Apis-UK June 2005

BBKA Spring Convention April 2005 Two happy Nottinghamshire beekeepers carry away their new honey extractor. Photo by Steven Turner

EDITORIAL Back to top

This June 2005 issue will be the last edited from Spain as I and my family pack our bags and depart these shores for New Zealand. We’ve enjoyed our twelve years here immensely and we’ve had many a beekeeping adventure, sometimes getting into impossible scrapes while shifting bees through the mountains at dead of night usually in the early days with our small daughters in Moses baskets covered with nets asleep in the back of the van. We even on one occasion became involved in a gun battle between bandits whilst carrying bees from the van through the ‘Pass of the Thistles’ so called I believe because it is full of extremely painful thistles - and bullets on that occasion. I learned a lot in Spain and I learned how to be a good bush beekeeper which is no bad thing, but all good things come to an end and one takes opportunities in beekeeping where one can and on this occasion it is New Zealand where as we all know now, the dark lord was finally defeated and EFB doesn’t exist. Or so they tell us!

One of the more embarrassing things that a beekeeper can suffer from is losing bee colonies, but it becomes frustrating too when ones bees simply disappear leaving the hive completely empty. It happened to us and I am almost relieved to find out that it is becoming a common event at least here in Spain. From an article in The Apiarist (see in the press) I note that it occurs in the UK as well and we can learn more of this below. (Research news).

Over the last year, as well as producing the prestigious Bee World and Journal of Apicultural Research, IBRA has issued a quarterly news sheet entitled Buzzwords and it is designed to reach those who would like to offer support to IBRA but without the expense of full membership. It was therefore with some alarm that I noted in a recent edition that it hadn’t really met its targets and may be suspended. This would be a loss to the beekeeping community where good regular reads are few and far between and it can only be hoped that more of us take an interest in this extremely worthwhile organisation which for a very few pounds will keep you up to date with the world of bees. (See in the press).

Even more alarming is the news that both stingless bees and beekeepers are on the way to extinction and more worrying still that no one seems to care about this. If they go, we will never know the true extent of the reputed medicinal powers of the honey that they produce. Perhaps our Australian friends will be able to keep this type of beekeeping alive and save the day.

This issue of Apis-UK again provides the reader with a mix of subjects from a delicious recipe, news on the battle with varroa, a lesson from history and a host of other interesting and little known facts about our science and craft. We even look at the possibility of downgrading guard dogs to the status of pet and using minute wasps instead. It could be just around the corner.

And finally we commiserate with Phillip McCabe of Ireland (who is often seen in photos in the company of American Honey Queens) and who just failed in his bid to join the beekeeping hall of fame with the world’s biggest bee beard. But he did raise an awful lot for charity in the attempt and that is the important thing. So well done Phillip and better luck next time. On this note, I welcome you to the June edition of Apis-UK and hope that you enjoy it. Next time, it will be coming to you all the way from New Zealand.

David Cramp. Editor.

NEWS Back to top

BEE BEARD. A HEROIC ATTEMPT
Phillip McCabe our well known Irish beekeeper, often seen with American Honey queens sadly failed in his bid to break a world record today by gathering over half a million bees on his face.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4623497.stm

Philip McCabe, 59, said he did not succeed in attracting 100lb of bees onto his body to form a giant swarming beard for a new Guinness Book of Records entry.

"I only had slightly over 200,000 bees on me, that would be about 60lb weight, the record was 87.5lb so I was within 25lb of it or thereabouts," he said.

"The bees that we have here in Ireland, these native black bee is a different bee than the one that holds the record in America."

Philip said he suffered no stings in the dangerous stunt until he jumped off the scales - when he got around seven prods. Dozens of people gathered around to watch Philip complete the bizarre challenge in Cahir, Co Tipperary to raise money for charitable causes in Africa.

As beekeepers prepared six hives full of bees, Philip declared he was not nervous of his hair-raising attempt to beat the current Guinness Book of Records challenge of 350,000 bees weighing 87.5lb, which was set in 1998 in California. Philip donned a pair of underwear, goggles and a back brace for the feat. Beekeepers brought bees from six hives and through a funnel placed the insects onto his abdomen, where they climbed up to rest on his chin.

Philip, who is the head of the Irish Beekeepers Association, revealed the other bees were attracted to his body by the scent or pheromones given off by the queen bee which he placed on his chin.

The 59-year-old revealed he was not just doing it for the buzz, and urged people to sponsor a bee with all profits from the record attempt going to two charities.

The charities organising the event, Apimondia Ireland 2005, Bothar and Bees for Development Trust, which support beekeeping projects in developing countries, were delighted with Philip`s brave attempt.

Philip revealed he had to abort the world record breaking attempt as his feet had begun to go numb after standing on the scales for almost two-hours. "My feet started to go to sleep on me," he said. "It was getting dodgy, I was afraid with my feet I could fall over."

He warned: "It is not something anyone should just do." The beekeeper said that the yellow bees used in setting the current world record are far more docile than the black bees in Ireland.

"I am more than delighted with my achievement today, what I did manage with the black bees," he said. Bees swarmed around the field in Tipperary, failing to settle on Philip due to the cold weather.

"We gave a target of 50,000 euro (£33,150) to raise, we wouldn`t have got that but we did very well," he said. Cecily Moloney, from Bothar, said the charity was thrilled with the event.

She said it highlighted their vital work in training people in developing countries in beekeeping skills and providing them with three hives to build a sustainable business. There is still time to make a online donation http://www.justgiving.com/beebeard

From Apis UK, well done and we hope you get the record next time. (Ed).

PRESS RELEASE NEW INFORMATION CENTRE AT EALING BEEKEEPERS
Ealing and District Beekeepers Association are delighted to announce the opening of a new beekeeping information centre, at their association Apiary in Stockdove Way, Perivale, Middlesex. The Opening will be conducted by BBC news presenter Bill Turnbull a keen beekeeper and patron of charity “Bees for Development”; it will be opened on Saturday 2nd July 2005, at 3pm.

“We have received a generous grant from the BAA to help us with the cost of this” John Chapple, Vice President of the Association said. “We now have a glass sided observation hive, in a bee proof enclosure, so we can invite interested groups to come and see the intricate home that bees build for themselves, and find out about their fascinating way of life”

Ealing and District Beekeepers have been using the site for nearly 40 years, and the apiary provides a place where experienced beekeepers can help beginners learn the ropes. “Beekeeping is not difficult, and the basics can be mastered quite quickly, but it helps a lot if you can work with someone who has experience, especially in the first year or so” John said. The Association organises beginners courses in the spring each year, and usually teaches about 8 or 10 interested people – “a number of our students come to us to learn the craft and then move on” John said “ so 3 years ago we taught a couple who are now keeping bees in Australia, and another has moved to Scotland. The grant will help us a lot – we have also been able to purchase new display materials, and beekeepers veils, so that visitors can come right up to hives and see them being opened – safe from stings.” Bees are vital to the Environment” John added “although the obvious benefit of beekeeping is honey, bees themselves pollinate crops and so greatly increase yields – DEFRA estimate that pollination by honey bees contributes up to £200M to the national economy!”

There are about 30 hives at the Association’s Apiary at the moment, including a couple modelled on the African style – a long deep top bar hive “this is really beekeeping at its simplest” John said “the hive is a simple box, and the bees fill it with all that they need. It has been a real learning experience watching the hive develop and the bees fill it with completely natural comb” this particular hive was developed to be worked by disabled people, and it may be suitable for working by someone in a wheel chair. The association runs an “adopt a hive” scheme so beginners can gain experience without having to buy expensive equipment.

ENDS
Note to Editors; the apiary site is limited in size and so we are not inviting the public at large to the opening; however reporters and photographers will be welcome. Further info: Image of Bill Turnbull - free of copyright. Telephone enquiries – John Chapple: 020 8749 7773 Ealing and District Beekeepers Association website www.ealingbees.org.uk

EDITORS EXCHANGE YAHOO GROUP
All editors have one thing in common, a need for material to include in their publication. In the UK we are fortunate in having BEES, the Beekeeping Editors Exchange Scheme, run as a free service to beekeepers by Northern Bee Books. Copies of our newsletters and magazines are posted to NBB, who redistribute them to participating editors, who are free to use the material, with acknowledgement, unless copyright is specifically reserved. This works well in the UK, but participation from other countries is minimal, largely because it is post-based.

We have now set up a Group on Yahoo to enable editors to exchange their newsletters via e-mail, and hope to attract participation from a wider spectrum than the UK BEES scheme has been able to.

To sign up to the scheme (editors only, please) send an e-mail to:

BeekeepingEditors-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk

When sending a copy of your publication to the list as an attachment, you may need to apply some form of compression as the maximum message size accepted by Yahoo is 1MB, including the size of the e-mail itself. Yahoo suggests that the attachment be kept below about 800KB. This limitation will, unfortunately, exclude magazines with more than a few pages. Any problems, I can be contacted at: BeekeepingEditors-owner@yahoogroups.co.uk John Burgess.

NHS PRESS RELEASE
The 2005 National Honey Show will be held at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon 20th - 22nd October. Judging of more than 200 classes of honey, beeswax, candles, mead, art-work, essays etc begins at 09.00 on Thursday 20th and the Show is open to the public from 14.00 until 18.45 that day. On Friday 21st it is open 09.30-18.45, and on Saturday 09.30-16.50. Admission for members is free, but for non-members it is £7.00 payable at the door. In addition to the competitive classes, there is a full programme of lectures, given by speakers of world renown, There are also many trade and educational stands.

Full details of the Show may be found in the Schedule, available on the honeyshow website in July URL: http://www.honeyshow.co.uk in PDF form. Any representative of the Press who wishes to visit the Show should apply to the Hon General Secretary 1 Baldric Road, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 2NR for a complimentary admission ticket.

VARROA
We have reported in previous issues that scientists are investigating the use of fungi to fight varroa, but how effective is this compared to fluvalinate? Scientists at the Weslaco research institute in the USA who have been studying the effectiveness of Metarhizium anisopliae have demonstrated that the fungus is equally effective against varroa when compared to fluvalinate 42 days after application and is non harmful to bees.

DROUGHT PROBLEMS IN SPAIN
The drought in Spain is costing beekeepers millions in feed and lost honey and pollen production. For example in Andalucia, the loss in honey production last year was in the order of 75% and pollen some 50%. The figures were higher in other areas and the authorities have worked out that the total almost reached 53 million euros in the sector with 12 million lost in Andalucia alone. It also appears that there is no end in sight and some beekeepers have been forced out of business.

One organic beekeeper with some 2000 hives lost 1500 of them due to a combination of drought, extremely low winter temperatures and the disappearing bees syndrome (see research news item).

SPONSOR PHILIP McCABE ONLINE
On 25 June 2005, Philip McCabe - President of the Federation of Irish Beekeeping Associations - will attempt to wear a record-breaking Bee Beard of 500,000 bees, and enter the Guinness Book of World Records. The current world bee beard record is held by Mark Biancaniello, who was covered by over 350,000 bees.

Philip is raising funds for two charities: Bees for Development Trust and the Irish Aid Organisation Bóthar who are actively involved in providing beekeeping programmes and advice to impoverished families struggling to survive throughout the developing world. All funds raised will aid the continuation and expansion of both organisations’ essential work. To sponsor Philip simply visit www.justgiving.com/beebeard (see top news item)

NEW BRANCH WEB SITES
1. Eastbourne Beekeepers Association http://www.beekeeper.org.uk
2. Conwy Beekeepers' Association, North Wales http://www.conwybeekeepers.org.uk
3. Welsh beekeepers http://www.wbka.com

BBKA EXAM RESULTS
A list of the successful candidates from the written exams held on 19th March 2005.
http://www.beedata.com/apis-uk/newsletters05/files/successful_candidates.htm

RESEARCH NEWS Back to top

DISAPPEARING BEES
Disappearing bees or rather the disappearance of bees from hives without even leaving dead bees in many cases has been reported in the UK recently and was commented on in The Apiarist, the quarterly news letter of the Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers Association. (See in the press). The author comments that Norman Carrick from Rothamsted believes it to be as a result of virus infection vectored by varroa. The UK is not alone in this. It has happened on a large scale in Spain over this winter and spring. This Disappearing Bee Syndrome is now to be the subject of a study by the CAAPE (Centro Andaluz de Apicultura Ecologica) or Andalusian Centre for Organic beekeeping based at the University of Cordoba. The University of Cordoba itself and the University of Montpellier in France will also participate in this three year study and they will look at 4 possible causes:

1. The action of certain groups of insecticides especially imidacloprid and fipronil which are thought to cause disorientation in bees and have been banned in France.
2. Nosema.
3. Virus diseases.
4. The lack of sufficient protein (pollen) sources which can cause immune system deficiencies in bees.

The aim of the investigation will be to establish which of these problems caused the depopulation of colonies, to provide solutions for beekeepers and for Spain, to produce an epidemiological map of the principle viruses affecting bees, similar to that carried out in France in recent years.

The study will also study in depth the effects of Nosema on the M.iberica with the aim of reducing the use of unnecessary treatments and to clearly define the relationship between Nosema and colony losses in Spain.

MORE DISAPPEARING BEES, BUT WHO CARES ANYWAY
Recent research by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute warns of the imminent demise of stingless beekeeping in the Yucatan region of Mexico as a result of cultural change and habitat loss. The Mayan Indians of this area were (and a very few still are) experts at stingless bee husbandry maintaining thousands of colonies each of which produced some two kilos of honey per year. Their preferred bee the ‘Xunan Kab’ or Royal Lady was the Melipona beecheii and of the 500 (at least) species of stingless bee, this was the one routinely and uniquely propagated by man. The Africanised bee however provides more honey and more profit for bee keepers and so the Apis mellifera bee monoculture has all but swept the area of beekeepers who keep stingless bees. This together with the fact that deforestation, forest fragmentation and more recently hurricane devastation means that the stingless bees’ survival is in doubt.

Another problem is that knowledge of the finer points of meliponiculture are all but lost so earlier this year an amply illustrated handbook in Spanish and Mayan was published with step by step instructions on stingless beekeeping. The authors of the paper submitted their manuscript to several conservation journals who told them that there were so many extinctions now that they are not reporting them any more! Thankfully, the article does appear in Bee World from IBRA (see ‘In the Press’ in this issue). Photo: Melipona beecheii

Q. HOW DOES VARROA AFFECT BEES?
A. Varroa Mites Suppress Bee Immunity.

Most beekeepers are now aware that varroa has a direct link with viral problems of honey bees but the exact mechanism by which this link operated has until recently been unknown. Now, with the mite causing the dramatic and sudden collapse of bee colonies across the country, Penn State researchers believe they have found the combination of factors that triggers colony deaths which includes suppression of the bee immune system by the mites.

While researchers know that the Varroa mite is behind the death of bee colonies, the mechanism causing the deaths is still unknown. Yang and Dr. Diana L. Cox-Foster, Penn State professor of entomology, now believe that a combination of bee mites, deformed wing virus and bacteria is causing the problems occurring in hives across the country.

"Once one mite begins to feed on a developing bee, all the subsequent mites will use the same feeding location," says Cox-Foster "Yang has seen as many as 11 adult mites feeding off of one bee. Other researchers have shown that both harmful and harmless bacteria may infect the feeding location."

Deformed wing virus is endemic among honey bees in the U.S.A, although when the European bees became historically infested with this virus, is unknown. However, simply having deformed wing virus does not cause bees to emerge from the pupa state with deformed wings, nor does it cause colony deaths.

"A group of Japanese researchers found that a virus that is 99 percent the same as deformed wing, appears in the brains of aggressive guard bees," says Cox-Foster. "Guard bees that are aggressive better protect the hive, so there may be some positive effect in this virus that allows it to persist in a colony."

The combination of bee mite infestation and deformed wing virus does cause deformed wings in about a quarter of the emerging bees. This, however, does not lead to sudden hive collapse. Something else is involved that makes bee mites so harmful to bee colonies.

The Penn State researchers reported their findings in the May 17 online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Yang and Cox-Foster looked at how bee mites affect the bee immune system. They injected heat-killed E. coli bacteria into virus-infected bees that were either infested with bee mites or mite free. The dead bacteria were used to trigger an immune response in the bees in the same way human vaccines cause our bodies to produce an immune response. They checked the bees for production of chemicals that disinfect the honey and for other immunity related chemicals.

They also measured the amount of virus in each bee. Surprisingly, they found that the virus in mite-infested bees rapidly increased to extremely high levels when the bee was exposed to the bacteria. The virus levels in mite-free bees did not change when the bee was injected with bacteria.

One chemical, GOX or glucose oxidase, is put into the honey by worker bees and sterilizes the honey and all their food. If bees have mites, their production of GOX decreases.

"As mites build up, we suspect that not as much GOX is found in the honey and the honey has more bacteria," says Cox-Foster. "It is likely that the combination of increased mite infestation, virus infection and bacteria is the cause of the two-week death collapse of hives."

The mites suppressed other immune responses in the bees, leaving the bees and the colonies more vulnerable to infection. The bee mites transfer from adult bees to late stage larva. The virus can be transferred through many different pathways.

"This system is important not only because of what the mites are doing to honey bee populations in the U.S.A, but because it can be used as a model system for exploring what happens to viruses in animal or human populations," says Cox-Foster. "If we view the colony as a city, then we have a variety of infection modes -- queen to eggs, workers to food supply, bee to bee, and parasite to bee."

GUARD WASPS
Have you ever suffered from the predations of an Indiana meal moth grub? Probably not but your cornflakes may well have done, and this pest is only one of many assorted pests attempting to steal our food from the supermarket shelves. It is a costly problem for warehouses and retailers as the female can lay about 300 eggs a week and previously, chemical fumigants have been used to control the situation. Now however, scientists at the US Agricultural Research service at Manhattan in Kansas have found a couple of allies. These are in the form of a couple of tiny wasps. One of them, Trichogramma deion is about half a millimeter in length but is able to find, zero in on and sting to death the moth eggs. The wasps worked best when the researchers released them in fairly simple environments, where moth eggs had been placed on shelves or on top of product packaging.

Even better results are obtained when T. deion is teamed with another midget of the genus Habrobracon According to the researchers, Trichogramma goes after the moth eggs before they can develop into damaging larvae. Habrobracon finishes the job by killing any larvae that develop from eggs that Trichogramma may have missed. The wasps are readily available as they have been used for many years by cotton growers and other farmers to control pests in the field.

So in future, if you hear what you think may be a mosquito whining past your ear in the supermarket, don’t swat it. It could be the duty patrol winging by!

'INBREEDING THREAT' TO BUMBLEBEES
Male bumblebees do not help around the nest Bumblebees could be facing extinction as inbreeding in colonies turns hard-working female bees into useless males, scientists have found. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4605357.stm

THE BEE PRESS Back to top

BEECRAFT
Beecraft June 2005 Volume 87 Number 6
Claire Waring Editor. www.bee-craft.com
Beecraft Subscriptions http://www.bee-craft.com/shop/
Contents: Bees for Development Nicola Bradbear, PhD; A beekeeper's marathon Bill Turnbull; So much more: Stoneleigh 2005 Don Hannon; Wirral BKA entertains its MP Michael Minter; Only a beekeeper... Lester Quayle; Investigating exotic honey bee viruses Brenda Ball; A year in the apiary: the first honey crop David Aston, PhD, NDB; Tiny but (sometimes) deadly Celia Davis, NDB; Bees and varroa populations: part 2 Prof Ron Atkinson, BSc, PhD, FlnstP, CPhys; The 'B' Kids; Around the colony; Classified advertisements; Calendar.
Editorial: Here we are, half way through the year already! Life has been busy, not only with our bees but with the biggest one-day beekeeping event in the world - the BBKA Spring Convention at Stoneleigh. This just gets bigger and better every year. Not only can you get fantastic bargains but the extensive lecture programme allows you to learn something, whatever your experience or interests. Now we can look forward to great honey crops from our bees (!) - beekeepers are ever optimists. Isn't that what makes beekeeping such a fascinating hobby? The seasons are never the same. There is always something to learn. Above all, you know that you are working with your bees to help them to help you. Bees can no longer fend for themselves. The introduction of Varroa destructor saw to that. Then there is the threat of Small Hive Beetle and/or Tropilaelaps clareae and the latest discovery of Kashmir bee virus (KBV) in the UK. We don't know what effect this will have on our bees, although work done by Brenda Ball at Rothamsted doesn't appear to be good news. Brenda outlined of her work with KBV at the Spring Convention and we report it in this issue. Let's support our bees. Why import queens from Europe when you can raise your own? Why risk bringing in one or other of the nasties? Queen rearing isn't rocket science. With a bit of spare equipment, you can raise a few queens and by choosing carefully, you can improve your bees. This month, we welcome Suzanne Impey to the Bee Craft team. Suzanne will be dealing with our classified advertisements (details on page 30). Finally, congratulations to Bill Turnbull who completed the London marathon on 17 April, raising over £3000 for Bees for Development. Well done, Bill! Claire Waring

BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT JOURNALNo.75 June 2005
Dr Nicola Bradbear Editor. www.beesfordevelopment.org
Contents: Apimondia 2005; Practical beekeeping; Recent research; Zoom back to Jordan; Organic farming; Migratory beekeeping; Look and Learn Ahead; Notice Board; News around the World; Book Shelf; Bees for Development Trust.
Cover picture: © Papadakis Publisher A pollen grain of ilex aquifolium - holly. A scanned electron microscope image at magnification x 200, reproduced from Pollen: the hidden sexuality of flowers by Rob Kesseler and Madeline Harley. See page 15 for our review.

BEE WORLD
Beenome-mania, Dancing Bees, Pollen nutrition and the colony, AFB control in New Zealand , Canada and pesticides and the extinction of one type of beekeeping are all included in the latest edition of Bee World.

The June edition of Bee World from IBRA is packed with some of the most interesting and lucid articles on bees and bee research that I have read for some time. Details of the experiments carried out by Rothamsted Research, Greenwich University and the Free University of Berlin using harmonic radar to record complete flight paths of bees recruited by a dancing bee are given and of course as we reported in the last edition of Apis-UK, Von Frisch’s theory has proven to be correct.

We all know now that bees were among the first insect to have their entire genomes unveiled, but what exactly does this mean? And how can this interesting project aid beekeepers? In his article ‘Beenome-mania’ by J D Evans of the USDA-ARS Bee Research lab at Beltsville, USA explains all about it.

We learn that some natural pesticides used in Canada are affecting bumble bees and the Bee Research and Virology in Europe (BRAVE) project is explained in detail by Norman Carreck of Rothamsted. Finally among the major articles in this issue is the full report (a shortened version is contained in this issue of Apis-UK) of the rapid and apparently terminal decline in Stingless beekeeping and stingless bees in Central America. And it appears that even the conservationists don’t care.

With all this and more news of the various beekeeping occurrences around the world, Bee World is a must read for all thinking beekeepers. I wouldn’t be without it. For details contact IBRA. www.ibra.org.uk

THE APIARIST from the Harrogate & Ripon Bee-keepers Association.
Another fact filled edition of this interesting quarterly has just arrived in the post and I was amazed to see a comment in the editorial concerning disappearing bees. I was at that moment writing a news item on the same subject but in Spain. I didn’t know that there was a problem in the UK as well. The Spanish authorities are going to investigate it and we will see what they come out with. It really is a problem here. Over this winter, whilst I was beekeeping in New Zealand, my wife who was looking after our bees in Spain repeatedly and with some embarrassment phoned me to report totally empty hives. My occasionally sharpish replies were evidently totally unfounded and I have eaten humble pie.

Another article that took my interest was an article on ‘The Other Bees’ i.e. those non Apis bees that abound in the UK. Their existence and welfare is brought into focus by our report on the demise of non Apis bees in Central America.

Generally a swarm is collected on site in the upper portion of the inner hive, then returned to the apiary in the evening and replaced on to the lower portion of the inner hive. This arrangement causes the bees no disturbance but has the disadvantage of the bees building the initial comb to an alignment at the swarm collection site, rather than the apiary site. However in this particular instance owing to the mechanical contrivance of the hive the swarm was 'run in' upon a white cloth, up a gentle slope, into the base of the hive.

The following morning one could feel that the bees had occupied the upper portion of the inner hive. The clock was rewound and the system rebalanced. This arrangement was repeated each evening. After 16 days when the pivot portion of the inner hive was complete with comb, the hive was dismantled and the roof of the inner hive removed.

Photo 1 refers. As may be seen the comb alignment runs diagonally across the hive, not exactly corner to corner, at an angle of 45 degrees, but at something less. This alignment points due East. A photo of a hive, positioned in the same manner but without the rocking motion, is shown below. The direction of the comb is identical.

Photo 2 refers. Had the variation of the vertical component of gravity, caused by the side to side motion of the inner hive, influenced comb direction it would have been expected that the comb would have run horizontally, parallel, from left to right, across the hive. This is clearly not the case and would suggest that the variation of the vertical component of gravity, caused by what ever means, does not influence comb alignment. The question is now what does actually decides comb direction.

If it is not gravitational variation, or the Earth's magnetic field, may we look elsewhere for some force which apparently approaches from the East. The Earth rotates in this direction, and whether on the equator or in the UK, the rotation would be towards due East.

Rotating mass is rather an unknown quantity. As rotating magnets produce electro-magnetic fields, it so happens that rotating mass produces gravitomagnetic fields which have the ability of warping time and space. Strangely enough this phenomenon is known as ‘Frame Dragging’.

It is possible therefore that bees align their comb in accordance with this gravitomagnetic force, which like the ‘Three Wise Men’, comes from the East.

Let us therefore travel East, through time and space, and visit Egypt, 4000 years ago.

This subject looks like it will be continued. If you would like to contact Ian his email address is: ianrumsey @ hotmail.com. Ed.

We See
My friend the bee, what do you see,
Beyond your own domain?

We see the dark clouds in the West,
Around about Bude Bay,
Resistant mites, with appetites,
Are coming up our way.

We see our Keepers almost slain,
Upon their knees in utmost pain,
They cannot help us any more,
We must return to nature’s law.

We see with eyes you cannot see,
Our feral sisters hold the key,
The secrets lay within our home,
Designed by us in natural comb.

The Hive
The hive consists of an inner and an outer body. The inner body is constructed with 1/4 inch thick material and comprises of square boxes 6 inches deep, without top or bottom, with an internal dimension of 9 inches. One side of each box is made of a transparent material. (Fig 1 refers). The outer body is made of 1 inch thick material but in this case the boxes have an external dimension of 14 inches. (Fig 2 refers). The base section of the outer hive is modified to include 2 cross pieces to support the inner hive, and one side of the base is removable to allow the floor to be inspected. (Fig 3 refers).

The inner hive is mounted upon this base and comprises of 5 inner sections placed upon each other, one section being provided with an entrance hole. A 10 inch square board is placed on top to form the roof of the inner hive. (Fig 4 refers). A similar number of outer sections are now placed over the inner hive with one section also being provided with an entrance. An 18 inch square board is placed on top to form a roof. (Fig 5 refers).

The Management
A swarm is placed within the inner hive and allowed to develop naturally. Observations may be made by removing upper sections of the outer hive. Approximately 2 years are allowed to pass. By removing the outer hive the position of the clustering bees may be observed. (Fig 6 refers). The colony is then 'topped and tailed' with the use of a cheese wire, and the portion containing the cluster placed upon empty inner hive sections. (Figs 7 and 8 refer). The outer hive sections are replaced and another year is allowed to elapse.

All pathogens, pests and parasites are present but below treatment threshold levels.

The Explanation
The following factors are considered to be detrimental to varroa:
(1). Shape and position of the brood nest.
(2). Comb shape, cell size, and cell orientation.
(3). Absence of queen excluder.
(4). Absence of supplementary feeding.
(5). Position of entrance.
(6). Substantial space available beneath the comb.

The following points are considered to be of benefit to the bee:
(1). Manufacture and use of natural comb for brood each year.
(2). Absence of manipulation and inspection.
(3). Absence of any need to introduce foreign substances.

The items above are sufficient to allow bees to control the varroa population to a level where both host and parasite may live and prosper together. We have defeated an enemy by making him our friend. It is suggested that beekeepers should provide these conditions which permit bees to exercise their instincts or innate knowledge to the fullest extent without constraint or hindrance.

Curried Honey Sweet Potato Soup
This month we take in a soup which can be infinitely variable. The curry powder used can be mild or of the blister gas variety.

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil.
1 onion, diced.
4 medium cloves garlic, peeled.
48 fl ounces chicken or vegetable stock (about a litre).
1 pound sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into chunks.
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into chunks.
Salt to taste.
6 Tablespoons honey.
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced.
2 to 3 teaspoons curry powder.
½ teaspoon pepper.
½ teaspoon ground ginger.

Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add stock, potatoes and salt.
Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Puree mixture in batches; put pureed soup back over low heat and add 5 Tablespoons (reserve 1 Tbsp) of the honey, red bell pepper, curry powder, pepper and ginger. Bring to a simmer; taste and adjust seasonings.

Warm the remaining 1 Tablespoon of honey. Serve soup drizzled with a little warm honey and sprinkled with chopped cilantro, if desired Serves 4 to 6.

AFB AND EFB
AFB and EFB are both diseases of the brood, not the adult bees; and if left unchecked can kill your colonies and spread like wildfire to your other colonies and those of your neighbours. Despite their names, neither are confined to those locations and can affect Apis mellifera (honey bee) colonies everywhere. In the UK and in many other countries, these two diseases are notifiable by law (Bee Disease Control Order 1982, in the UK), so if you think that your bees have contracted one of these diseases, you must notify your Regional Bee Disease Inspector or the National Bee Unit (NBU, see details at the end of the article). If you are a member of the local beekeepers association it may also be a good idea to contact the secretary and perhaps arrange for other members to take a look at what the disease looks like so that they are better armed in the future. Some beekeepers entertain doubts about calling in officialdom, but if you have one of these diseases and you do nothing about it, then you are putting all of your hives in jeopardy; putting all of your neighbours hives in danger, and breaking the law. So tell someone, and tell them quickly so that treatment may be given without resorting to hive destruction. No one is going to shout at you or send you to jail. The friendly Bee Disease Inspector (if there are any left)is there to advise and help; but only if you let him. (As far as I know, they are currently all ‘hims’).

So how do you tell if you have AFB or EFB. Let’s take a look starting with the worst of the two, AFB.
The causative agent of American Foul Brood is the spore forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae and identification is as follows:

Identification. American Foul Brood
Brood combs may or may not show a pepperpot appearance. (See EFB photo which is similar).
If they do, honey and pollen may be present in the brood area.
Cappings become discoloured (dark brown) and sunken. (See photo).
Cappings are often perforated. (See photo).
At the sunken capping stage, the larval remains can be drawn out like a thread for about an inch. (Called the ropiness test. See photo).
Later, the larvae become darker and tacky When the larvae dry out, the larval scale lying along the lower side of the cell may show the pupal tongue projecting from the scale.

Colonies with much AFB smell foul. This really is noticeable to any beekeeper used to the usual sweet hive smell. It is unfortunate that AFB is difficult to detect in the early stages and many beekeepers only become aware of it when it is fairly advanced. It is best therefore to get advice if you just suspect trouble.
There is a diagnostic kit available from bee supply firms designed by the Central Science Laboratory Pocket Diagnostics together with Vita (Europe) Ltd. It works on a similar principle to a pregnancy testing kit, takes 3 minutes and is 98% accurate. The cost is small and could save you thousands.

If your bees contract the disease, what can you do about it. Do nothing yourself. Just get in the experts and they will take over. In the meantime, if you have been manipulating the colony, then you should have all of your clothing washed thoroughly and blow torch any equipment such as the hive tool. Buy new gloves and burn the old ones. As mentioned above, AFB bacteria are spore forming and the spores can and do live for about 35 years.

For both AFB and EFB, the affected apiary will be put under a standstill order supervised by the bee disease inspector, until the disease is cleared from the apiary and any honey from antibiotic treated hives is safe to harvest. The NBU always aims to minimise the impact of this as far as possible and always in cooperation with the beekeeper and would only ever resort to hive destruction if antibiotic treatment was for some reason not feasible. The usual antibiotic used is oxytetracycline, although research is being carried out on a sub species of the causative agent Paennibacillus larvae subsp. pulvifaciens (P.l.p). This bacterium is also present in beehives at low levels and actually inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause both AFB and EFB. This research is showing results equal to the use of antibiotics and would be a natural treatment for these brood diseases.
Many experts now think that burning hives rather than educating beekeepers about AFB may not be a cost effective way of dealing with this disease. (See Quote). Despite the scariness of the disease, it is quite difficult to infect a colony. The causative agent is not very infective. Five million or more AFB spores need to be fed to a colony to create an infection.

So now onto European Foul Brood. This seems to cause more problems in the UK than in many warmer countries, where any outbreak is usually minor, swiftly over with (as long as there is a good nectar flow on) and causes little problem in the hives. But even in southern climes it can get out of control.
Again, it is worth reminding you that in the UK, it is a notifiable disease and so you must report it as soon as you think you have it.

The disease is caused by the non spore forming bacterium Melissococcus plutonius and identification in its early stages can be difficult and cann exactly resemble half moon syndrome. The fact that it does not form spores makes the problem easier to deal with than AFB where infective spores can hang around for years.

Identification. European Foul Brood
The larvae change from white to a creamy off white colour. (See photo).
These larvae usually die before the cell is capped over.
The larvae adopt unnatural positions within the cell and are not neatly coiled.
The larvae often appear to ‘melted down’. This is very noticeable. (See photo).
The presence of normally capped cells may lead to a pepper pot appearance of the comb.
Cappings of cells that have been sealed over before death become discoloured, sunken and perforated. (Similar to AFB). The later stages of the disease produce a foul smell possibly worse than AFB.

The outbreaks usually become evident in the Spring/early Summer when the colony is growing rapidly, and outbreaks can be stress related for instance if a colony has been affected by poisoning or has undergone lots of moves.
Remember that with EFB, the larvae die due to starvation and so in colonies used for queen rearing and which are therefore heavily fed, the larvae may be able to obtain enough food to overcome the parasitic nature of the disease, making its presence even more difficult to detect.
Again, the disease can be treated with oxytetracycline, and again the research mentioned above may provide a natural remedy for EFB. There is again, a diagnostic kit available and is used in exactly the same way as the kit for AFB.

Remember
1. They are notifiable diseases by law.
2. Early identification is essential.
3. If you don’t do anything about them your colonies may die (with AFB, they will die); you will contaminate your neighbours hives and you will be breaking the law.
4. Simple and cheap diagnostic kits are available.
5. You are not allowed to treat these diseases with antibiotics yourself. (In the UK).

AFB and EFB are diseases which you as beekeepers must know about. The NBU produces an excellent brochure on them and these can be obtainable from the NBU or via your local beekeepers association.
The National Bee Unit. (Part of the Central Science Laboratory). www.nationalbeeunit.com Email: nbu@csl.gov.uk Tel: 01904 462510 Fax: 01904 462240 Head of the Unit. Mr M Brown. National Bee Inspector: J Morton. 0208 5716450 or 07719 924418.

In this month’s historical note, we take a look at how an 18th century author perceived the collection of wax. Thomas Wildman in his Treatise on the Management of bees writes as follows:

The bees gather two very different sorts of wax. The first which is brown and gluish, serves them for stopping up all the vent holes of the hive and sometimes as a support for fastening the combs to the hive.

The second sort is the common wax which they employ in the construction of cells. The bees gather the common wax upon the leaves of a great number of trees and plants and on the greatest part of the flowers that have stamina (stamens).

They often load themselves entirely from one flower but they work with such a prodigious quickness, that whatever attention you give in observing them, the eye can scarce keep pace and ascertain the manner in which they act. It is certain however that they sometimes gather up the wax with the hairs that garnish their bodies, by rolling themselves on the flower for you see them return from the fields with their hairs loaded with little particles of wax resembling dust, but this only happens when the mornings are moist, the moisture that is then on the flowers preventing perhaps the particles from being easily compacted into that part of the body where they are accustomed to place them. When they are arrived at the hive, the heat there causing the moisture to evaporate, they easily brush off with their feet the wax upon their hairs, and collect it together.

In next month’s Apis-UK we continue with Thomas Wildman as he writes on how the bees having collected the wax from the flowers, then use it.

This poem is about a bearded beekeeper, who is also a market Trader, written by David Miller Stirling.

The Market Bee
Tae Wee Farouqui.

Ye'll ken there's bees, baith great and small,
(Includin' yin wi' a market stall!)
The golden bee produces honey,
The Market Bee jist maks mair money!
The honey bee has a gentle buzz,
An' the Market bee, a beard like fuzz!
Noo I've been stung by a honey bee,
But the ither's sting's far wurse ye'll see,
Fur when HE stings, 'twill be your fate,
Tae lose near a' your wallet's weight,
Believe me frien' it's nae sae funny.
Tae be deprived o' a' your money,
Ye sit at hame fur weeks, an' grie,
When you've been stung by the Bearded Bee!

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 1st 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

Thursday, Friday, Saturday 20th-23rd October 2005 - The 2005 National Honey Show will be held at the Royal Air Force Museum, Hendon, London, UK. Judging of more than 200 classes of honey, beeswax, candles, mead, art-work, essays etc begins at 09.00 on Thursday 20th and the Show is open to the public from 14.00 until 18.45 that day. On Friday 21st it is open 09.30-18.45, and on Saturday 09.30-16.50. Admission for members is free, but for non-members it is £7.00 payable at the door. In addition to the competitive classes, there is a full programme of lectures, given by speakers of world renown, There are also many trade and educational stands. For the latest news see our website: http://www.honeyshow.co.uk

13th - 18th November 2005 - International Beekeeping Congress 2005 India.
Le Meridien Bangalore, India (Organized by: Century Foundation, Bangalore). On behalf of the Organizing committee of the International Beekeeping Congress, it is our privilege and honour to extend a warm invitation to you to participate in the deliberations of the scheduled congress to be held from November 13-18, 2005. The main aim of the congress is to bring together the beekeepers, honey traders and International Scientific Community involved in research and development of beekeeping for sustainable livelihoods and rural development. The proposed congress will disseminate advanced information on beekeeping for further improvement. Bangalore is a beautiful city, the capital of Karnataka in India. Karnataka has unique flora and fauna including important honeybee species. This congress will be an opportunity for the delegates to visit various biodiversity hotspots in the country. We are sure; the congress will present a unique opportunity to share the recent trends in beekeeping and development. Also, you can enjoy the wonderful hospitality of Indian people. The local organizing committee and Century Foundation will try their best to make your stay comfortable and enjoyable during the congress. We are looking forward to meeting you during the Congress. Organizing Secretary Chairperson – Scientific Committee Dr. V. Sivaram Email: info@cenfound.org Web: www.cenfound.org/IBC-2005/indexpage.html

Saturday 26 November 2005 - Kent Education Group Guest Lecture Albert Knight: Insight into Queen Rearing at West Kent College, Tonbridge. Albert Knight is a leading expert in the selective breeding of honey bees with a particular interest in the Native race. His vast knowledge covers all practical and theoretical aspects, and this lecture will concentrate on choosing mating sites, raising good queen cells, using mating nucs and how to ensure that your hard work is rewarded. If you have ever wanted to start raising your own queens or need some tips for improving your success rate, then put the date in your diary now. There will be a question and answer session so delegates will have the opportunity to draw on Albert’s vast experience of breeding groups, grafting techniques, morphometry, DNA surveys and more. Albert is a recognised authority who willingly shares his knowledge and experience. The lecture starts at 3pm and there will be refreshments, a stand from Northern Bee Books, displays by BIBBA and more. Doors open at 2pm. There are excellent parking facilities, good links to the motorway and is only a 10 minute walk to the mainline station. The venue has disabled access. Tickets £3.00 available in advance and further information from Terry Hardy telephone 01622 832066 or email: theresa.hardy @ virgin.net

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

Quote last month
Last month’s quote comes from (will add shortly. E.d)

Quote of this month
Our quote for this month follows the item on AFB and the advice offered in the quote has been found to be the most effective method of eradicating foul brood.

The best way of eradicating AFB is through educating beekeepers on how not to spread the disease. Trying to find and burn hives faster than beekeepers can infect new hives is not cost effective.