a chance to
learn from the other people who are being funded by the Small Grants
Programme of the UNDP, to learn more about other activities and
other communities like those that are being funded by the GEF in
Kenya and see what experiences they have had as well.
INSTALLATION
Written by Mathew Allen. Last month it was the lure of Hollywood,
but the wider fields of culture beckon this month. Forget Damien
Hirst and his smelly carcases! Tracey Emin, take up your bed and
walk! Now I have an invitation to collaborate in, yes, an INSTALLATION.
Denis and Sylvia, you must fight those feelings of envy, but my
creative duty drives me to the wilder frontiers of art. The phone
call went something like this: 'Hi!' (lady's soft Irish voice) 'I'm
a goldsmith, and I'm working on a new piece.'
'Mmmm..'
'Do you know about bees?'
'A bit.'
'Can you send me some dead bees?'
'Probably - how many?'
'Oh, several thousand - I'm gold plating them for a new installation.'
Etc etc etc.
Well, I sent her a hundred, which I picked up from the entrances
of various hives, and I'm still waiting for the thanks. In the meantime
I am rehearsing my acceptance speech for the Turner prize.
(The previous
request from the art world was for a bath full of clear honey through
which the public were meant to view various works. Apparently honey
has strange optical properties. I never knew what happened to the
honey afterwards.)
And still talking
about strange requests, I have a customer who is a funeral director.
He came into the shop to buy a jar of honey and ended up as a beekeeper.
One of his clients had organised his own funeral as he had no family
at all. He wanted a lead-lined coffin made out of western red cedar,
which is the timber we use for all our hives. The coffin manufacturers
(churning out 20,000 'units' per week) couldn't cope with a one-off
like this, or indeed source the timber, so it was a case of Thornes
to the rescue with large planks of superb cedar. All in a day's
work.
There are plenty
of obvious answers to the question 'What qualities or talents make
a good beekeeper?' One answer, which is maybe not so obvious, is
'a good understanding of statistics and probability - or a gambler's
instincts'. A lot of our manipulations are based on gambles, ie
if I do A to the colony, then it will respond by doing B. The probability
of this happening may be 99%, but there is always that odd 1%. It
is not infrequent that a customer tells me 'I followed the instructions
to the letter, but they still swarmed (or killed the queen, or whatever)'.
The most obvious gamble is the one we accept all too readily. This
is the idea that a swarm will not leave until the first queen cells
are sealed. This may be generally the case but it certainly isn't
universal. What we do is design a system of swarm control that relies
on examining for occupied queen cells every seven days or eight
days or ten days, depending on how you construct the whole thing.
We imagine that if we look in a colony on Sunday, and we see no
eggs in any queen cells, then - even if the queen starts laying
eggs in queen cells the minute our backs are turned - then no swarm
will leave until at least eight days later, ie the Monday. Therefore
we assume that by going back on the Sunday, we will have time to
sort everything out, and we will never ever lose a swarm. Unfortunately
this is not the case. From time to time a swarm will emerge leaving
unsealed queen cells, either with larvae or occasionally with just
eggs. I have even heard of, but not witnessed, swarms that left
leaving no queen cells whatsoever.
I have only
meandered half way through my thoughts on gambling, but the last
thing I want to do is take over the whole news letter - so you will
have to wait until next month for more musings and random ramblings.
(Do I hear shouts of 'Trite tripe!' from the back row?)
NEW
BOOKS
THE
BEEKEEPER'S PUPIL by Sara George
Set against the backdrop of the scientific
and intellectual idealism of the Enlightenment, this is a novel of
discovery, passion and friendship.
 |
In 1766, at
the age of fifteen Francois Huber learns that he is going blind.
At the same time, he becomes obsessed with an extraordinary scientific
inquiry - into the violent and sexually competitive world of the
bee. He teaches his manservant to observe in his place and together
they document their astonishing findings, with extraordinary persistence
and insight. Set against the libertarian ideals of the Enlightenment
and the dramatic and bloody events of the late eighteenth century,
it is a story of human limitations and trust.
Publication date: 12th September Price: £14.50 pp from
Northern Bee Books, Scout Bottom Farm, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge
or order online from the URL: http://www.beedata.com/beebooks.htm
Her
previous book The Journal of Mrs Pepys was serialised on Woman's
Hour and received rave reviews - we expect the same with this novel.
 STRENGTHENING
LIVELIHOODS: Exploring the Role of Beekeeping in Development In
September 2000 the International Symposium on Sustainable Livelihoods:
exploring the role of beekeeping in development was the first to
expand the sustainable livelihoods agenda into the field of beekeeping
in development.
The Symposium was organised by Bees for Development and received
financial support from the UK DFID's Livestock Production Programme.
Strengthening
Livelihoods: Exploring the Role of Beekeeping in Development is
a significant outcome from this Symposium and takes a new look at
apiculture as an important occupation and part of rural life worldwide.
Small-scale beekeeping contributes significantly to livelihood security,
yet the practice of beekeeping is underplayed in official policy
and planning.
This book challenges the marginalisation of beekeeping in rural
development and asks whether a sustainable livelihoods approach
can offer a way forward.
Chapters are written by beekeeping development practitioners, development
experts, and social scientists. Case studies are presented from
around the world, including Cameroon, The Caribbean, Central America,
India, Tanzania and Zambia. A comprehensive glossary of apiculture
and development terminology, and a full index make this a useful
new text that can assist everyone involved with beekeeping development.
Produced in a modern format with abundant illustrations, this is
a highly readable and informative new contribution to the field
of apicultural development.
Editors Nicola Bradbear, Eleanor Fisher and Helen Jackson
Publisher Bees for Development
Copies of Strengthening
Livelihoods: Exploring the Role of Beekeeping in Development cost
UK£22 each UK£24.20 delivery to Europe UK£27.50
delivery outside Europe and can be ordered from Bees for Development,
Troy, Monmouth NP25 4AB UK E-mail: info@beesfordevelopment.org Web:
http://www.beesfordevelopment.org
Bees for Development
helps people to use the craft of beekeeping to create livelihoods
in ways that are sustainable and environmentally beneficial and
raises awareness of the vital role of bees and the great value of
beekeeping for rural development.
LETTERS
Hello David,
Having read "Brainy Bees" in APIS-UK No 4 and about "Bees
to 'sniff out' explosives" in BKQ No 70. Are we now able to
train bees to groom themselves free of varroa? Ian ianrumsey@hotmail.com
Ian, the answer appears to be yes. See above about the primorski
bee. (Ed).
Dear David,
The London Beekeeping association is being revived and will
be reconstituted with a new Committee and officers. A General Meeting
will be held for this purpose on Tuesday 8 October at 6.30 pm at
the offices of Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, Kennington Road,
Lambeth SE11 (underground Lambeth North, buses 3, 59, 159). While
the new membership is concentrated in south London, membership is
open to any beekeepers in the London area. Any and all potential
new members are welcome. Please join us and come to the initial
meeting. Julian Lush, Hon Secretary E-mail: JulianLush@amserve.com
From Albert
Knight of BIBBA.
The Apimondia International Apiculture Congress will be held
in Ljubljana, Slovenia, August 24-29 2003. Beekeeping, A Way of
Living.
At the BIBBA Conference in September we heard from Janez Poklukar
(who gave interesting lectures on Varroa resistance and Queen rearing)
about his native Slovenia.
Slovenia is one of the smallest European countries that is known
as the land of waterfalls and has much beautiful scenery. It is
famous for being the home of the Carniolan bee. Beekeeping is an
ancient tradition in this country of 2 million people with the first
internationally known exponent living 250 years ago.
After 6 years the 38th world International Congress Apimondia and
the International Exhibition ApiExpo has returned to Europe in Slovenia.
It was suggest at our own Conference that BIBBA members might like
to attend as a Group. It is proposed that joint travelling arrangements
be made (probably coach or mini-bus) and the party stay at the same
hotel.
We need to move quickly as otherwise the most suitable and central
accommodation will be booked already. If you are interested please
let us know by writing or e-mailing as shown below. Once numbers
are known those interested will be contacted regarding costs and
details.
Registration
fees are:-
Fees paid Fees paid Fees paid
before before after
31/12/02 1/6/03 1/6/03
300 Euros 340 Euros 390 Euros
B&B charges
per night (in Euros) for hotels within walking distance of the Congress
Centre are:-
|
Hotel
|
Star
rating |
Single |
Double |
| Hotel
Lev |
5
|
155
|
182
|
| Grand
Union |
4
|
125
|
151
|
| Hotel
Slon |
4
|
100
|
146
|
| Austrotel |
4
|
105
|
145
|
| M Hotel
|
3
|
60
|
86
|
| Hotel
Turist |
3
|
63
|
86
|
| Gostisce
Pri Mraku |
3
|
68
|
94
|
| Hotel
Park |
2
|
46
|
57
|
The above prices
include VAT
Maybe BIBBA
members who intend to go to the Apimondia Congress may wish to try
and book the same hotel. If they will E-mail me their preferences
I would be prepared to collate these and reply back to all who contact
me which hotel was chosen by the majority.
If we can get
a commitment from those intending to go we could make a block booking
at one of the hotels very soon.
I am investigating
coach travel that would allow one overnight stop in each direction
and therefore would mean leaving on the 22nd of August and getting
back here on 31st August and first indications are that this would
cost £125 per person based on having a 49 seater coach, provided
we managed to fill it. With hotel charges in the region of £25
for B&B for a single room and £40 for a double room this
would give additional costs of £250 for a single person and
£400 for a couple. Add to these figures the registration fee
of £180 person and this will give you some idea of the total
cost.
Those interested
must act now if they intend to go, first we must book the hotels
as those nearest to the venue will get snapped up quickly, then
we can get the coach hire sorted out. Albert Knight E-mail:
a.knight.blackbees.talk21.com
|
HISTORICAL
NOTE
The
Virtues of Mead.
From Englands Interest or The Gentleman and Farmers Friend
by Sir John More. 1707.
As the
vertues of honey are transcendentant, so are the virtues of
meath and metheglin: when old, it is a wine most agreeable
to the stomach. It recovereth, 1.A lost appetite. 2.It openeth
the passage for the spirit and breath. 3. It sofeneth the
bowels. 4.It is good for them that have the cough or ptisick.
5.If a man take it not as his common drink, but every now
and then as physick, he shall receive much benefit thereby,
against quotidian agues, cachexies, and against all the diseases
of the brain as the epilepsy & for which wine is pernicious.
6.It is very good against the yellow jaundice. 7.It is also
a counter poison. 8.It nourishes the body, and is consequently
good against the consumption, and all emaciating diseases.
9.It is the best thing in the world for the prolongation of
life. (I think I'd better try this stuff. Ed)
|
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