Apis-UK July 2004

Show Schedules Now Available

EDITORIAL Back to top

As August approaches and my dream of a holiday cottage on an iceberg looms large (it was 43C and totally overcast here yesterday), we bring you a quiet edition of Apis-UK that has the distinction of featuring fruit flies. You may wonder why this is the case in a newsletter dedicated to bees. Well fruit flies are ideal research models for entomologists. True, they are irritating little things at the best of times, but there are lots of them and they breed rapidly and from them we can learn an immense amount about insects, including bees. One of the aims of Apis-UK is to keep readers up to date with the science as well as the craft of beekeeping and so in this issue we report on three pieces of research on flies that are relevant to bees and beekeepers.

Drosophila Funebris (Fruit fly)

The author of the quote of the month (last month) is revealed as one of the best writers of all time to some reviewers. A short description of his life is given and an elegant piece of modern research (June 04) is described in our Fact File that answers some of the questions posed in the quote and should give all beekeepers a better idea of what goes on in the hive. This month’s quote is easier and so I hope for a good response from readers.

Are bees lazy? Possibly so according to some German research which has featured in many newspapers all over Europe. Our news article explains all. I’m never sure whether attaching human qualities to other animals is of much use in science and as I mention below, I think all insect societies do what they have to do; indeed what they are bound to do by their genetic make up. Many people regard the Spanish siesta as an example of laziness, but in fact it actually leads to a longer working day, and increases the ability of people to avoid debilitating tiredness towards the end of the work period. I enjoy them. As for my own bees, in this heat, they certainly look lazy, loafing about on the alighting boards, but from the amount of honey being packed in by the bigger colonies, it is evident that someone must be doing some work. As the bee eater population gets bigger towards the evening, few bees venture forth, and this year the birds appear even more voracious than usual, flying down and grabbing bees as they fly off combs that I am handling.

Our article section is missing one of our regular contributors this month as John Yates takes his annual sailing leave, but John will be back in the autumn with his usual offerings of good practice in beekeeping. In the meantime, I’m sure that our remaining writers will easily maintain your interest.

Varroa looms large again with a report on a new product to Europe, and a further explanation of the SMR trait is given. Despite the gloom and doom of several years ago, varroa is now being managed adequately by most beekeepers, and new beekeepers that I talk to who didn’t know anything different appear unfazed by the situation. It is evident that science is coming to our aid in this and hopefully our worries about varroa will diminish. It’s those little beetles I’m worried about.

In our letters section, there is one from an Iraqi Kurd student who is about to start research on bees. He has asked for help with research papers etc and I’m sure there will be some response from bee scientists. It is easy for us in the UK with our well equipped universities, our ample funds (comparatively), good communications and the English language, to source the best research materials from around the world and complete our diplomas/degrees/research projects. Just imagine if you are trying to do all of this with almost nothing. It must be daunting. Please help if you can.

In our historical note, we attempt to show that the internet isn’t all and that there is much we can interest ourselves in by looking at the days of old when snail mail (if there was any mail at all) ruled. But how about a snail email? I received one three weeks ago. A correspondent in Australia sent me an email dated June 03 and I received it in June 04. I thought he had dated it incorrectly, but ascertained that he had indeed sent it one year ago. Anyone got any explanations?

We hope that you enjoy this July 2004 issue of Apis-UK and if you have any queries, or anything to say, please write in and let us know.

David Cramp. Editor.

NEWS Back to top

LAZY BEES
This news has been reported in most of the daily papers in most countries around the world, and should give beekeepers room for thought. Professor Randolf Menzel of the free university in Berlin believes that the popular image of bees as hard working industrious creatures is a myth. “Bees are not particularly hard working. Instead, they sleep a lot and are actually quite lazy” he was reported as saying. Bees sleep for 80% of the night and like to spend a lot of time during the day sitting around resting their wings.

Professor Menzel, an award winning neurobiologist who has studied bees for four decades adds that bees do need a sleep phase and they don’t just fly about working all of the time, and that they compensate for their apparent laziness with high intelligence, advanced memory skills and an ability to learn quickly.

The comments drew some fairly sharp responses from various authorities including Glyn Davies, the president of the BBKA who said that bees are not lazy, but efficient. “It is a mistake to assume that that a bee doing nothing is being uneconomic. In fact it is being very efficient and they don’t deserve a bad press. They are being very wise and perhaps humans should try to follow their example instead of running about like headless chickens.”

(Anthropomorphic comparisons are always very open to criticism and discussion. The professor is obviously reporting observable facts, but perhaps tagging them in human terms is fraught with difficulties. Bees do what they have to do. What do you think? Ed).

GOVERNMENT URGED TO SET BIOTECH CROP RULES
A parliamentary committee of ministers has told the government that it cannot allow GM crops to be grown until it introduces concrete rules on planting. The government is expected to launch a consultation exercise on the issue shortly.

“There is huge confusion in both the governments and the EU’s position in relation to GM crops, especially in relation to thresholds of contamination of non GM crops and thus liability” their report said. The powerful all party committee also recommended that any future planting regime respects the legal requirement that organic crops suffer zero contamination and not the 0.1 to 0.9 level currently being discussed.

Last month several EU governments called for more concrete rules to regulate GMOs whilst also encouraging growth in organic farming, but so far only a handful of governments have drafted co existence laws providing for financial liability in cases of crop contamination. These laws must be based on guidelines issued by the EU commission.

CANADIAN BEEKEEPERS NOW ABLE TO IMPORT US HONEY BEE QUEENS
Canadian beekeepers have faced increasing difficulties in obtaining the necessary number of honey bee queens in recent times due to limited availability from Hawaii , Australia and New Zealand . Honey bee imports from the USA have been banned for a while now, but in response to requests from Canadian beekeepers, the changing animal health status of Canadian honey bees and thorough risk assessments, the government has amended the Honey bee Importation Prohibition Regulations to permit the import of queens and their attendants from the continental USA . They stress however that importation will only be permitted in manner that will minimise the risk of entry of new diseases or pests and Africanised bees.

ALLERGY SOCIETY
It is an unfortunate fact that many people cannot take part in beekeeping due to an allergy to venom or propolis etc. This number can actually include beekeepers. It has now been brought to our notice that a society exists under charitable status whose aims are to improve the management of allergic and related diseases in the UK . One of the main aims of the British Society for Allergy & Clinical Immunology (BSACI) in recent years has been to try and increase the number of consultants available to provide an even geographical spread across the UK . This and its other aims are all explained on its website at http://www.bsaci.org/

NATIONAL HONEY SHOW OCTOBER 2004

The National Honey Show will be at the Royal Air Force Museum, Grahame Park Way, Hendon, North London between 21st - 23rd October 2004. Members will have received a copy of the show schedule in the post or you can download the competitive classes part of the schedule by going to the support page of the honey show website. You can also purchase advanced tickets and membership online. Website URL: http://www.honeyshow.co.uk

'The following letter from the president of Apimondia aims to keep readers up to date with the workings and events of this global beekeeping organisation.'

APIMONDIA
President 30 June 2004 Mission statements, goals and objectives of APIMONDIA was the topic of a workshop organised at the meeting of the APIMONDIA executive Council in the beginning of May in Rome . “APIMONDIA exists to promote scientific, technical, ecological, social and economic apicultural development in all countries and the cooperation of beekeepers´ associations, scientific bodies and individuals involved in apiculture worldwide” Out of this mission statement we developed several clear objectives. One main objective was and still is to facilitate the exchange of information. The APIMONDIA journal APIACTA is on our website, free of charge. Look at www.apimondia.org. We organise important conferences, symposia and the world congress.

Cooperatives in Beekeeping. Mendoza, Argentina. 2 – 5 September 2005
Cooperatives play a strong role in Argentinian beekeeping and has contributed to the high level of professionalism in the beekeeping industry. www.apimondia.org

Issues concerning developing countries´international trade in honey” Hanoi, Vietnam, 23-28 November
Vietnam has increased its production and export of honey during the last few years. This has created income and jobs. World trade in honey depends upon honey meeting import criteria, and this requires understanding of all the processes necessary to gain market access. Participants in the symposium will be honey producer organisations, honey trade specialists, those responsible for preparing and enforcing legislation concerning residues and researchers in the field of residue identification and quantification and in residue-free management methods. Further information www.apimondia.org APIMONDIA2005 Dublin, Ireland This is the event for everybody involved in Apiculture worldwide. Beekeepers, scientist, honeytraders, honeypackers and consumers. We have the large APIEXPO and the world honeyshow. The programme development is well advanced as you will see at the website of the congress. It is time now to start planning your visit to APIMONDIA2005 in Dublin, Ireland. Have a look at the congress website www.apimondia2005.com Asger Søgaard Jørgensen APIMONDIA President

RESEARCH NEWS Back to top

BEE LANGUAGE
For many years, scientists have commented on the long standing mystery of why honey bees and some species of stingless bee evolved one of the sophisticated form of animal communication, strategies that enabled them to communicate information on food sources whilst inside the hive. In last month’s edition of Apis-UK, we reported on some research which showed that one species of stingless bee was able to spy on another species, detect odour trails to food sources left by these rivals, followed their rival’s odour trails to the food source and then took over the source, by force if required. In fact these bees actively sought out the odour trails of their rivals. Scientists making this discovery now believe that this ‘evesdropping’ or ‘espionage’ may have been the evolutionary driving force behind some bees’ ability to conceal communication inside the hive, outside of view of rivals and with no possibility of a rival obtaining an odour trace. This ability which of course honey bees have is a clear evolutionary advantage especially where floral sources are seasonally scarce. The research, carried out by James Nieh, an assistant professor at the University of California together with Brazilian scientists was published in the June on line version of the journal ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society’. His latest paper on the subject is due to appear in print in the Proceedings of the Royal Society in August and will perhaps offer some answers to the ‘mystery’ of bee language.

SPREADING THEIR WINGS
A team of scientists has discovered the structure and genetic sequence of the hormone that makes insects develop their hard outer shells and allows them to spread their wings. Using the ubiquitous fruit fly scientists were able to isolate and genetically sequence a substance called Bursicon. This substance has been known about since 1935, and its role in cuticle hardening and darkening was discovered in 1962. The new sequencing of the substance showed that bursicon has the same genetic sequence across species. In fruit flies, research on mutants whose outer shells showed defects or did not harden properly all indicated decreased levels of bursicon. They were able to determine that bursicon was indeed vital for the hardening and darkening of the cuticle and so the results were consistent but a surprise awaited them. Fruit flies with decreased levels could not expand their wings, meaning that in insects, bursicon has a second function.

ODOUR CODE DECIPHERED
Odour is an essential component of honey bee life, with forage detection being a prime example. But how does this all important system work. Yale scientists’ working with fruit flies (again) have discovered how odours are encoded by the olfactory system into the complex messages that are sent to the brain and provides new insights into how animals and insects sense and discriminate odours, a process that is essential in identifying food, nest mates and predators.

Using mutant fruit flies the scientists were able to create a map of which odour receptor is expressed in which neuron (nerve cell) and this map of ‘receptor to neuron’ is the first of its kind of the olfactory system and they hope that it will serve as a model for the olfactory systems of other insects and indeed, humans.

INSECT TASTE MAP. (Fruit flies again)
The first sensory map of the fly ‘tongue’ suggests that insects have discriminating taste, perhaps even bettering that of humans in their ability to differentiate among bitter flavours. This type of research will ultimately be useful in the development of pest repellents which of course could lead to the decreased use of insecticides on crops – something of benefit to all beekeepers.

The unique coding of the flies’ tasting cells raises the possibility that insects can discern amongst different bitter tastes more precisely the humans or other mammals, and they also find that the findings suggest that the sensory system for taste in insects and animals are set up in a remarkably similar manner despite the fact that the structure of the taste organs are so different.

The research paper can be found in the June 22 issue of Currant Biology.

VARROA NEWS
There is always some correspondence on the subject of varroa and several readers have asked for more information on John Harbo’s work in the USA on ‘suppressed mite reduction’ (SMR) on which we reported in an earlier edition of Apis UK . Here I hope is a concise explanation of the work.

SMR
Essentially, research scientists at the US Agricultural Research Services, discovered that some bees have a built in defence against varroa mites, a trait that can be bred into any bee population. Called SMR, the trait protects bees by preventing the reproduction of varroa mites. The researchers found that in some colonies, the mites simply weren’t reproducing. They watched female mites entering brood cells but not laying any eggs. Following genetic studies, they determined that a trait in these bees was responsible for this. The ARS then provided the SMR trait to Glenn Apiaries a commercial queen rearing concern in California that now sells these SMR breeder queens. With selective breeding, the SMR trait can eliminate mite reproduction in worker brood cells. The researchers are now studying a second trait in bees linked to mite resistance. Called P-MIB, for ‘percentage of mites in brood’ the trait is an ideal complement to SMR because it curbs mite populations from outside rather than inside the brood cell where SMR comes into play. We will report more fully on this in due course.

As I mentioned in a previous issue however John Harbo told me that in SMR colonies, the brood areas are smaller than in normal colonies which of course is a disadvantage certainly as far as honey production is concerned. They are working on this however.

THYMOL UPDATE
With results from field trials piling in, the University of Cordoba centre for ecological beekeeping (CAAPE) have now informed me that the upper temperature limit for the use of thymol in olive oil should be set at 25C and the lower limit at 20C. Above 25, the shock to the colony is too severe, leading to aggression, smaller brood area and in some cases absconding. The temperature equate to spring and autumn conditions in Southern Spain .

OTHER TREATMENTS
We have received a letter from Bill Ruzedska of MiteGone Enterprises BC Canada to let us know that their anti varroa treatment based on the use of formic acid is now available in Europe and can be distributed from a warehouse set up in Holland. Their new website www.mitegone.com explains all and comes in French, Spanish, (some czech and German documents) as well as English. Take a look and see prices, availability and so on.

In the next issue there will be more on the use of Food Grade Mineral Oil.

OBITUARIES
BRIAN D. HUGHES, CENG, FIAS, MISTRUCTE.
An Appreciation

“It was proposed to invite Brian Hughes onto the committee …”
NBKA Executive Committee Meeting 18 th April, 1984.
At the next meeting Brian had “offered the committee the facility of putting the membership list onto computer … “ So began twenty years of involvement with the running of the Association.

Brian Hughes was born in 1932 in Manchester. He graduated from the Manchester College of Technology in 1953 and his career took him to London where he met Andrea.. They married in 1961 and set up home in Norbury, North Croyden and subsequently in 1968 they moved to Duston . Brian was a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers and Fellow of the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors. Brian eventually became the General Secretary of the last named professional body, which had its headquarters in Northampton.

An introduction to beekeeping arose about three years later when a swarm settled in the garden. It only then became apparent that the next door neighbour, the late Oliver Bailey, had kept bees in his garden since 1935. Brian acquired the remaining two WBC hives in 1974 when Oliver had decided the time had come for him to quit – although he continued his interest in an over the fence advisory capacity!

Brian decided to learn something about the craft so that he could be in better control in his surburban garden and remain on friendly terms with his other neighbours. He joined the Association and enrolled on the beginners’ course – his interest continued and in 1983 he obtained the BBKA Intermediate Certificate in Apiculture.

He was Chairman 1988 – 1991 and steered the Association through the complexities of obtaining charity status and re-writing the constitution. During his time on the committee, his knowledge and involvement have been invaluable in many capacities. He was the guiding hand in the organization of two Midland & South-Western Counties Conventions, both of which were highly successful. Recently, Brian took on the role of webmaster and designed and ran the association’s website, which was awarded a Bronze medal at Apimondia and has been widely acclaimed. We attended many shows together and enjoyed a friendly rivalry when it came to showing – he was a good showman and won many prizes. Apart from being a good beekeeping, he was an excellent photographer. The most memorable event was at Moulton College where we were to give a live bee demonstration. Brian renovated the bee tent and provided the bees. Within a short time of setting up the tent and the bees, they swarmed! A lot of interest was shown by the public. But it was in committee that Brian’s presence was most appreciated – his quiet but authoratative manner guided the committee through many issues. His knowledge of charity law and organization of conferences were invaluable.

In 1997 Brian retired but soon joined the voluntary sector, working tirelessly for Ability Northampton, amongst other. Throughout the years, Andrea has been a strength and support to Brian in his career , leisure pursuits and the voluntary work that played in important part throughtout his life.

Like most lasting friendships, I can not remember when ours started – but it has been a consistent friendship for most of the last twenty years. It was beekeeping that brought us together – but it was more than beekeeping that kept us together. We were due to go to the Summer Course at Gormanston in Ireland at the end of July, which we have attended together for several years, and the Midland & South Western Counties Convention in September. It will not be the same without his company. Brian P. Dennis

THE BEE PRESS Back to top

BEECRAFT
Beecraft July 2004 Volume 86 Number 7
Claire Waring Editor. www.bee-craft.com
The following is its contents list: Rafter harvest in Cambodia Claire Waring; The beekeeping year: July Pam Gregory MSc NDB; Poison Ivy? Ernie Chant; All tanked up Robin Spon-Smith; Beekeepers in the public eye Mike Todd; Memories of the Balkans Neil A Robertson; Practical beekeeping Terry Harris; In the apiary: having fun with bees (part 6) Karl Showler; And then there were three... Audrey Gibson-Poole; Obituaries Leslie Hewitson: an appreciation Keith Saunston; Book reviews Better Beginnings for Beekeepers by Adrian Waring, Beekeeping in the Tropics by Francis G Smith.

Editorial: There is another ‘first’ for Bee Craft this month with the first-ever published account of the harvesting of ‘rafter’ colonies of Apis dorsata in Cambodia . This is a follow-up to the original report in January and completes the picture of this fascinating tradition.
Another follow-up is Ernie Chant’s article about ivy honey where he considers whether we should, in fact, regard this as a speciality honey rather than something to be avoided or disposed of. As he says, it is all a matt er of taste and who are we to say what customers’ taste might be? It would be interesting to hear from other readers on this subject.
In March, we reported on Trevor Lucey’s plans to ride to the Balkans to raise money for the Transrural Trust’s projects there. This reminded one of our readers, Neil Robertson, of his time there when a student. There is still time to sponsor Trevor before he sets off on 4 October.
We have another report of pyrethroid- resistant varroa. This time it is a new occurrence in Sandwich in Kent . Once again, I urge all of you to continue to check for resistant mites in your colonies. Those on the edge of the confirmed area in the south-west can expect to find them soon but Kent is a very long way from Somerset . The outbreak could just have easily have been in the Midlands or the North, so don’t be complacent.
In November 2003, we reported that Bee Craft Limited had been unable to obtain Product and Public Liability Insurance for readers. We regret that, in spite of considerable efforts, it has been impossible to get this insurance cover. Those who are members of an Area Association of the BBKA will continue to be covered through the BBKA insurance. Claire Waring

BEEKEEPERS QUARTERLY
John Phipps Editor. www
Cover photograph A simple, but surprisingly effective honey stall in Greece. Photo: J Phipps

BEE SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (PART 3 OF 5)
Ian Rumsey

With any experiment it is necessary to ensure that a particular result has been obtained by the change of only one known factor. If this is not strictly the case, one may easily be misled.

For example, the observation of the natural behavior of a feral colony is difficult to obtain as the very interference caused by the observation destroys the actual situation being recorded. An attempt therefore, to ascertain the bee’s degree of awareness of gravity, and magnetic fields, must be pursued with the utmost caution. The experiments must be simple and without disruption to the bee colony concerned.

Being unable to immediately think of ways to change the force of gravity beneath a hive (suggestions welcomed) let us first consider the earth's magnetic field.

When examining natural comb taken from feral colonies the impression is gained that the comb runs from back to front so that the maximum amount of light would shine in between the comb from the entrance.

We are all happy that bees will build natural comb vertically upright, and roughly parallel, but are we sure that the alignment of the comb would be in any particular direction, say East-West or North-South. In short would it be in a particular direction due to the earth's magnetic field if all other possible directional persuasions were removed. The directional persuasions being, position of entrance, shape of cavity, absence of previous comb on roof. Etc.

A swarm housed in a square box, with an entrance in the centre of one side, may well produce comb parallel to the side and at right angles to the entrance. Similarly in a rectangular box, comb may be built parallel to the longest side, but not corner to corner. An upturned circular box with the entrance from beneath, with a plain ceiling, would be an ideal arrangement to see whether natural comb would be built consistently to a particular compass bearing. This might suggest that bees have an awareness of the earth's magnetic field and have some reason to build in a predetermined alignment.

However before we raid the cupboard for hat boxes let us view 2 photos of natural comb built in 2001 in two wooden boxes, one being 9 inches square and the other 9 inches by 6 inches, (Figs 1 & 2 refer), and consider the direction of the comb alignment in each case.

One box had opposite sides made of queen excluder, which may well distort magnetic fields, but nonetheless we may evaluate these circumstances for guidance. There is a similarity, the comb is not parallel to anything, each box displays a similar comb angle although the boxes are of a different shape.

If the bearing was exactly 23 1/2 degrees North of due East, this would be the position of the rising sun on mid-summers day.

HORRIBLE INSECTS
In this edition, Matt Allen offers an insight into certain other members of the hymenoptera which appear to be rather nastier than bees and which prove the saying: ‘nature is red in tooth and claw.’

I had the chance to visit a remarkable garden this year, although I am not sure that the word garden is adequate to describe it. Lots of sculpture, optical illusions, carvings, earthworks and tricks. A fabulous place, designed by someone with a vision and a boundless sense of humour. I was chatting with the owner and the head gardener who also looks after a butterfly rearing ranch in Belize . The gardener described how he came back from his latest visit with an itchy back and a rash. He was also a bit feverish. The doctor prescribed drugs which didn’t help much. Then he found spots of blood on his bedclothes. One night his wife woke him with shrieks of horror. Things were crawling under his skin! He had become a nursery for a species of fly, the name of which I cannot recall. Eggs laid under his skin had hatched and the larvae grown fat at his expense. The spots of blood were caused by the larvae sticking their noses through his skin to breath. Options? Wait until the flies made their own way out. Or suffocate the larvae by dropping molten candle wax onto their noses (but then what happens to the dead insects?) It was all too unbearable. Straight down to the doctors, who gave him a rather inadequate local anaesthetic before setting to with a scalpel. His back was not a pretty sight, but the pain was worth it to get rid of his visitors.

I am given plenty of opportunities to show off my ignorance, as people bring their queries to me. At the moment I have on my desk some prepupae of a solitary wasp, with the expectation that I will be able to identify them. Not a chance in this stage, but I would try to look it up when it is adult. However, I tried to explain the life cycle, and got bogged down in terminology, being a bit of a pedant. What happens is the wasp catches and paralyses some prey, often a caterpillar, stuffs it in a hole, lays an egg, then seals the hole. Baby grows up with abundant food. Hey – this is the life, Mum! I described this wasp as a parasite, which is technically wrong. A parasite is something like a flea or mosquito or bedbug, which crawls over you, feeding on you whenever it likes. The wasp that lays its egg on or (better still) in another creature if properly called a parasitoid. Not all hosts are killed outright or even paralysed. Often the egg is laid inside an active larva which wanders about, getting on with its life, while it is slowly being eaten from inside. Ho hum, it’s a jungle out there.

Of course it’s even more complicated. Let’s look at a wasp that lays its eggs inside an aphid. The aphid struggles to carry on, little realizing that she’s being lined up by another wasp, which lands and lays its egg. This wasp however is even more specialized than the first, because the host it is seeking is not the aphid, but the first wasp’s offspring. So you get one wasp larva feeding on another wasp larva feeding inside the aphid. And, going one more step into incredulity, you occasionally even get one more layer, which gives you a wasp feeding on a wasp feeding on a wasp feeding on an aphid.

I glean this from a super book called Insects and Gardens by Eric Grissell, pub Timber Press ISBN 0-88192-504-7. (Time now to start hinting about Christmas presents.) The author makes the case for leaving most wildlife to sort things out in the garden – if you’ve got a pest, hopefully there’s something trying to eat that pest. So you can justify your horticultural idleness in terms of sustaining the rich diversity of habitat blah blah blah blah

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE INEVITABLE
Mike Oliver
All the stories beekeepers are fond of telling you when you start are true (of course) but one thing has certainly proved true in my case. You make lots of mistakes and not all of them as a beginner – it only seems they all happen to you in your first year.

I think I have made most of them in my first year. For example, I left a frame with foundation in the back of my car in the very hot weather recently and forgot it until the next afternoon when, surprise, surprise, I found the molten wax seeping into the carpet in the boot and one empty frame. My smug friend, Mr Springall, said, “Well, at least you won’t do that again.” (I probably will.)

I have learnt to check my colonies more regularly in April and May for signs of overcrowding, etc and they still swarmed – again, as somebody said, “they will do, even if you check them daily, give them 20 supers and feed them syrup all winter, the ungrateful swine!” Next year – shook swarms. I bet my bees will still swarm but at least I will be able to waste another fortune on new frames and foundation.

I got stung to bits – to the great amusement of the club members – when I forgot to smoke supers before replacing them. I have left hive tools on brood boxes and closed them up, nearly suffocated myself by burning wax soaked cardboard in my smoker, put my bare fingers underneath mesh floors and wondered why I got stung and sat on honey covered cardboard – looking decidedly un-cool walking around with a square of cardboard stuck to the seat of my trousers. My grandson loved it!

The other day I left a frame hanger on a brood box and closed up. (Has anybody else done this?) Luckily I spotted the bees sneaking in and out of the gap and had to take it all apart and put it together again. Of course, it had to be the colony where there were three well-filled supers and since I could not lift all three together without busting my large intestine, I separated them and, yes, you guessed it, there were frames stuck to the bottom of the super above, bees all over the place, honey flowing like Niagara, AND the smoker went out. Ten minutes later I reassembled a different hive and forgot replace the queen excluder! (propped out of sight on the other side of the hive, of course.) At least when I frantically put it back and then went through the supers to check for her, the queen had not ascended, or had she – no, don’t even think about it.

At least I am not as unfortunate as poor Lane Miller of Montana who was moving bees from Idaho to North Dakota recently, crashed his truck in Bear Trap Canyon with 6 million bees aboard (who counted them by the way?) and got stung 20 times. Frankly, 20 out of 6 million is not bad when you think about it; in my case it would have been 5,999,999. I thought the strangest part of that story was that when the local bee expert Gary Clark arrived with his assistants to clear up the mess (Lane being in hospital with a damaged arm) he got stung 60 times. Has this man never heard of a bee-suit and gloves? There is something odd about a beekeeper blithely wandering about unprotected amongst 6 million distressed bees – not even Bromley beekeepers would do that... I think.

It is a bit disconcerting to think I have years of daft mistakes ahead of me but at least it makes life interesting. (I don’t intend to drive truckloads of bees through canyons though.) I am still working towards my ambitious goal of 30 hives by Spring 2007, when I retire. I am fortunate enough to have found three good out-Apiary sites in my first year and I am currently managing or being managed by 8 colonies.

If you are reading this and saying to yourself, what a twit, I would never do stupid things like that – stop, put your first and second fingers together in the form of a cross and wait until the next time you do exactly what I do.

QUOTE OF LAST MONTH
Thanks to those ‘few’ who had a go at the quote. It was of course Maurice Maeterlink (1862-1949), that brilliant Belgium writer whose work ‘The Life of the Bee’ is to my mind one of the most inspired pieces of writing that I have ever read. Before looking at his life in more detail, take a look at a piece of his writing from the book. It describes a young bee’s first few weeks of life to her first orientation flights. Which beekeeper hasn’t enjoyed the spectacle of the evening ‘play’ flights with hundreds of young bees bobbing around whilst facing the hive and learning the hive location? Maeterlink describes it perfectly.

“The most arduous labours will however, at first be spared her. A week must elapse from the day of her birth before she will quit the hive: she will then perform her first ‘cleansing flight,’ and absorb the air into her tracheae which, filling, expand her body, and proclaim her the bride of space. Thereupon she returns to the hive and waits yet one week more; and then, with her sisters born the same day as herself, she will for the first time set forth to visit the flowers. A special emotion now will lay hold of her; one that the French apiarists term the “soleil d’artifice,” but which might more rightly perhaps be called “the sun of disquiet.” For it is evident that the bees are afraid, that these daughters of the crowd, of secluded darkness, shrink from the vault of blue, from the infinite loneliness of the light: and their joy is halting, and woven of terror. They cross the threshold and pause; they depart, they return, twenty times. They hover aloft in the air, their heads persistently turned to the home; they describe great soaring circles that suddenly sink beneath the weight of regret; and their thirteen thousand eyes will question, reflect, and retain the trees and the fountain, the gate and the walls, the neighbouring windows and houses, till at last the aerial course whereupon their return shall glide have become as indelibly stamped in their memory as though it were marked in space by two lines of steel.”

You can read the whole book for free by going to http://www.kellscraft.com/lifeofbee01.html and I’m sure that you won’t be disappointed. One reviewer wrote that some of the best written passages in all of literature are contained in this book, and I agree. Obviously there are errors in his writings that subsequent research and modern techniques have corrected, but the quality of writing is phenomenal. Another reviewer said ‘…Not enough people read Maeterlinck today, and this is a shame: the man was, unlike some Nobel prize winners in literature, truly a fantastic writer with a uniquely tuned, sharp, comprehensively philosophical, but never didactic mind.’

Here is a potted biography of one of Belgium ’s greatest sons who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1911.

He was born in Ghent and was educated at a Jesuit college. He read law and for a short while practiced law in his home town. He soon realised that he was unfit for this profession and became drawn toward literature during a stay in Paris where he became influenced by a number of men of letters, particularly Villiers de l’Isle Adam who greatly influenced him.

He was predominantly a writer of lyrical dramas, but his first work was a collection of poems entitled ‘Serres chaudes (Hot House Blooms). It appeared in 1889 the same year in which his first play ‘La Princess Maleine’ received enthusiastic praise from the literary critic of Le Figaro and made him famous overnight.

His most popular work was La Vie des Abeilles in 1900 (The Life of the bee) which was written in a highly poetic style blending fact, imagination and mystical speculation. (Not much has changed in beekeeping. Ed) and is the single most popular book about insect life ever published. It was followed by ‘The intelligence of Flowers and studies of termites and ants.

In later life, he became best known for his philosophical essays. In 1932 he was given the title of ‘Count of Belgium’.

His main hobby was beekeeping and his book on the life of bees was first translated into English by Alfred Sutro and published by Dodd, Mead and Company of New York in 1910.

In this months poem we continue with our theme of hive organisation with piece from Robert Bridges ‘The Testament of Beauty’.

RECIPE OF THE MONTH Back to top

A Moisturising Soap
Our first recipe for this month is soap for those who find that most soap dry the skin too much. This one you can use frequently and safely. You will need:

3 dessert spoons of whole brown flour.
2 dessert spoons of honey.
1 dessertspoon of cornflower.
Some drops of essential oil for the scent.

Mix everything up and use. Wet the skin, rub over the mixture, leave for a few moments and wash off with plenty of water. Use a bit like a hair conditioner. The ‘soap’ cleans and moisturises the skin and can be used on every occasion.

Our food recipe today is from Italy and demonstrates the Arabic influence on Southern Italian cuisine.

18fl oz. (500ml) milk.
7oz.short grain Rice.
2 tablespoons sugar.
Grated rind of one lemon.
¼ teaspoon of vanilla essence.
2 large eggs.
7 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon (5ml) baking powder.
4 oz light seed oil for frying.
8oz (225g) clover or wild flower honey.
3 tablespoons water.

Place the milk in a saucepan and add the rice, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla essence. Simmer this whilst stirring until the rice is well cooked. (About 20 mins).

Add water as necessary when cooking the rice. The rice should be dense and moist, but not liquid.

Remove from the heat, leave to cool slightly then blend in the eggs, 3 tablespoons of flour and the baking powder.

Spread the remaining flour on a work surface, place a teaspoon of the rice mixture on the flour and roll into a cylinder about 2 inches (5cm) long and the thickness of a finger. Continue until the mixture is used up.

Heat the oil in a suitable pan and when hot, deep or shallow fry the fritters a few at a time until golden.

The Fact File this month continues with the theme outlined in the quote by Maeterlink. Who does order things in the hive? Who decides who does what and when and why? It’s an interesting question that has occupied scientists for many years and we are only now beginning to understand more fully how exactly a colony of bees works. Sensitivity to change in a structured labour system such as a colony of bees is important to the organisation of the system but only now is it beginning to be understood. The building of sophisticated nests, the use of complex defence strategies, foraging patterns and requirements and other intricate but flexible systems of age related tasks involves the endeavours of thousands of individuals and it is unlikely that any one individual can monitor the state of the whole colony and assess its requirements, let alone order those requirements to be met. It is accepted now that highly complex insect societies function without the key elements of control needed in human societies. The challenge is to understand the mechanisms that enable workers to carry out tasks that are appropriate to the welfare of the whole colony. More and more research is giving us a greater understanding of this and some recent research gives us a better clue on the bees’ remarkable abilities in thermoregulation.

Let us take a look at a specific example, citing some up to date research. Honey bees precisely regulate the temperature of their nest. How? Who determines when to shiver or when to fan? It appears that they manage it due to genetically determined differences in their individual thermostats, and new research on this has given us an excellent example of the benefits of polyandry which of course ensures high genetic diversity in honey bee colonies.

Most beekeepers know that if the nest temperature dips, workers will crowd round the brood to keep it warm. If the temperature gets too high, workers will fan at the entrance (amongst other strategies). Some new research carried out by Julia Jones of the University of Sydney in Australia shows those bees with different fathers start fanning at slightly different temperatures. This prevents sudden colony wide shifts between cooling and heating behaviours and keeps the temperature of the nest more constant. It has been shown before that different genotypes have different threshold for certain things such as different concentrations of nectar, but this is the first time that a benefit has been described from different behaviours.

The researchers found that colonies that contained workers from many different fathers were much better able to maintain optimum hive temperatures than experimental colonies created so that each worker had the same father. Recent work also found that other insect societies may benefit from high genetic diversity. Leafcutter ants with different fathers differed in their likelihood of developing into one of the two main castes of worker, each of which has separate tasks. So in the case of thermoregulation of the nest by worker bees, we can now get a better picture of who says when to do something. Everyone does. And the system works.

The research is reported in the journal Science (reference:DOI:1126/science.1096340).

HISTORICAL NOTE Back to top

It was not until comparatively recently that beekeepers and scientists discovered the secrets of the production of wax by bees. Many thought it came from an external source and was carried to the hive by the workers. In 1609, Charles Butler observed that comb was built from scales of wax, and since then, many observers noted that wax scales were carried in the ‘pockets’ of the underside of the bee, but it wasn’t until1793 that the amazing Francoise Huber, the blind bee observer noted the glandular secretion of wax and its production in quantity if the bees were given a high sugar diet. Here is what the Reverend WC Cotton wrote about the subject in 1842.

“Now do you know how wax is made? Nobody did before Huber found out. I dare say you think it is made of the yellow and red stuff which the bees carry into their hives on their hind legs. This has no more to do with wax than sugar plums have to do with apple pie: it is only used to feed the young bees with: but I shall tell you more about this presently. Wax is really made of honey. The bees can, we know not how, make their hive very hot all of a sudden; so hot, that a room like it would be very unpleasant to you or me; but the bees are then in prime working order; they hang like a curtain from the roof of their hive, and keep quite still for hours or days together. They have two stomachs like cows; in the first stomach, the cow and the bee, when they are feeding, put the one grass, and the other honey: if the bee wants to make wax, she shifts some honey into her second stomach, which is a regular “INSIDE POCKET” just like that into which men put their breakfasts and their dinners. But the bee does not use all the honey on herself; she does not wish to grow fat and lazy for whoever saw a fat bee in summer. But most of it oozes out slowly, through six little pouches called wax pockets; they are underneath the Bee, in her tail joint, three on a side.”

Dear David,
"What is it that governs here, that issues orders, foresees the future ,,, ?" is a reference to swarming by Maurice Maeterlinck (1927). Brian P. Dennis (Letter to Ed in response to quote of the month)

Dear Editor,
I’m Farhad A. Kh. MSc. student in Biology department, college of Science, university of Sulaimani, from Iraqi Kurdistan. I’m studding in the field of Entomology. Now, I’m studding the final course, completing the course, I’ll begin my research which will be about “Study the poisoning by insecticides on foraging workers Apis mellifera and the role in physiological activities of the body organ“. I kindly ask your favor to help me by providing me some papers about this study. Please I’ll be waiting your reply. erose_163@hotmail.com
(I've replied to Mr Farhad with some suggestions and some comments, but I would appeal to those of you in bee science labs who are able to assist, to do so. This is an excellent example of a situation where many of us can do something to help a budding bee scientist with few resources. Who Knows when his research may come to your rescue. Ed.)

Dear David,
Your Editorial in the June issue mentioned cork hives. This reminded me of a holiday in Majoca when I visited La Granja (a country house museum) in Esportlas a small town in the Sierra del Norte about 9 miles north west of Palma. I took a photograph of a cork hive sitting on a shelf in what had been the bakery also of an old candle making apparatus standing in the courtyard - see attachments - which might be of interest. Brian Hughes Northampton

(Thanks Brian. These are just the things I was referring to. I've never seen the candle stand before though. Ed.)

Dear David,
Although not quite the same wording, possibly due to differences in translation from old French, the quote may be from "French Grammar with Additions" by Claudius Mauger, 1693. Obviously it refers to the social organisation of the bee colony. Cdr, Eric Verge contributed the piece to "The Welsh Beekeeper", Summer 2003, under the title Between Two Gentlemen. John Burgess
(An ingenious reply John and yes it does refer to hive organisation. See the fact file for further details. Ed.)

Dear Editor,
It occurred to me recently that many of your readers will have an old mobile phone or printer cartridge tucked away in a drawer at home or at work. What they may not realise is that their unwanted items can benefit the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Old mobiles and empty printer cartridges can be recycled and the proceeds will be used to help fund vital research into the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer as well as providing support for sufferers and their families. With 38,000 new cases of lung cancer being diagnosed each year and 80% of those diagnosed not surviving longer than 12 months, lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK.

But that's not all. Recycling is environmentally friendly too (mobile phones and printer cartridges take hundreds of years to biodegrade). So you can help the Earth and support a very worthwhile cause too!

Please help us continue our vital work with lung cancer sufferers and their families by donating old printer cartridges and mobile phones from home and work. For details just call 08712 50 50 50, visit our website www.recyclingappeal.com/roycastle or simply drop your unwanted items in the post to: Roy Castle Recycling Appeal (EL), 31-37 Etna Road, FALKIRK FK2 9EG

Kind regards. Yours sincerely, Janine Drew Fundraising Manager, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation 200 London Road, LIVERPOOL L3 9T.

Dear Editor,
News at V.G.A Certificate courses semester 2004/05. Registration for certificate courses semester 2004/05 at Virtual Global Academy is possible from now on.

New distance courses: First Certificate Distance Course in organic/ecological Beekeeping Proficiency Certificate Distance Course in organic/ecological Beekeeping. Revisited distance courses in the beekeeping sector: Certification-course is a "must" for commercial beekeepers, filling companies,
honey packers and honey-laboratories. Beginners, hobbyists and small scale beekeepers have better start opportunities with the course "Beekeeping for beginners"
Practical courses: Practical Training in organic / ecological Beekeeping 2004 July 15 T+T Consult PR-Team Powered by: www.thiele-und-thiele-consult.de T+T CONSULT - International centre for organic / ecological beekeeping. Adress: Franzrasen 2, D-37242 Bad Sooden, Germany Tel: +49 (0) 56 52 - 91 78 99 Fax: +49 (0) 56 52 - 91 79 92 E-mail:contact@thiele-und-thiele-consult.de Web: http://www.thiele-und-thiele-consult.de VAT/Ust-Id-N°: DE180608415

Dear UK beekeepers,
We are attempting to update the following for the next Beekeepers Annual 2005: Editors of local beekeeping association (or county BKA) newsletters. Colleges or counties that offer beekeeping courses. We will of course be writing to individuals. If you have information which you feel should be in the next issue of the Annual contact Jerry Burbidge of Northern Bee Books.
Email: jeremy@recordermail.demon.co.uk 2004 Annuals available from URL: http://www.beedata.com/beebooks.htm

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Back to top

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

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

Saturday 11th September 2004 - The Bromley and Orpington Honey Show and Beekeeping exhibition and crafts. Opens to the public at 9.30am 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. To Enter the Honey Show view and print the show schedule from a PDF. Download 2004 Show Schedule [234KB PDF needs Acrobat 4+]

21st, 22nd and 23rd October 2004 - The National Honey Show, RAF Museum, Hendon, North London. Advanced tickets and competitive classes schedule from http://www.honeyshow.co.uk

16th April 2005 BBKA Spring Convention and Exhibition

Editor: David Cramp Submissions contact the Editor
Web Editor: Steven Turner
E-mail addresses are not hyper linked to prevent harvesting for spamming purposes. We recommend you cut & paste to your e-mail client if required.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH Back to top

This quote, which I hope most beekeepers would know, comes from someone who helped to revolutionise beekeeping. Write in with the answers. Who said it, and about what?

‘how I could get rid of the disagreeable necessity of cutting the attachments of the combs from the walls of the hives…..and in a moment the suspended moveable frames, kept at a suitable distance from each other and the case containing them came into being. Seeing by intuition, as it were, the end from the beginning, I could scarcely refrain from shouting out my ‘ Eureka ! In the open streets’

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