Apis-UK April 2005

Bees for Development at the 2005 BBKA Spring Convention

EDITORIAL Back to top

And so we are three years old. Seems more like a hundred actually, but then as all editors of monthly magazines will know, it can be a close run thing getting everything together in reasonable time, and time which of course is relative, speeds up more and more as deadlines approach. It never seems to stop. It is necessary therefore to foster a keen bunch of contributors who are willing to share their knowledge of bees with us, on the web in our case, and as you may have seen over the years, we have just that, which makes my life considerably easier. Readers will have noticed the same names appearing in numerous issues and to these stalwarts I give my thanks. We need more. But any magazine is nothing without its readers and your numbers are growing month by month. It means I hope that we are not getting it all wrong, but I must ask the question: ‘are we getting it all right?’ and to know this I rely on you the reader to tell me. Please do so and help us to improve and grow in the years to come as we move slowly (very slowly I hope) towards ten.

In this issue, we again move around from pillar to post looking at a wide variety of subjects from surprise genetics, bee attacks and Kashmir Bee Virus, right through to the delightful poem of the month which deals with the aristocracy of clover. It is not often that our supposed mastery of a subject is shot to bits, but a tiny weed has done just this in the case of our knowledge of genetics. And we return to the unusual in the recipe section with a Mayan recipe. The Maya were of course one of the ancient powers of Cental America, rivalling the Inca and the Aztecs. Their temples and civilisation are now marvelled at by modern day man. They were however supreme beekeepers (of stingless bees) and they were known as ‘The people of the land and the bee’. They even had bee gods.

We learn in this issue (if you didn’t already know) that Kashmir Bee Virus is now in the UK. This of course was inevitable and I think not too worrying. I have kept bees commercially in two countries that have it (Spain and New Zealand) and have rarely even thought about it let alone worried about the beast. I’m no expert on the subject of virus particles but I reckon that if you keep on top of their probable vector varroa, and maintain good husbandry, there is little to worry about. If you don’t, then you are going to have many more problems anyway and KBV could seem like the least of your worries. Personally, I’m more anxious about bee-eaters, forest fires and AFB – and of course worrying about whether the local bar will still be open when I’ve finished shifting bees for the night.

Have you ever wanted to date a bee? Probably not, but in the US (where else) they have set up a bee dating service on the net that marries up pollinators and orchardists. (See news item below). The current drastic shortage of honey bees in the US has brought about this move which it is hoped will enable a better and more efficient use of the ever dwindling supply of bee colonies available for pollination services. They really do seem to have a problem over there.

As we approach Apimondia 2005, we feature in this issue a photo article on an aspect of beekeeping in Ireland put together and sent to us by the County of Dublin Beekeepers Association. Now receiving this type of input truly delights me. It is interesting, practical and an excellent example of the type of activity that local associations get up to. We at Apis-UK are always interested in what beekeepers get up to (with bees that is) and if you have a story to tell in words and/or photos, please send it in.

The bee scene on the net is becoming more active. The Dublin Beekeepers Association mentioned above now have a web based beekeeping news letter as do one of the Melbourne Beekeeping Associations. Do look them up. Each has a message board and from each, you will learn something. This increase in the number of web magazines/newsletters for beekeepers is good, and far from being rivals to Apis-UK they are complementary. Any increase in the number of organs that promote beekeeping and beekeeping knowledge is welcome and I certainly learn something from every newsletter that I read.

And the hero of Bees for Development finished his marathon. I can only admire someone who can manage to run so far, especially in a bee suit. I once tried a marathon many years ago and after a few stiff gin and tonics to harden the spirit; I set off at the gallop and lasted a mere eleven miles. I fell apart in a phone box, was taken home and couldn’t move properly again for weeks. So well done to Bill Turnbull. I know what it feels like.

And so may I welcome you to our third anniversary edition of Apis-UK with the sincere hope that you will enjoy reading it. Keep in touch.

David Cramp. Editor.

NEWS Back to top

CUBA INCREASES EXPORTS OF ECOLOGICAL HONEY
As a producer of organic honey in Spain, this news is especially interesting to me. (Ed).
Cuba’s economy is increasing exports of ecological bee honey, as part of a strategy aimed at meeting the growing demand for that product in the international market. Experts said that production of ecological honey increased last year, and new areas were certified to produce that kind of honey. At present, a score of municipalities in eastern Cuba have been certified to produce ecological bee honey, since they meet international quality standards. Ecological honey is highly demanded in Europe and prices are high in the international market; that is why, Cuban agricultural authorities have decided to increase production of that kind of honey. In order to achieve that goal, Cuban apiculturists are gradually increasing the value of production, since the price of one ton of ecological honey is 300 dollars higher than that of regular bee honey in the international market. The highly-demanding European market, where there is a growing tendency to consume ecological products, is the main target for Cuban exports of ecological honey.

KASHMIR BEE VIRUS HITS THE UK
In an earlier edition of Apis-UK we reported on the NBU’s investigation into bee virus’s. This investigation has now discovered the first known incidence of kashmire Bee Virus in Manchester and Hull. The colonies were normal and this suggests that the virus had been there for some time. (See fact File in this issue for further information on this virus. Ed).

PHILIP MCCABE'S BEE BEARD
The Irish Development Aid organisation, Bóthar and Bees for Development Trust are actively involved in providing beekeeping programmes and advice to poor families struggling to survive throughout the developing world. A unique world record attempt is giving both organisations an opportunity to raise much-needed funds. In June, Philip McCabe, Chairman of Apimondia Ireland 2005 and President of the Federation of Irish Beekeeping Associations, will attempt to wear a beard of 500,000 bees in an effort to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. The current world record is held by Mark Biancaniello, who was covered by bees weighing an estimated 50 kg, calculated at over 350,000 bees. This fund-raising opportunity has been created to mark the fact that the 2005 Apimondia Congress is taking place in Ireland (details on page 8 of the March BfDJ). Please sponsor Philip in his record-breaking attempt: funds raised will be shared equally between Bees for Development Trust and Bóthar. For more information contact Pat McCarrick at Bóthar E-mail: pat @ bothar.ie or follow the links at: www.bothar.org or www.apimondia2005.com/news/worldrecord.html

JOHN POLLARD
It is with very deep sadness that I must advise you that John Pollard, elected Chairman of the Kent Beekeepers Association on 9th April 2005, died suddenly yesterday 19th April 2005. Many of you will remember John Pollard who was on duty at Stoneleigh at the Bee Centre on Friday and Saturday at the BBKA Spring Convention. John's funeral is to take place at 2.00 on Friday, 6th May at Tunbridge Wells Crematorium. For those of you looking for overnight accommodation there are many hotels in Tunbridge Wells. Two large chains just off the A21 are Premier Lodge, Pembury Road, Tonbridge. TN11 Tel: 0870 990 6552 Ramada Jarvis, 8, Tonbridge Road , Pembury, Tunbridge Wells Tel: 01892 823567 You can often get good deals for Friday and Saturday nights. The Crematorium is in the Hawkenbury area of Tunbridge Wells. The Ramada Jarvis will be about 3 miles away; The Premier Lodge will be about 5 miles. Terry Clare has been nominated as next of kin so he is making the arrangements. John Hendrie, General Secretary Kent BeeKeepers Association.

ATTACK ON BEES IN CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Thousands of bees have died after vandals set off a firework inside a hive in Cambridgeshire last month. Rowena Guthrie and her mother Caroline, have kept bees at a site in Caldecote for the past 18 months. They described the damage as "horrendous". Two of the hives were bombarded with bricks and a firework was set off inside another during the attack. Cambridgeshire Police are investigating the incident and plan to use the firework as evidence.

FASTEST BEEKEEPER
Bill Turnbull completed the London Marathon, wearing a beekeeper’s suit complete with veil, on Sunday (17th April 2005) in just over four and a half hours. According to Bill: ‘The beekeeping suit was terrific - people cheering every step of the way - many saying "Oh - Bees for Development - what's that?"’ Bill has raised over £3,500 in sponsorship for the Bees for Development Trust! As well as proving himself the fastest beekeeper in the London Marathon. Thank you, everyone that sponsored Bill. News from the BBKA website http://www.bbka.org.uk/news/news/bbc-presenter-bill-turnbu.shtml

BEE 'DATING SERVICE' WEBSITE STARTS
A severe loss of beehives in the Mid-Atlantic region over the past few years has led to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services setting up a special Web site to help farmers get in touch with beekeepers.

“Yes, it is that bad,” said Keith Tignor, VDACS state apiarist. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls from farmers to help them find bees.” It’s particularly difficult in early spring for apple growers, Tignor said, because out-of-state beekeepers are less inclined to travel and there are few Virginia beekeepers left who rent the use of their hives to farmers.

“Most Virginia beekeepers are hobbyists, so they probably don’t have more than 10 hives for their hobby and a little honey production. Even so, we’re encouraging them to make their hives available for pollination, working with other beekeepers to help the farmers out.”

Tignor said most orchards or vegetable fields require at least one bee hive for every 2 acres for effective pollination. So a 100-acre orchard would need at least 50 bee hives, spread throughout the property.

Bees are the primary pollinator of all fruit and vegetable crops in the United States . A 2000 Cornell University study estimated the value of honey production in that year to be about $250 million, Tignor said. But the value of pollination by the bees was about $14.5 billion.

Using the multiplier formula from the Cornell study, Tignor said the $30.8 million in cash receipts the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service says Virginia apple growers received in 2002 would have shrunk by some $23 million without honey bees. Using that same formula for other 2002 Virginia crop yields, he estimated the value of bees to be $4.5 million for cucumbers, $2.2 million for peaches and $1.5 million for watermelons.

Virtually all wild or feral bees in Virginia have been wiped out by several pests over the past decade, Tignor said. Even domesticated hives have been devastated by the varroa mite and the trachea mite, and beekeepers have to buy new queens and hives from out of state each season. If you keep bees and are interested in renting them to a Virginia farmer, visit http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/plant&pest/pollinator.html

WAX MOTH CHEMICAL CAUSES CHEMICAL SCARE IN GREECE
Fallout grew in the northern Peloponnese area of Greece recently from the latest health scare that involves tainted honey. Development Ministry inspectors started overseeing the removal from shops of local honey brands found to contain high levels of parabichlorobenzene - a chemical used by beekeepers to kill off a kind of moth that attacks hives during storage. A total of 21 brands have been found to be over the limit. All tainted products are expected to have been recalled by tomorrow.

NATIONAL HONEY SHOW 2005 PROGRAMME AND LECTURE CONVENTION ANNOUNCED
Venue: The RAF Museum, Hendon, London, UK.
Thursday 20th October
1.45 Doors Open
2.00 Opening Ceremony Norman Walsh President of NI Beekeepers Assn
3.00 Judging a Class at the National Michael MacGiolla Coda & Michael Gleeson
4.30 Birds, Bees and Super Weeds Professor John Bryant
6.45 Show Closes
Friday 21st October
9.30 Show Opens
10.30 Bee Research at Rothamstead Norman Carreck
11.45 North and South Willie Robson
1.00 The Bugs and the Bees Dr Rose Cooper
2.15 Practical Aspects of Queen Rearing Albert Knight
3.30 Where are we now? Mike Brown
4.45 Present and Future Dr Nicola Bradbear
6.45 Show Closes
Saturday 22nd October
9.30 Show Opens
10.15 Family Feuds and Sisterly Strife Dr Robert Paxton
11.30 From the Sublime to the Ridiculous Clive De Bruyn
12.45 My Way Willie Robson
2.30 National Honey Show AGM followed by the National Council Meeting and the draw
4.00 Presentation of Trophies and Awards
4.50 Show Closes

If you wish to join the National Honey Show. Please send your remittance to the Membership Secretary Mr WD Fildes, 18 Andersons, Stanford-le-Hope, SS17 75. Full Membership £10.00. or Online £11.00 Visit the URL: http://www.honeyshow.co.uk/store.shtml

THE YOGHURT MAKERS’ REVENGE
We received this letter from Roger White in Cyprus concerning the parlous state of beekeeping on the island - and indeed his wife's freedom. I’ve decided to put it as a news item – as it is indeed news. (Ed).

Hello Everyone, It's me again with my news from this part of the world. We are slowly recovering from the antibiotics shock. We still have to go to court and it could mean up to 2,000 pounds in a fine and six months in jail. The honey was marketed under my wife's name - imagine what will happen if she gets put inside... anyone want to be a wife for six months? The scandal has continued and is now affecting Greece. Greek beekeepers used a chemical crystal called Paradichlorobenzene to protect their combs from wax moth damage when the combs were stored away from the bees. The PDB was absorbed by the wax and contaminated the honey. The Greek government set a maximum limit of 40ppb. a couple of years ago. Recently a dairy company was found to have mould in 700,000 containers of yoghurt and EFET (the Greek food safety agency) ordered the company to remove its product from the market. They reacted by spilling the beans about the PDB in the honey and the EU had to intervene by setting a limit of 10ppb. This means that thousands of tons of Greek honey has to be disposed of. All this started because of two Cypriots arguing in an office in Nicosia. Don't you just love it! - one scandal after another - The Electricity Authority/Foresty products/Cyprus Airways pilots and several other organisations put their trust in a certain stockbroker called Mr. Andronikou (Andrew the winner) who in collaboration with another individual, who goes under the even more unlikely name of Mr. Koumeras (Mr. Bridesmaid), managed to ''misplace'' about 10 million pounds ($20,000,000) worth of shares that they were managing for the pension funds of the above organisations and as they had a valid power of attorney it doesn't look like they are going to court over it. Of course some high powered bright spark has come up with the idea that the shortfall should be made up by a surcharge on everyone’s' electricity bill. It's a waste of time watching films here - the news is much better entertainment!. Keep well all of you. Rog.

TANZANIA SAFARI 2005
Bees for Development invite you to combine travel and adventure in this award winning Safari in Tanzania! Your hosts will be our local partners at the Njiro Wildlife Research Centre – part of the Serengeti Wildlife Research Institute, who will accompany you throughout your stay.

Beekeeper or not, the Safari has been tailored to suit a wide variety of interests. Tanzania offers some of the best opportunities to see wildlife. You will witness spectacular concentrations of birds and animals, meet new friends, and at the same time discover how beekeeping helps Tanzanian people to create worthwhile livelihoods.

The Safari will take place 7 – 21 September 2005 and includes:
Njiro Wildlife Research Centre
Tarangire and Serengeti National Parks
Apiaries on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro
High quality accommodation, with full and half board
Visit to Maasai village and local school
Local markets
African honeybees and stingless bees
Lake Manyara and the famous tree lions
Elephants, zebras, leopards…. and much more!

14 nights for £1,595 (excluding flights to and from Tanzania)
Interested? For further details please contact: Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth NP25 4AB, UK Tel: + (44) 016007 13648 E-mail: safari @ beesfordevelopment.org download more infomation from our website: http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/holidays.htm

VARROA UPDATE
New Test for Detecting Pesticide-Resistant Mites
Beekeepers now have a fast new way to check Varroa mites for this honeybee parasite's resistance to the pesticides coumaphos and fluvalinate. Scientists at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologists in Beltsville, USA have developed a "do-it-yourself" bioassay that determines, within six hours, whether Varroa mites are fully resistant to the pesticides, are approaching resistance, or are still vulnerable.

ARS entomologists sought to devise a faster, cheaper and more user-friendly alternative to current methods of checking for pesticide-resistant Varroa mites. These methods are labour-intensive affairs that require specialized equipment and the shipping of mite-infested bees. The bioassay is intentionally low-tech. Its main parts include glass canning jars in which to contain honeybees, mesh lids through which mites on the bees can fall out and be counted, and index cards that hold strips of either coumaphous or fluvalinate.

A mathematical formula determines the mites’ resistance levels or susceptibility to the pesticides. For example, if the chemicals kill 25 percent of the mites, then the parasites can be considered fully resistant. However, if more than 50 percent are killed, then the mites are still vulnerable to the pesticides. This means the pesticide treatments should still be effective against the mites.

In the USA some state bee inspectors have already used the bioassay to document mite resistance in applying for emergency-use exemptions on alternative control products. They're also using it to monitor the spread of pesticide-resistant mite population.

NBU CUTS MAKE POLITICAL NEWS IN THE UK
Just to keep you up to date with the NBU cuts saga, we bring you the news that the episode has now reached into the election campaign.

http://www.bbka.org.uk/news/news/bee-health-programme-elec.shtml

http://www.bbka.org.uk/news/news/bbka/bee-health-isssue-the-conservative-positions.shtml

THE LAMPETER BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION'S ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB
This site belongs to the members of the LBKA and it is hoped that it will become a valued resource for them and other beekeepers around the world. Anyone with an interest in beekeeping can join the site. Please join now and take part in the development of this site. URL: http://www.lampeterbeekeepers.com/

RESEARCH NEWS Back to top

WEED DEFIES GENETIC THEORY
Genetics is a subject very dear to the average bee breeder’s heart, but if you think you knew all about genetics, read this.

Gregor Mendel described our universally accepted laws of inheritance in the mid 1800s and according to these ‘Mendelian’ laws, our characteristics are determined by unique units of inheritance that are passed on intact from one generation to another. Or are they? Scientists at the Purdue University in the USA have discovered that the classic rules do not apply to a tiny weed called Arabidopsis thaliana which has bypassed genetic abnormalities carried by both parents and reverted to normal traits from the grandparents. One of the molecular geneticists at the university, Robert Pruitt explained that this means that inheritance can happen more flexibly than we thought in the past, and that while our school lessons on mendel’s laws remain sound, they are not absolutes.

They believe that if this mechanism is discovered in animals, they may be able to use gene therapy to treat diseases in plants and humans.

The scientists found that a mutant arabidopsis which has two copies of the altered gene, let it seed and then plant the seeds, 90% of the offspring will look like the plant but 10% will resemble the normal grandparents. They say that this challenges everything that they believed in.

NEW STUDY FINDS THAT HONEY MAY AID IN ABSORPTION OF CALCIUM
A new study conducted at Purdue University showed that consuming honey along with supplemental calcium enhanced calcium absorption in rats. In addition, the absorption of calcium was increased as the amount of honey was increased. The study, led by Dr. Berdine Martin of Purdue University, was presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology meeting this month in San Diego.

“Many adults struggle to get the recommended amounts of calcium in their daily diet,” said Dr. Katherine Beals, nutrition consultant to the National Honey Board.

According to the recently released US Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis “By 2020, half of all American citizens older than 50 will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass if no immediate action is taken by individuals at risk, health care professionals, health systems, and policymakers.”

Osteoporosis is often referred to as a “silent” disease because many of those afflicted are completely unaware that they suffer from it. In fact, four times as many men and three times as many women have osteoporosis than report it.

One of the key strategies for reducing the likelihood of developing low bone mass (and subsequent osteoporosis) is to consume the recommended amounts of calcium. It is also important that the calcium consumed be absorbed by the body.

Dietary factors that have been shown to enhance the absorption of calcium include vitamin D and the sugars found in honey, specifically glucose, fructose and raffinose, may enhance calcium absorption. “Although this study was done with rats, the preliminary results are very compelling,” said Dr. Beals. “Of course we would have to replicate the experiment in a human sample to see if the same holds true for people.”

THE BEE PRESS Back to top

BEECRAFT
Beecraft April 2005 Volume 87 Number 4
Claire Waring Editor. www.bee-craft.com
Beecraft Subscriptions http://www.bee-craft.com/shop/
Contents: New Veterinary Medicines Regulations, BeeCraft shop NOW OPEN; Defra visits the National Bee Centre Ivor Davis, PhD; A year in the apiary: swarm preparations David Aston, PhD, NDB; WheelEasy™Competition; Beekeeping: new legislation in Europe Max Watkins, PhD; Veterinary medicine legislation; Mike Rowbottom, PhD; Why are you opening up the hive? Ann W Harman; From the Lab: imaging honey bee brains Adam G Hart, PhD; Replacement Celia Davis, NDB; Looking for the native bee Albert Knight; Forage at Apimondia; Graham Hall and Jim Ryan; United we stand Adrian Waring, NDB In the Apiary: having fun with bees (part 12) Karl Showler; Starting with bees in Italy: part 1 Pam Felli-Todd; Other bees: wool-carder bees Neil A Robinson; The Santa Group Chris Slade, Bill’s Patch John HB Rawson Letters to the Editor and more.
Editorial: ‘Now isn’t that a wonderful drawing on our cover? Tom Smith is one of our ‘B’ Kids who has shown his talent in a recent competition. The ‘B’ Kids page is always interesting. It’s amazing how much you can still learn even if you have been keeping bees for many years. This month there is something rather special, but you will have to turn to page 43 to find out what it is! In fact, this whole issue is rather special. It’s another of our bumper offerings and we cover a very wide range of subjects. There is still the concern over the proposed government cuts in bee health expenditure and we also take a closer look at another concern – the changes in European legislation regarding veterinary (including bee) medicines. Apimondia is approaching fast, so I hope you have made your plans to travel to Dublin for 21–26 August. Don’t leave it too late to book. In fact, why not use the registration form on page 25 and make sure of your place now? You have got until 1 June to take advantage of the reduced fees. Apimondia is a very special meeting with delegates from all over the globe. It will never be as close to home again. Although I love travelling, I will be glad that it is only a short hop across the Irish Sea and I am looking forward to that special Irish hospitality! Bee Craft will be there. Will you? We also have a great competition for you on page 10. Are you fed up lugging all those heavy supers around? Just for the price of a stamp, you could be the winner of a WheelEasy™ barrow worth £100 that will take all the strain. Our thanks to Allsop for their generous prizes and also for sponsoring our next Bee Craft photographic competition. You will find the first details on page 45. Last, but not least, our online webshop is now up and running (see page 14). Take out or renew your subscription the easy way! Order your binders and posters direct. Claire Waring

BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT JOURNALNo.74 March 2005
Dr Nicola Bradbear Editor. www.beesfordevelopment.org
Contents: Tsunami; Practical Beekeeping; AAA; International Honey Trade Symposium; BfD Information Service; Apiculture Photography Contest; Apimondia 2005; News around the World; Save the Leaso bee; News from Njiro; Look and Learn Ahead; Notice Board; News around the World; Book Shelf. Cover picture: Frank Sivic's image of a bee on hazel catkins is the winner of the IV Concurso International Apiculture Photography Contest organised by the Environment Council of Azuqueca de Henares, Spain. Details of how to enter the new contest are on page 7.

BEE WORLD
In Bee World from IBRA this quarter comes a wealth of beekeeping information from all over the world. Of vital interest to most beekeepers the magazine provides a comprehensive report on pollen nutrition and colony development in honey bees. Part 1 appears in this issue and part 2 in the next. The cave paintings of honey hunters around the world is detailed in a report by Eva Crane and this includes examples of drawings from Spain, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The bee plant Phacelia is featured and the revival of an old tradition in Germany of sculptured beehives is investigated. All in all the usual superb offering from IBRA and it is well worth the read. www.ibra.org.uk

NEW BOOK

FIELD GUIDE TO THE BUMBLEBEES OF GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND
by Mike Edwards & Martin Jenner The first-ever comprehensive photographic field guide to the British bumblebee, 'Field Guide to the Bumblebees of Great Britain and Ireland' published on Thursday (24 March 2005) uses for the first time a new three-step way to identify bees doing away with the need to put bees under the microscope.

Bees and Gravity (Part 1 of 3)
Although at first glance there seems little reason why the alignment of natural comb should be governed by gravity, a line of reasoning may be pursued that suggests bees may find it an advantage to build comb parallel to the maximum gravitational deviation experienced in a particular direction. If a piece of comb is cut in half vertically and viewed end on, the back to back arrangement of the cells is seen to have a downward slope.

Gravity for all intents and purposes is taken as a single unvarying downward force at right angles to the Earth's surface, but strictly speaking this is not exactly the case. There are in fact minute variations in the general East - West direction which may be detectable by the bee and therefore influence comb construction.

Beekeepers who own small boats will be aware, even in the Mediterranean, of their local tides and perhaps even the cause of 10 metre tides in the Bristol Channel.

The U.K. has a unique tidal pattern where the tides sweep down the East coast at the same time as they sweep up the West coast. This causes a tidal tilt which further enhances the East - West gravitational changes caused by the rotation of the Moon and Sun.

In short there is a small change in the angle of the vertical component of gravity in the East - West direction which may be detectable by the bee and cause the East - West comb alignment. This as a theory may be tested. Ian Rumsey

Rock of Ages
One of the enduring giants of beekeeping is the Rev Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth whose moveable frame hive did so much to revolutionize beekeeping that it is still in use unfazed by later imitators, innovators and improvers 150 years after he patented it.

I thought it might be of interest to look at some aspects of his life that don’t usually appear when people are talking about his hives. You can read his excellent book

“Langstroth’s Hive and the Honeybee,” which will give you hours of enjoyment and impress upon you the man’s great attention to detail, easy style of communicating and deep religious conviction but is characteristically modest about his own abilities outside of beekeeping. A paper on his life by Ophia D Smith of the Ohio Historical Society gives many details of his life and times in Oxford Ohio and is worth reading in full.

Langstroth was born the eldest son of John George Langstroth in Philadelphia on Christmas Day, 1810. His parents already had one child, a girl and he was to have six younger siblings. His middle name is derived from his mother’s side of the family. His grandmother was Elizabeth Lorraine Dunn and she was the granddaughter of Count Louis Lorraine, a Huguenot refugee from France.

Lorenzo showed a great deal of curiosity towards the insect world in his childhood and he showed early intelligence in the Classics, reading Latin with great facility. It seems he did not show any great interest in becoming a clergyman until 1831 after leaving Yale College and joining Yale divinity school. Thus at the age of 21 he started to fund his college years by tutoring in mathematics at Yale and teaching female students at one of the New Haven schools for girls.

He took up the ministry in Andover, Massachusetts in 1836 but he did not enjoy good health and the parish was a very large one. He then went on to be Principal of Abbot Academy in New Haven and married a local teacher Anne Tucker. His poor health continued and in 1840 he moved to Greenfield, Massachusetts where apart from teaching at a girls’ school, he took the pulpit at the local Congregational Church.

It was in Greenfield that he acquired his first colony of bees in a log hive, increasing his apiary over the next few years.

He returned to Philadelphia in 1848 following more illness and took up the post of Principal in another girls’ school for the next six years. In his spare time he became deeply engrossed in beekeeping. It was during this time after much study that he invented his moveable frame hive. A local cabinetmaker Henry Bourquin who was a fellow bee enthusiast made up his first hives for him and by 1852 Langstroth had more than a hundred of these hives and was selling them patented where he could. Later that year he fell ill again and had to sell his bees. Returning to Greenfield he offered Dr Joseph Beals a half-interest in the profits in return for Beals supplying the money necessary for him to market the hives.

Langstroth had temporarily left his wife and two daughters in Philadelphia where she kept the family going by teaching whilst he went to Greenfield convinced that he could make a significant impact on American beekeeping with his new hive. It was there that he wrote his book which was published the following year. This book was the first serious work in the English language to reach a wide audience and apart from his very readable style of writing was full of information and exactly what was needed by beekeepers. New editions and many reprints were made over the next 35 years. Langstroth became a man that commanded great respect amongst eminent beekeepers like Root, Quinby and Dadant – who in Langstroth’s fading years undertook a complete new revision on his behalf and oversaw its translation into numerous languages.

Reunited, his family moved to Oxford, Ohio in 1858 and his widowed mother joined them there.

Langstroth was a man of enormous charm as well as intellect and much loved by small children, passing on bee knowledge to them with great enthusiasm and energy despite his continued poor health.

He was very much at home in Oxford which prided itself on a genteel and scholarly way of life. It was here that he imported Italian bees from Jan Dzierzon in Silesia.

It will be of interest to BIBBA members that Langstroth made an exhaustive study of native black bees and Italians over a period of 20 years and considered that in the local conditions Italian bees were superior. His results were published in the American Bee Journaland in Gleanings in Bee Culture in 1881. He and his son sold Italian queens at 20 dollars each (a considerable sum in Victorian times) and in one year sold 100 of them, many being sent by post all over the United States and arriving healthy and in excellent condition.

He had some tragedy in his life, his only son James dying at an early age in 1870 from tuberculosis he had contracted during the Civil War and his wife dying four years later.

Langstroth was not only a fervent Christian, though never sanctimonious, but a man who had strong humanitarian beliefs. He was repelled by the concept of slavery and so much in favour of the Union that on one occasion when things were going badly for the North he interrupted his reading of one of the psalms by inserting into it the words of the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

In 1887 he moved to Dayton, Ohio to live with his daughter Mrs. HC Cowan and her family. He died there in 1895 as no doubt he would have wanted to, just as he was delivering a sermon in the Presbyterian Church in Dayton. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Dayton where his gravestone is inscribed:

Bees by Ship
In a previous issue of Apis-UK we reported on the movement of bees from the UK to New Zealand by the Rev WC Cotton. Unfortunately Cotton left no notes on how the bees fared whilst on ship an indeed we learn that they may have had to have been thrown overboard. In this article however sent to us by Trevor Weatherhead, we learn much more about the bees on board ship. Trevor is the author of ‘Boxes to Bar Hives’, a beekeeping history of Queensland which was published in 1986. (Ed).

In the Australian Bee Bulletin of 23 September, 1893, is an article by Angus Mackay who was an Instructor in Agriculture in the Technical College in New South Wales. He was also at one time Editor of the Town and Country Journal. The following is his account of bringing Ligurian bees from America.

“In 1877, it was my good fortune to bring from California the first lot of Ligurian bees, so far as I know, that have reached this section of Australia. I got them from Harbison, of the Santa Clara Valley ! They were in a Harbison hive, about 20” square at sides and about 3½ feet high. There were millions in it! The Pacific Mail Company very considerably gave me the use of a cabin forward on deck of the fine ship City of New York. Captain Cobb, a grand old American salt, was in command. We had heavy, muggy, hot weather, after leaving the America coast.

The bees suffered fearfully. During several days I took out fully a ¼ of them daily, assuming they would all perish, as 3 or 4 previous lots sent out as freight had done. I got up early in the morning, very early, before daybreak and edged the big hive out on deck, to give the bees air. The sailors noted quietly what I was about, but said little. But the news spread, and was noted that some of the passengers located where the bees were, and I was asked if anything serious would happen to the ship if they got loose! If they would slaughter all hands! Captain Cobb somehow, was interviewed, and with his first officer he came to see about it.

“It’s a big, big job you’ve on hand,” he said. “I hope it’s alright and there’s no fear of a rampage from them insects, as you say. It’s the first time, though, I’ve run such a livestock farm on this ship, and I do hope nobody will get hurt. Though some of the folks are mighty scared. I tell you that’s so.”

The poor bees were having a fearful time. It’s really a cruel procedure sending or taking them on a big journey. They suffer so badly from want of water and from their dead. It was then I learnt how short is bee life, and how confinement kills them. I made a cage promenade for them by wiring in the top, and it was a sight to see the little maiden workers come up in the mornings and drink the water sprinkled on them. The weather was hot as we approached the Sandwich Islands, and the bees able to come up, soon as drops of water are sprinkled on them, ran below the God given fluid to the suffering hosts. From under the cage attached to the bottom board in the hive I took away the dead and dying several times daily, as the workers carried them out.

Interest soon began to be taken by the ships company in the bees, and some days before reaching Honolulu ring bolts were fixed in various parts of the deck for fastening the hive in favourable places for air and shade, and the livestock had become the biggest attraction on the ship. Even the Chief Engineer, who for a time had doubts on the subject, became convinced that, should a lot of bees get loose at any time, they would not make the engine room and machinery room first thing!

Captain Cobb was a man; his first officer, engineer, cabin room bosun were men also. To this day I believe it was arranged amongst them to reach Honolulu at daybreak, and leave before nightfall, to give the bees a chance. Perhaps the ship might have got in during the night, and left the next day. The City of New York was tied up at the wharf about 4.30am. The bees were then located up on the promenade deck. I knew the ship would not leave till after nightfall. The bees were let loose! Poor things! Thousands of them had been born at sea, and they fell sprawling on the deck in masses, ejecting matter which their bodies were gored, for want of exercise. But, within a half hour of arrival, they were streaming back to the hive loaded with pollen and honey! Very few were picked up dead. After a short struggle for a few minutes, they got wing and were off.

The town visited in Honolulu was a garden then! It may still be so still. How the bees worked that day! I tried to keep the proceedings as quiet as possible, and comparatively few knew of the livestock farm on the upper deck. I was asked seriously, “Now are these bees likely to come off from such a glorious shore, and into the box again at night? They look as though they had more sense.” Well, by the time the word “Let’s go!” was given it was dark then. I do not think there was an absent bee that was able to fly back. The good old City got all her passengers that trip.

The remainder of the voyage was easier upon the livestock. They had a spell in Sydney of a week, and landed safely in Brisbane. What a delighted man was Jas Carroll to get the first lot of Ligurian bees, and the bees were then as full, to all appearance, as when Bee Master Harbison put them up.”

In this fairly wide ranging review, John Yates takes a look at the state of ‘the bee’ in the UK at the moment.

All is not sweet and honey
In the early part of the last century the majority of colonies in the UK were decimated by the Isle of Wight disease now called Acarine. It was wrongly diagnosed, according to Dr. Bailey who suggested that the colonies died out due to viral infections. The situation was so dire that the Ministry of Agriculture, or whatever it was called in those far off days, realised the importance of honeybees for pollination purposes and set up a scheme to subsidise beekeepers to import bees into the UK. The races of bees came from all over Europe and a nation of mongrels was born.

It is now well known that there is no pure race of bee in the UK and the whole population is one of mongrels derived from many pure races, inter-breeding by natural means. Such natural selection favours the ultimate survival of the bee in its particular environment accompanied by a loss in heterosis and vitality. Nowhere in the country, except in a few isolated instances, is there any attempt to eliminate bad tempered bees which is in so much evidence today. BIBBA, The Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association, formerly The British Isles Bee Breeders Association (same acronym) has been endeavouring, over many years, to engineer the renaissance of the Old English Bee with little apparent success. Perhaps the most doubtful part of the breeding programme is the small number of colonies of these bees which eventually must lead to inbreeding which is denied by many proponents of the BIBBA objectives. A few individuals bring in New Zealand queen bees for breeding purposes and sell a first cross mated with the local riff-raff of drones; mostly they are satisfactory queens but are useless for further breeding by crossing with the mongrel drones. We know of Carniolan queens being available as a private venture and also the Buckfast strain imported from Scandinavia but overall it makes little impression on improving the strain of bee in the UK. Bro.Adam, who died in 1996, stated that the bees at Buckfast Abbey 80 years ago (ie. about 1920) were positively ferocious compared to the Abbey bees of today. He also stated that swarming and bad temper should have no place in the modern apiary devoted to honey production. Unfortunately bad temper leads to leave alone beekeeping and hence to swarming thereby propagating both undesirable traits. The picture is one of considerable gloom. I wrote some years ago that one can only hope that it will improve as a result of the incompetent beekeepers giving up due to Varroosis leaving an elite who may put things right. This is not proving to be correct.

"To keep a stock of honeybees pure is beyond the capabilities of most beekeepers", stated H.H.Laidaw Jr. in 1979 when he published 'Contemporary Queen Rearing'; the position today remains much the same.

In the United Kingdom 95% of beekeepers are hobbyists and this could be true in many other countries of the world. It is necessary to maintain hundreds of colonies to select successfully the genetic material for raising new queens and drones to mate with them. The hobbyist beekeeper generally owns and manages no more than 20 stocks and this is insufficient for producing consistent quality queens with known characteristics. Taking a closer look at the United Kingdom, the economics of beekeeping do not permit a living to be made unless the enterprise is augmented with another sideline activity. In a commercial undertaking, the work involved managing the large number of stocks required for honey production is so great that many do not have time to rear queens and have to resort to crude methods of swarm control or use no control at all, allowing colonies to requeen naturally by swarming or supersedure. This is not meant to be a criticism of these commercial bee farmers, they have to resort to all sorts of short cuts in order to survive and most of them would agree that were the economics different they would manage their bees differently.

Years ago, when labour costs were low compared with equipment costs, these bee farmers augmented their income by rearing and supplying queens to the hobbyist beekeeper in addition to those queens required for their own needs. Sadly the days are gone when it was possible to buy a queen in the UK or from abroad with reliable characteristics (virgins at 1 shilling, mated at 1 shilling and six pence and a mated and tested queen for 2 shillings and sixpence). Nowadays labour costs predominate in all aspects of life. The reduction in the number of commercial bee farmers rearing queens in large numbers for sale, or in many cases for their own use, has materially affected the quality of the strains of bee in the United Kingdom. It will therefore be apparent that we have reached the stage where the hobbyist cannot rely on the queens offered for sale and hasn't material of his own to improve his strain in a short timescale. This has been a gradual process with the strains of bee becoming progressively worse. This deterioration in the quality of our bees has been blamed (by BIBBA) on the import of foreign strains crossing with our original Old English Bee; it will be clear that this is not the complete story.

Strains of honeybee if left to their own devices eventually will never produce massive crops of honey. For good crops, superior pollination services, good temper, etc. it is necessary to breed in order to produce progeny with these desirable characteristics. It has been done in other aspects of animal husbandry and with plants; bees are no different.

The only bee breeding programme of any stature must be that left by Bro.Adam breeding the Buckfast Bee which was a lifetime work introducing gradually over a long period all the little refinements which make the bee we know today. No one else has achieved the equivalent of his work and, unfortunately, it now appears that his secrets went with him to the grave.

There have been instances where the strain of bee has been changed on a national basis and the two shining examples of this are Israel and Germany where it has taken a considerable number of years. Israel changed from the Apis mellifera syriaca to the Apis mellifera ligustica and only achieved this completely when the feral colonies of Syrian bees died out due to Varroosis. Germany changed from Apis mellifera mongrels to Apis mellifera carnica. Both programmes involved a detailed introduction system which was thoroughly planned and on a very large scale. Government organisation and funding were necessary to achieve success; a fact that is continually overlooked by BIBBA probably because of DEFRA’s pathetic track record in recent times ranging from the varroa debacle and on to that more recently of foot and mouth disease.

The cataclysmic change was in Brazil and other countries as a result of an experiment going wrong and ending up with the AHB (Africanised Honey Bee).

Where does this leave the average beekeeper in the UK? On his own and up the creek must be the only conclusion one can draw. However, he still has his paddle and it is possible to produce a low swarming bee of good temper by simple kitchen technology. Cull the bad tempered queens and rear from the best colonies. We know it works as we have done it for many years. The real problem is the vast majority of beekeepers who will not bother to try but now there is one overwhelming problem and that is Varroosis.

DEFRA and its national bee unit are banging on about IPM (integrated pest management) which among other things includes destroying drone brood. I said this was madness some 8 or 10 years ago on the basis that the energies of the colony would be wasted. Unfortunately, those that postulate these theories do not think them through sufficiently. We now have a situation where it very difficult to get virgin queens mated due to the shortage of drones which I attribute directly to the destruction of drone brood as a method of varroa control. Remove large slabs of drone brood and varroa mites will inhabit every remaining drone cell in the colony; the drones that do actually survive are not much use for queen mating because they are physically small and inferior on the wing. I am not alone in noting this phenomenon; Paterson in Sussex recently wrote on much the same lines.

There is slight evidence that some bees are resistant naturally to varroa. We have two colonies in one of our apiaries which are grossly bad tempered and the only reason we allow them to persist is that they could have a natural resistance to varroa. We have no intention of breeding from them because of their poor behaviour. The outlook seems to be very gloomy and there are indications that it will get very much worse before it gets better. Apis-UK could start an interesting survey asking beekeepers how many virgins they managed to get successfully mated this year. Last year all ours turned out to be drone layers. Results in the October or November issue. How about that Ed? JDY. April 2005.

I think we may take you up on that John for the next issue. On the subject of removing drone brood, I have always regarded this as a dangerous move. Surely the internal dynamic of the hive must in some way be disturbed by this. I haven’t seen any research on it so if anyone out there has, please let us know. Ed.

Soon we will be converging on Ireland for the World jamboree of beekeeping, Apimomdia 2005 and so it is appropriate that we include in this issue news of Irish beekeepers. It is always a pleasure to receive interesting articles about what beekeeping groups get up to and we invite anyone to send us an idea of what your association does in words and pictures. Ed.

The Dublin Study Group’s queen rearing diary
By Eamon Magee, Joe Kelly, Liam McGarry and Simon Rees

Introduction
We four are a study group for the FIBKA Senior exams and have chosen to rear queen as a co-operative group. We decided to choose the apiary of Eamon Magee in Derrybawn as the location, as it has strong stocks, plenty of space and a building with spare equipment etc, nearby.

7th May: selection of breeder / cell raiser colony
Colony no.5 at Derrybawn was chosen as the best breeding stock because of good showing in the colony records and because it has a Mac Giolla Coda queen.

21st May: put Cupularve kit into breeder colony
We met at Derrybawn to insert the Cupularve kit into the breeder colony. We discovered that the breeder colony had swarmed, and so chose a different colony (no. 4) as breeder / cell raiser.

While 2 of us inspected the colony and found the queen, marked bright yellow, the other 2 attached the Cupularve to a brood frame.

We inserted the frame with the Cupularve kit into the hive in order that it acquire the colony (or, according to Bro. Adam, hive) odour.

We took the opportunity to harvest a queen cell from the swarmed colony and to insert it in an Apidea box with a scoopful of bees. Simon will use this F1 Mac Giolla Coda descendent in another colony.

Update Oct 04: This queen mated successfully in her Apidea mini-nuc box then absconded into a bait hive on the garage roof - see below. The colony is now fully established.

29th May: Queen confined to Cupularve
In the morning we inspected the colony again, found the queen, and confined her to the Cupularve. In the picture below the queen (marked yellow) can be clearly seen confined to the Cupularve.

That evening we checked the colony to ensure that all was well with the queen. She was settled in the kit and accompanied by workers.

30th May: Transfer eggs onto cell bars
The big day. We saw to our delight that the queen had laid eggs in the Cupularve cells. An egg can be seen in the middle of the cup pictured below.

Each charged cup was gently removed from the Cupularve frame and fixed to a cell cap cup.

Each of these is in turn fixed to a cell bar fixture (dark brown, below) that has been nailed to the cell bar (see picture below). We transferred twenty charged cells to the cell bars prepared earlier (see picture) and inserted them into a brood box above the queen excluder, which had been prepared for this purpose. The queen was released – gently – and the Cupularve removed and packed away.

2nd June: check progress
Eamon checked on the progress of the queen cell building and larva feeding. As you can see from the picture here, wax building has begun.

9th June: distribute queen cells
We met at Derrybawn with Apidea boxes charged with grumpy bees all ready to receive the queen cells. We ended up with eight viable – looking cells, which we distributed into the Apidea boxes.

Early July: progress report
This mini-nuc is doing well – as you can see below, the bees have built comb. She’s laying well and ready to be united with a queenless colony. This mini-nuc is not one of the standard Apidea types that you can see in the picture above, but it seems to work well.

October: final update
Our queen rearing efforts have yielded about half a dozen mated queens (Eamon reports that one virgin queen was mistreated in its nuc and had to be fostered in an Apidea, where she thrived).. We've also acquired a heck of a lot of learning! For more information contact Simon: eimearandsimon @ eircom.net

I keep my bees in ancient WBC hives, bought from Wilfred Stanbridge, a semi-commercial beekeeper who used to have over a hundred of them, all filled with quite aggressive bees. I always have something on which to place the supers while I look at the bees and I don't lose queen-right colonies in the winter; I've always thought that this must be due to the extra insulation and dryness. The brood chambers are too small though. At Stoneleigh this year I was told that 80% of continental hives use polystyrene, and the extra insulating effect really helps the bees (ok, so I was told it by someone selling them, but as they also have 2000 hives, they should know what they're talking about).

This is a recipe used by the ancient Maya civilisation of Central America. Honey and bees (stingless) were central to Mayan life; indeed, the Mayan people called themselves the people of the land and the bee. Bees were messengers of the gods and were revered. Stingless bee honey was used in ritual, as a drink and as a medicine. Its medicinal properties have never been fully investigated and herein may lie a great future for this declining type of production. When the European bee arrived Mayan authors likened the decline of their own type of beekeeping to the decline of their people in the face of the sting and industry of the white man’s bee and the sting of the white man’s sword. In this recipe you can use ordinary honey. For some of you in Australia where stingless beekeeping appears to be enjoying a renaissance, try using the real thing!

Pumpkin Soup
In early pumpkin soup recipes, the pumpkin would have been baked whole in hot ashes. Peeled and chopped pumpkin would then have been thinned with broth from wildfowl or game.

1 small pumpkin, about 12".
2 tbs palm oil.
3 tbs honey.
1/2 tsp ground allspice.
4 c turkey broth.
Salt to taste.
Thinly sliced wild onions.
Roasted pumpkin seeds, for garnish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin in a baking dish and roast until easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Allow pumpkin to cool, slice off top and scoop out seeds. Clean pumpkin fibers from seeds and discard. Toss seeds with oil and salt to taste. Spread out on a baking sheet and return to oven 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden. Reserve for garnish. Scrape the pumpkin flesh from shell and mash, or puree if a smoother mixture is desired. Place the pumpkin in a large saucepan and season with salt, honey and allspice. Gradually stir in enough broth to make soup with thin or thick consistency, as desired. Simmer over medium heat about 5 minutes, until hot. If desired, serve soup in small pumpkin or squash shells. Garnish with onions and pumpkin seeds.

Last year we reported on the investigation undertaken by the UK National Bee Unit into viral infections in honey bees. The study used the TaqMan PCR technique. This is a molecular based diagnostic technology often used for the detection of plant health pests and pathogens, but in this study used exclusively on honey bees.

Of 458 colonies tested, three proved positive for KBV. As you read in the news section, all the colonies appeared normal for the time of year and the results indicated that the virus is likely to have been present for some time and not related to imports or migratory beekeeping. CSL say that the results tend to confirm what they have considered a possibility for many years that KBV is not necessarily an exotic bee virus. Within Europe findings have been reported in Spain, Germany and France. So what exactly is this KBV.

KBV is a natural disease of the eastern honey bee Apis cerana. When Apis mellifera was introduced to the area, the virus jumped over and began to parasitise its new host. For the technically minded it is an RNA virus in the family Dicistroviridae. These RNA viruses are small in comparison to DNA viruses and are associated with the mitochondria of host cells.

KBV’s virulence is made possible by the association with varroa mites. Mites carry the virus internally and externally and can spread the virus not only from mite to bee but also from mite to mite. By piercing the bees cuticle, they transfer viral particles into the host’s tissue. The pupal stage seems to be the most vulnerable to infection.

The causes that trigger virulence are still not fully understood. During the 80s in Canada, the presence of KBV in colonies was ‘an academic curiosity’ and virulence may only be caused by a high number of virus carrying varroa mites, causing stress and an increased vulnerability, but other studies have found that KBV virulence can also occur when varroa infestation is low.

Symptoms
Few if any in the field. Laboratory diagnosis is required. Unexplained weakening of the colony may be a sign, as would signs similar to virus paralysis disease – dark hairless bees; uncoordinated bees; dead and dying bees on the alighting board and inner cover; bees with a dark and greasy appearance. Be careful however, the only real test is the lab.

In common with many bee ailments, if you run your apiary well, keep a tight grip on varroa and ensure that your bees are not stressed, the chances of your bees suffering from KBV will be reduced.

I have kept bees in Spain for many years and have never noticed this problem. To be quite honest, I never really thought about it. Perhaps it has been around for many years and has only now been discovered because of improved detection techniques. If you want to know more, you can find information on the NBU website www.nationalbeeunit.com Ed).

The uses of wax and honey have always been of interest to beekeepers and The Rev WC Cotton writing in the 1840s in his manual for New Zealand Beekeepers gave some advice on the use of wax as a medicinal substance. The book was published in Wellington in 1848 after Cotton’s return to the UK and was found of great value in the rough and primitive conditions of the very young colony.

‘…But there are many smaller articles that the careful housekeeper will like to have at hand. Lip salve and cerate are no bad thing to have in the house; the latter is made by heating an ounce of wax and heating an ounce of sweet oil, not boiling either. Pour them together at about the same temperature, and keep stirring steadily until they leave the fluid for the buttery state. If you leave off stirring just at the setting point, the wax and oil will separate and you will have to melt again. But if you stir steadily all the time, you will have a substance as soft as butter and as smooth as oil; of such excellent healing powers, that I have sometimes wished to have a sore place to test its virtues. The cerate may be made harder or softer by altering the proportion of oil to the wax.’

This month’s poem comes from that marvellous American poet of the 1800s, Emily Dickinson. (1830 – 1886). The vast majority of Emily’s poems were rejected by publishers during her life time and in common with many artists, only after her death did her true worth become known. She had written over 1700 poems.

Pedigree
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, anytime to him
Is aristocracy.

Tuesday 26th, Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th July - Bees & Honey at the New Forest & Hampshire County Show is held at New Park, Brockenhurst. Preparations for the Honey and Bee Marquee are in full swing with the schedule for classes now available. The New Forest & Hampshire County Show holds a large open honey show and welcomes competitors from across the country, with a variety of 30 classes to choose from in the large honey and bee marquee. Expertise is not necessary to enter, just enthusiasm for the craft. The Show is a charity, whose purpose is to support countryside activities and try to ensure that our rural heritage is protected. As a result of this all the marquees run by the Show have a theme that is provided to hopefully educate the public in an entertaining way. The Honey and Bee marquee fulfils this by having not only a whole range of activities for children, including beeswax candle making, demonstrations of live bees and a glass wall observation hive; but for those interested in the history of honey-making and the lifecycle of the bee there are knowledgeable enthusiasts on hand with microscopes, display cabinets and literature. Honey tasting is a popular pastime during the Show and bee keepers who exhibit can sell their wares to the 100,000 visitors the Show attracts.

For details of the schedule or any other enquiries please contact the Chairman of the Honey and Bees Section, Margaret Davies on 01202 526077 or by E-mail on marg @ jdavies.freeserve.co.uk. Tickets for the Show will be available from June 1 st on the Show’s ticket hotline on 01590 622409. The main line station of Brockenhurst is near the showground and Wilts and Dorset provide a bus service along this route including a stop at the Showground.

21st - 26th August 2005 - Apimondia held in Dublin, Ireland.
Further details from http://www.apimondia2005.com/

Tuesday 13th September 2005 - Conwy Honey Fair, High Street, Conwy, North Wales, 9am - 4pm. 700 year old Charter Fair, founded by King Edward 1st. Local beekeepers sell more than a tonne of honey by lunchtime. Stall space is free of charge. Honey and hive products, plus crafts, plants and local produce stalls. Many other attractions in the walled town of Conwy, which is a World Heritage Site. Contact Peter McFadden, Secretary, Conwy BKA, Tel 01492 650851, email peter @ honeyfair.freeserve.co.uk. For the history of the Honey Fair visit: http://www.shef.ac.uk/nfa/history/invited_articles/conwy.php

Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th September 2005 - Midland and South Western Counties Convention and Conference. It will be held on the edge of the Derbyshire Peak District at the Hayes Conference Centre near Alfreton. It will be packed with hot topics from shook swarming and small hive beetle to breeding strategies to meet current challenges. We have an excellent list of speakers which currently includes: Pat Mills, David Kemp, Norman Carreck, Adam Hart, Graham Law, Bernard Diaper, Albert Knight, Claire Waring, and Alistair Battersby. Full 2 1/2 day attendance including all meals and overnight en suite accommodation will cost £180. Day visitors will be welcome at £30 to £40 depending on the day. A full programme and booking form can be obtained by post from Peter Cash e-mail: peter @ cash42.freeserve.co.uk or in pdf format from me email: steverose @ tiscali.co.uk. Everyone is welcome; not just members of the 10 counties directly involved. Steve Rose

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QUOTE OF THE MONTH Back to top

Quote last month
The quote for last month of course came from Francoise Huber the blind Swiss scientist who with the aid of his servant Bernand and wife Maria, managed to find so much out about the honey bee that our knowledge of this creature advanced immensely.

Quote of this month
There have been many descriptions of honey bees. This one comes from a well know book and I have no doubt that many beekeepers will know the source of this quote:

‘The bee is small among the fowles, yet doth its fruite passe in sweetnesse.’