EDITORIAL Back to
top
In the month following the
serving of the Queen's justice on our Norfolk honey scammers we can
return in Apis UK to reporting on the better things of life amongst
bees. Our last issue of Apis UK was our first under the new
production team of Ron Fisher, Steve Loughborough and Rod Earp and
as you saw, it wasn't bad at all. Producing something like Apis is
not that easy task and takes up many hours of free time of the production
team and of our very much valued contributors who make reading Apis
worthwhile. Thanks to all of them and let's hope that they continue
to do such a splendid job for many issues to come.
With the diminishing number of
pollinators available for our crops, the true value of these insects
is gradually becoming better known and true to form, now that it is
hitting peoples' pockets in the form of lost crops and therefore
lost incomes, a better understanding is beginning to set in not only
about honey bees, but also about the myriad of other pollinating
insects which vary in usefulness and effectiveness from blow flies
to specialised solitary bees. To better help this understanding, we
report this month on a new, short and snappy film 'Dancing with
Bees' which takes you right around the bee world in 10 short
minutes. See our review of the film below, go and buy it and show it
to all your friends. Don't be the only beekeeper in town whose
friends think you keep bumblebees. (Unless you do)! We also report
on a book on pollinators that can also help to eradicate ignorance
of this all-important subject.
In similar vein, we reproduce a
report from the USA that actually details the monetary value of bees
and other pollinators to the American economy. Again this is a way
of putting the matter before the public that the public will
understand. Let us hope that firstly the public will read it and
secondly that they will indeed understand the significance of the
survey.
Another new hay fever cure hits
the market in this issue and we take a look at aircraft design,
corporate decision-making, the colour of honey and its importance
and our quote is the most intriguing yet. I forget who the brainy
person was who said 'One thing we learn from history is that we
never learn anything from history', but if you learn just this
historical quote, it could lead you to a longer life. The recipe is
tremendous and is not 'just another cake' (said to me yesterday). It
is a work of history, a classical example of the meeting and
harmonising of two civilisations and two religions, and even though
eating it means a mass of dust and crumbs everywhere, it is a great
taste.
Feeding bees has often been a
contentious issue. When, how, how much, in what form, how many times
etc etc. We report on one way of feeding bees that can either give
your bees a tremendous boost - or it can poison them. Chad confesses
to his crimes and gives us a homily on greed and forgiveness and our
historical note contemplates that most interesting of insects, the
honey bee.
The last editorial photo asked us
the question 'What is going on here?' The right answer was sent in
by Keith Malone of Alaska. See his reply in the Readers' Letters
section below. The beekeeper is a colleague of mine, a Canadian
working in New Zealand and in this case, a pallet of four hives had
dropped off the unloading forks and knocked over another pallet
load, and the metal straps had broken. It always happens at night,
in the middle of nowhere, usually when it is raining and always when
you are tired out. The bees start crawling up everywhere, become
really fractious and somehow develop the overnight ability to sting
through bee suit, trousers and underpants in one swift and flowing
movement and still have some to spare. The only thing you can do is
just set to, grit your teeth and get on with it, and of course, get
it done by daybreak.
Next month we take a look at
honey quality, apes and their habits, the sociality of sweat bees
and how biting your fellow can stand you in good stead. Plus of
course very much more from the world of bees and beekeeping, so
please keep reading and keep subscribing to Apis UK, and if you want
something different, or for us to report on a particular subject
(more or less connected with bees and beekeeping), please let us
know and we will do our best.
If you speak French and want
something different and very interesting to read, take a look at
Hubert Guerriat's online subscription magazine. Hubert operates from
Belgium and produces a very professional magazine called Mellifica
in Pdf format. For further information on this for our French
speaking readers please email Hubert at Hubert.guerriat@mellifica.be
or look at the website www.mellifica.be
Finally, I came across this quote
from 1992. It may be out of date now, but it is certainly something
to think about: 'The supercomputer can
compute at the rate of one billion computations per second. The
honeybee's brain can compute one billion computations in 1/1000 of a
second.' Sejnowski, T.J. and Churchland, P.S., 1992,
Byte Magazine, October, 1992, p. 137. Sejnowski and Churchland are
well recognized in the field of neurobiology and in the field of
computational neuroscience.
I hope that you enjoy reading
this edition of Apis UK and write in if you can work out what is
going on here! It caused me to have to get up at 0200hrs one dank
morning and kept two beekeepers and a host of others at it for three
days.
David Cramp. Editor.
NEWS Back to top
UK News
items
In this section we look at
news items of local interest to UK beekeepers sent in by Pam Hunter.
As Apis UK now attracts readers from all over the world, your editor
would welcome any input from overseas correspondents as well. This
is a Pan Global bee publication going to all English speaking parts
of the world including china. We are aiming to bee a world leader in
apiary content, or the beegoogle.com.
Vital
Pollinators: honey bees in apple orchards
An article in the April edition of the
Biologist, the official journal of the Institute of Biology,
describes the value of honey bees as pollinators in the UK. The
authors, A Cuthbertson & M Brown are from the Central Science
Laboratory, UK. There are an estimated 274,000 colonies of honey
bees kept by approximately 44,000 beekeepers in the UK, with about
75% being in England, the remainder being in Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland.
Apple orchards form a major part of the
horticultural industry in the UK, covering some 27,000 hectares.
Insect pollination of apples is essential for a good crop since
fruit growth and development is stimulated near fertilised and
developing seeds. The apple has five pistils, each with two ovules:
a total of ten potential seeds. If pollination is inadequate and
only a few of the ovules are fertilised, misshapen fruit can result.
Since most apples are grown in temperate regions, like the UK, where
the spring weather during blossom time can be unfavourable for bee
flights, colonies of honey bees in the orchards can increase the
chance of good pollination. It has been estimated that two colonies
are required for each hectare to give good pollination.
There can be problems in placing colonies of
honey bees in orchards. The bees are vulnerable to the sprays that
may be used to control pests and diseases in orchards and the bees
themselves are susceptible to a range of pests and diseases. The
National Bee Unit has a Bee Health Programme designed to safeguard
the honey bee population and this includes pest and disease
diagnosis and consultancy services to industry and government.
Studies are also undertaken on the impact of pesticides on
non-target species in the orchard environment.
Bee Improvement
and Conservation, Number 23, Spring 2006
(The official journal of the Bee
Improvement and Bee Breeders Association)
Some Queen
Rearing Statistics by Tom Robinson, York, UK.
This article gives some fascinating
facts from an experienced beekeeper on the success that people might
expect who are trying queen rearing for the first time. It is easy
to get disillusioned when first attempting queen rearing by a low
rate of success, especially with the numerous articles in the bee
press emphasising the problems.
Tom outlined his technique which involves
converting a good, strong, queen-right colony into a queenless
colony with no eggs or young larvae available to the bees. After 6
hours 24 to 48 hour larvae are introduced from the chosen breeder
queen. The colony is fed heavily and pollen must be available.
Approximately 80% of the larvae can be converted into queen cells,
but commonly 10% of these will not emerge of be malformed. This
gives an overall rate of 72% viability.
He detailed the results he had obtained
using the Jenter system and mininucs in 1990-1994. The average for
each year across May to August was 46%, 62%, 59% and 66%
respectively. In recent years (post-varroa) the only year when a
100% conversion from cells to queens occurred was in 2000 when the
weather was favourable and the colonies were on borage, a crop that
provides excellent nectar flows. In 2003 184 cells produced 96
queens (52%). In 2004 the weather was very poor and there were also
technical problems leading to a low rate of only 27 queens from 92
cells (29%). In 2005, also a year with poor weather, 132 cells
resulted in 56 queens (42%). Figures quoted from those experienced
in rearing queens give overall mating successes of 43% (Michael
MacGiolla Coda) and 50% (Denmark)
Some thoughts
on Drone Laying Queens by Bill Spence, South Riding.
Drone laying queens were a major
problem in 2004. The author describes the erratic weather pattern
during that season with very few opportunities for young queens to
fly and mate adequately. The borage crops were poor, with only about
half the normal yield, and hives could not be moved from some sites
as they were water logged. In 2005 the situation was better, with a
far higher success rate. Bill describes how he raises drones in
specially selected colonies so that the area can be flooded with
drones. They are fed frames of pollen to ensure that they receive a
good diet. He suggests that 100 drones are requited for every queen.
Queen Rearing
in Denmark by Tom Robinson. BIBBA Visit.
A group from BIBBA visited Denmark to
see the Danish Queen Breeding 'Ring' in practice. The main
characteristic of queens selected for breeding is gentleness, and
Tom remarks that they never needed any protective clothing or smoke
to handle these bees. Grafting of day old larvae starts on May 20th
and continues for 60-64 days until July 22nd. The larvae are put
into a cell raiser for 20 hours and then put into queen-right
colonies over a queen excluder in 'finisher' colonies. Tom gives
full details of the production of the starter colonies. Pollen is
fed to the cell raiser. The statistics provided by the group were
from 100 grafted day old larvae 80% of sealed cells are produced and
put in the incubator. 90% of these hatch (72 queens). Of these 80%
mate, giving a final number of fertile queens as 50%.
Information sheet no. 3
Melbourne, Australia 9 - 14 September,
2007
The Call for Abstracts has been posted on
the Apimondia website which is www.apimondia2007.com Go to the website
then click on the "Call for Abstracts" in the menu on the left hand
side.
We would encourage bee researchers and
beekeepers from all around the world to consider submitting an
abstract with a view to presenting a paper at Apimondia 2007. We
will be looking for papers on various topics. Please note the dates
for acceptance of the abstracts and also the deadline for
registration by presenters.
ooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooo
It may seem a long way off but
for those coming to Australia from overseas please visit the website
and look at the Travel Information. You will need to obtain a visa
to come to Australia and, except for New Zealand residents, this
visa must be obtained before
leaving home. Secure your visa early to avoid any delays.
ooooooooooooooooOooooooooooooooo
We are pleased to announce that
His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC,
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia has agreed to be
the Patron for Apimondia 2007. To learn more about His Excellency
and the role of the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of
Australia go to www.gg.gov.au
|
Trevor Weatherhead
(Organising Committee) queenbee@gil.com.au
If you no longer wish to receive these
information sheets,
please contact
Trevor Weatherhead at the email address
above |
City Bee
Country Bee
This French recport
will give some cheer to all those city beekeepers in the UK who keep
their bees on small allotment sites and rooftops in London and other
cities and towns. Bees reared in cities are healthier and more
productive than their country cousins, a study by French beekeepers'
association Unaf has found. Urban bees enjoy higher temperatures and
a wider variety of plant life for pollination, while avoiding
ill-effects of pesticides, the study said. At the same time they can
filter out city pollution such as exhaust fumes. The study prompted
Unaf to start a campaign promoting beekeeping in urban parks, on
balconies and on roofs. Beekeepers say urban bees' productivity can
be up to four times that of their rural counterparts. "In town, the
bees go out more," apiarist Jean Paucton told AFP news agency.
Another beekeeper said urban hives had maintained a steady mortality
rate while in the countryside many bees were dying. The Union of
French Apiarists (Unaf) is campaigning against pesticides, which it
says are destroying the industry. It has expressed particular
concern about Gaucho and Regent, two banned chemicals, the effects
of which are still felt in rural areas. "These molecules are
neurotoxins which disorientate the bee and make it impossible for it
to find the hive again," Unaf president Henri Clement told AFP. But
others have blamed diversification for the decline, saying attempts
by beekeepers to increase production by importing unadapted foreign
varieties of bee have backfired.
A BETTER CURE FOR HAY FEVER
With the UK having around 13 million hay
fever sufferers, it may come as heartening news to many that there
is relief at hand and the medicine is not bitter. (Not for most that
is). Scientists have discovered kissing could be the perfect cure
for the condition. They found a 30-minute kiss could dampen the
body's allergic reaction to pollen. Test showed it relaxed the body
and reduced production of histamine - a chemical cell given out in
response to allergens. Dr Hajime Kimata, of the research team in
Japan, said: "The results indicate for the first time that kissing
may alleviate allergic responses." Some 24 men and women with hay
fever were told to spend half an hour kissing their partners. Blood
samples were taken before and after to test levels of immunoglobulin
E (IgE), which prompts the release of histamine into the blood,
triggering symptoms of hay fever and asthma. Most sufferers rely on
anti-histamines to relieve their symptoms. However scientists have
known for years that stress can make responses to common allergens
worse. The resultsof the research showed a significant drop in IgE
after the session .Dr Kimata added: "It is tempting to speculate
that relaxation by kissing may decrease IgE production."
HONEY AND
WOUNDS
We have long heard that
honey is beneficial in wound treatment, and even in the early years
of the last century and right back to the ancient Egyptians,
anecdotal evidence and practical use showed us just how valuable
honey is as a medicinal substance. More recently, clinical trials
and research institutions have shown us that the anecdotal evidence
points towards the truth and now, a review article summarises the
scientific data.
The review article appeared in the most
recent issue of SAGE Publications' International Journal of Lower
Extremity Wounds. Scientists performed 22 trials involving 2,062
patients treated with honey, as well as an additional 16 trials that
were performed on experimental animals. Honey was found to be
beneficial as a wound dressing in the following ways: honey through
its antibacterial quality not only rapidly clears existing
infection, it protects wounds from additional infection, debrides
wounds and removes malodour, reduces oedema, minimizes scarring and
stimulates growth of granulation and epithelial tissues to speed
healing. The review article was written by Dr. P.C.Molan of New
Zealand's University Waikato. He noted that,although the many
randomized controlled clinical trials strongly support the use of
honey in wound care, the trials may not have been double-blind, a
form of testing difficult to achieve because honey is a very
recognizable substance. Molan concludes, "the barrier to using honey
that has existed for many clinicians who have been constrained to
using only licensed products has been removed now that honey is
available in the form of various sterile products licensed for use
in wound care. Clinicians should check the evidence that exists to
support the use of honey."
The article "The Evidence Supporting the Use of Honey as a Wound
Dressing" and further information about the Journal can be found on
The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds' website at
http://ijlew.sagepub.com
RESEARCH
NEWS Back to top
From The USA,
Jim Primus sends us the following research news report taking a look
at the regulation of honey bee lifespan. Most beekeepers will know
that this can vary enormously, well here is what
happens.
Regulation of
honeybee lifespan
The insect fat
body consists mainly of thin layers of cells spread against the body
wall of the abdomen. The fat body synthesizes several storage
proteins that build-up in the fat body and the hemolymph. One
storage protein is called vitellogenin, a female-specific hemolymph
storage protein that is used by developing oocytes. Moreover, in
honeybees, vitellogenin is also synthesized by other caste members
(workers and drones) who do not lay eggs. Vitellogenin is used for
various metabolic purposes and the synthesis of brood food.
Vitellogenin is the most abundant protein in the hemolymph of hive
bees and winter bees (30-50% of total). Foragers have low levels of
vitellogenin. The rate of vitellogenin synthesis of workers is
approximately 5% of a laying queen, and in drones, 1%. The cell
machineries that regulate vitellogenin synthesis appear very similar
in the nematode (worm), fruit fly, and bee. There is one major
difference in that reduced synthesis of vitellogenin in the nematode
and fruit fly increases lifespan whereas in the honeybee, synthesis
of vitellogenin is related to an increase in bee longevity. In the
evolution of social insects such as the honeybee, selection of the
queen caste would have been favored by a positive relationship
between vitellogenin activity and lifespan. This is because the
reproductive activity and longevity of the queen (1-5 years) are
needed for colonies to increase in size to allow swarming
(reproduction at the colony level) and drone production. Further,
the continuing care of offspring by surrogate parents (workers)
would have also favored a positive relationship between vitellogenin
synthesis and longevity. In the January 24th issue of the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Siri-Christine
Seehuus and coworkers at the Norwegian University of Sciences,
University of Rostock, and Arizona State University hypothesized
that vitellogenin counteracts aging by protecting bees from
oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can cause deficiencies in cell
function, abnormalities and death. To test this hypothesis, the
researchers examined the effects of the oxidative damage agent
paraquat on the vitellogenin molecule and on bees in which the
activity of the vitellogenin gene was normal (vg+) or reduced (vg-)
by RNA (a type of nucleic acid) interference. Vitellogenin was found
to be preferentially oxidized, and vg- bees, which suffered higher
levels of oxidative damage to their fat body organ, had
significantly reduced lifespan. When workers switch from nest
activities to foraging duties they normally survive only 1-3 weeks
more. One reason that foragers may have low levels of vitellogenin
is that energy is conserved by not expending it on a storage protein
of little value to the expected short life expectancy of the
forager.
Again from Jim
Primus, we now take a look at decision making in the swarm.
How swarms
follow the scouts
|
|
One of the most fascinating
traits of honeybees is the performance of the colony group as a
seemingly single entity. An excellent example of this group
decision-making is a swarm of honeybees locating a new home. Early
studies by Lindauer in the 1950's showed that scout bees performing
the waggle dance communicated the location of a possible new nest
site. He also observed that initially scouts dance for different
sites but shortly before lift-off, the scouts attain unanimity in
their dances. Thomas Seeley at Cornell University revisited this
decision-making process in 1999 by utilizing video recording
techniques to construct a complete record of each scout bee's dance.
With artificial swarms composed of 1,000 individually marked bees,
he confirmed Lindauer's observations and extended them to show that
only a small minority of dancers ever dance for more than one site.
He further observed that dancers for non-chosen sites cease dancing,
and this was the mechanism for consensus building among dancers.
Finally, he made the discovery that almost half of the bees dancing
for the chosen site cease dancing before completion of the
decision-making process. This is in contrast to the increase in
waggle dances performed by nectar foragers. A puzzling question left
unanswered was how does the swarm find its new home when the
majority of bees in the swarm are uninformed of its whereabouts. In
the January 2006 issue of Animal Behaviour, Seeley describes
experiments that test if the uneducated bees follow their nose to
the new home. It was hypothesized that pheromones released from the
Nasanov glands of scout bees flying in front of the swarm point the
way. Two types of swarms were prepared: large ones (11,500 bees) for
observing swarms in flight, and small ones (4,000 bees) to test the
"smell" hypothesis. All of the bees in the small swarms (5
experimental swarms) had their Nasanov glands sealed with paint. The
control swarm had paint applied to the thorax, leaving the Nasanov
glands clear. Seeley also studied if the swarm merely follows the
scouts visually, the vision hypothesis. They filmed the flights of
normal swarms and those that had their Nasanov glands sealed. All
swarms successfully reached their destination bait or natural (tree)
nest site, ruling out the olfaction hypothesis. What they did
photographically identify was fast flying bees or "streakers", most
likely scout bees, that perhaps visually guided the uneducated bees
to a new home. As Seeley points out, however, he will need to design
"mini blindfolds" to test definitively the visual signal
theory..
AIRCRAFT
DESIGN. CAN BEES SHOW US THE WAY?
We've all seen the classic photos of bees
approaching the hive with their legs dangling and wondered why they
adopt such an uncomfortable looking posture. Well there may be an
answer! Unlike airplanes, leaving their landing gear down makes bees
fly faster. When orchid bees extend their hind-legs they pitch
forward to achieve maximal speed and the legs produce lift forces to
either side that help prevent the bee from rolling.
"The hind-legs resemble airplane wings,
which probably explains why they also generate lift", says Dr Stacey
Combes from the University of California, Berkeley who presented her
research April 4 at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual
Main Meeting in Canterbury, Kent. This research is interesting as it
could be applied to design miniature flying machines to be used for
search and rescue missions. "It may be helpful to be able to reduce
the number of control components needed by using one structure (like
the orchid bee legs) to control both pitch and roll", speculates
Dr.Combes. The researchers perform their experiments by encouraging
the bees to fly in an outdoor wind tunnel using an incentive of
aromatic oils. The bees can reach a maximum speed of 7.25 m/s, but
at these speeds they lose rotational stability: "They roll all the
way to the side or often upside down, and crash to the ground",
observes Combes. This means that what limits the bee's speed is not
muscle power or the amplitude of its wing beat, but the pitch of the
body balanced with the resulting rotational instability. "Having the
legs extended generates stabilizing lift forces and helps reduce the
moment of inertia and the slow rolling, similar to when a spinning
figure-skater extends their arms", explains Combes. Source: Society for Experimental Biology.
AIRCRAFT
DESIGN. CAN BEES SHOW US THE WAY?
THE ARTIFICIAL BEE EYEBeekeepers interested in
the morphology of bees will know that a bee eye is made of thousands
of lenses. This wonderful system has now been replicated. An
artificial insect eye that could be used in ultra-thin cameras has
been developed by scientists in the US. The dimpled eye contains
over 8,500 hexagonal lenses packed into an area the size of a
pinhead. The dome-shaped structure, described in the journal
Science, is similar to a bee's eye. Researchers from the University
of California, Berkeley, say the work may also shed light on how
insects developed such complex visual systems.
"Even though insects start with just a
single cell, they grow and create this beautiful optical system by
themselves," said Professor Luke Lee, one of the authors on the
paper. "I wanted to understand how nature can create layer upon
layer of perfectly ordered structures without expensive fabrication
technology," he said.
As a result, the team of bioengineers came
up with a relatively cheap and easy method for creating the
artificial eyes that may in part mimic natural processes. Compound
insect eyes usually consist of hundreds of tiny lens-capped optical
units known as ommatidia. For example, a dragonfly has 30,000 of the
structures in each eye. Individual ommatidia guide light through a
lens and cone into a channel, a rhabdom, which contains
light-sensitive cells. These are connected to optical nerve cells to
produce the image.
Note:
Honey
bees have two compound eyes that cover a large part of the head
surface. Each compound eye is composed of individual cells, the
ommatidia (singular ommatidium).. Each ommatidium is composed of
many cells, usually including light focusing elements (lens and
cones), and light sensing cells (retinal cells). Workers have about
4,000-6,000 ommatidia but drones have more 7,000-8,600, presumably
because drones need better visual ability during mating. As in most
insects, bees' eyes are not designed, as our eyes are, to see high
resolution images. Rather they see a mosaic image but are better
than us at motion detection. Bees also have three simple eyes, the
ocelli, near the top of their head which are simple eyes that do not
focus but provide information about light intensity.
A further and quite interesting
(but different) look at bees and bee eyes in the theological context
can be seen at http://www.creationdesign.org/
Honeybee.html
USE NATIVE BEES FOR
POLLINATION
"200 alfalfa leafcutter bees can
do the same amount of pollination that a 20,000 honey bee hive
can".
This quote arises from some very interesting
research carried out by scientists at the Texas A&M University
in the USA.
If you build it, they will come. Native bees that
is. And when native bees do come, they may be a hundred times more
efficient as pollinators than are honeybees, said Jeff Brady,
research assistant with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
Estimates indicate perhaps more than 500 native bee species in Texas
alone. Each may be adapted to specific crops, and each may have a
different preference for nesting sites, said Jack Brady, research
assistant with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in
Stephenville.
Native bees offer an alternative because they are
resistant to both the varroa and tracheal mites. And because they do
not live in hives, native bees are not at risk of being overcome by
Africanized bees. Native bees, also called solitary bees, do not
live in collective hives as do honeybees. They build nests in tiny
holes or tunnels that they find, typically in trees and shrubs.
Unlike honeybees, who have workers with specialized tasks, with only
a part of the hive collecting pollen, each native bee is "on her
own," and each is a potential pollinator, Brady said. Each native
bee deposits her collected pollen as small balls inside the tunnel
of a nest, then lays an egg, and seals it off with mud or circular
pieces of leaves. She'll then collect more pollen, deposit another
pollen ball then lay another egg and so on. Depending upon the
species of native bee and the depth of the nest, the female may lay
as many as 15 to 20 eggs in a single nest, sealing each egg off in
its own cell with its own pollen ball. She may make as many as 100
rips to and from flowers to gather pollen for each of these eggs.
And while honeybees hover around flowers taking pollen when and if
they can, many native bees may have evolved so their actions on the
flower actually trigger pollination. "You can actually find a native
bee that's been (evolutionarily) tailored to a specific crop," Brady
said. For example, some native bee species are particularly suited -
having adapted their life cycles - to crops such as peaches,
blackberries or watermelons. For example, one species is dormant or
in developmental stages for 11 months of the year, and only emerges
when crops such as melons are pollinating. Other species have
adapted to row crops such as alfalfa may be active for most of the
year. There's a great deal of genetic variance, Brady said, with
more than 500 native bee species in Texas alone. Each may be adapted
to specific crops, and each may have a different preference for
nesting sites.For these reasons and others, for a specific crop at
least, native bees, such as the alfalfa leafcutter bee, may be much
more efficient pollinators than honeybees, Brady said. "Two hundred
alfalfa leafcutters can to do the same amount of pollination that a
20,000 honeybee hive could." Honeybees have other advantages
however, most notably their honey production. Because humans have
cultured them for centuries, Brady said, they offered some
advantages to the agricultural producer who wished to ensure there
were enough local pollinators for his crop. He or she could simply
establish hives near the crop. And although honeybees aren't as
efficient pollinators as native bees, they make up for it in the
sheer brute force of numbers. But these advantages have waned as
both wild honeybees and cultured honeybees have fallen prey to
parasitic mites and Africanized bees.Living in hives, honeybees have
strength in numbers, offering the collective protection from
enemies. (Except varroa and SHB etc. Ed). Native bees, because of
their solitary nature, are often at the mercy of predators, such as
woodpeckers and parasitic wasps.
If you are interested in the subject of
pollinator bees and their protection, take a look at a handbook on
the subject sold by Bees for Development. See below for more on
this.
BEES AND OTHER INSECTS WORTH
BILLIONS NEW RESEARCH SHOWS
BILLIONAIRES IN ACTION
It comes as a surprise to
many people that bees and other insects are such an important part
of the ecology of the planet, but the truth is that bees are so
important that without them, life would be difficult if not
impossible. Their value can best be explained to the average human
in terms of money and in a recent survey conducted by Cornell
University entomologist John Losey, who co-authored a study he shows
that the dollar value of some of those insect services is more than
$57 billion in the United States annually. The research appears in
the journal BioScience Today (April 1). "Most insects tirelessly
perform functions that improve our environment and lives in ways
that scientists are only beginning to understand," Losey says.
"Don't let the insects' small stature fool you - these minute
marvels provide valuable services." The figures are truly
astonishing. The study found that native insects are food for
wildlife that supports a $50 billion recreation industry, provide
more than $4.5 billion in pest control, pollinate $3 billion in
crops and clean up grazing lands, which saves ranchers some $380
million a year. And these are "very conservative" estimates that
probably represent only a fraction of the true value, reports Losey,
associate professor of entomology at Cornell.
This analysis of the economic value of these insect services is
the first analysis of its type, said Losey, who co-authored the
study with Mace Vaughan, Cornell conservation director of the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation in Portland, Oregon., which
works to protect native insect habitats through education and
research. Insects are an integral part of a complex web of
interactions that helps put food on our tables and remove our
wastes. Humans - and probably most life on earth - would perish
without insects, Vaughan said. Losey and Vaughan's study focused on
the economic value of four particular services -wildlife nutrition,
pest control, pollination and dung burial - selected because robust
data were available for an analysis. "A lot of value is added to the
economy by insects, but most people just don't realize it," said
Losey. "When considering the allocation of conservation resources,
or the management of natural habitat, we must think about this value
to make sure that insects can continue to do their beneficial work.
"We know how to repair roads and other components of our physical
infrastructure, but our biological infrastructure is vulnerable to
degradation too," said Losey, an applied insect ecologist. "If we do
not take care of it, it will break down and could seriously impact
the economy." "In fact in many places - crop pollination, for
example - the cracks in the infrastructure are already showing,"
says Vaughn.
Using published data, Losey and Vaughan compared the values of
each service at current levels of function to theoretical levels if
these serves were absent. For wildlife nutrition, the researchers
used census data on how much is spent annually on observing or
hunting wildlife, and what proportion of the animals in those
categories depend on insects for nutrition. For pest control, they
looked at the amount of damage now incurred by pests, and, knowing
that 65 percent of pests are controlled by other insects, calculated
the losses if predators or parasites weren't going after their prey.
For pollination, they looked at the value of the crops known to be
insect pollinated and subtracted the value of those pollinated by
domesticated honeybees. For dung burial, they estimated the losses
if dung beetles did not clean nearby plants and cattle environments,
which would deter cattle from eating the plants and attract more
flies and parasites that would have to be controlled. They also
calculated how much fertilizer would be needed to compensate for the
nitrogen not being returned to the soil so promptly by the beetles.
But there is more. The analysis did not include such important
insect services as decomposing carcasses, garbage and trees (thereby
decreasing the likelihood of forest fires); producing honey,
shellac, dyes and other products; being used in medicine or as a
source of food for animals other than those used in hunting, fishing
and birding; and providing a direct source of food for humans. Based
on their analysis, Losey and Vaughan call for greater investment in
research on the ecological functions of insects so that the services
they provide can be conserved or even enhanced.
The source of this news extract is Cornell University in the
USA and appeared in the journal 'BioScience Today' on April 1
2006.
ARTICLES Back to top
Ian Rumsey continues his fascinating series on
gravitomagnetism BEES AND ROTATING COMB Part 2
It is now necessary that consideration be given
regarding the rate of rotation. In a 9 inch square inner hive one
obtains 6 combs, 9 inches long which is 54 inches of comb across the
hive. I would estimate on average a swarm would complete this comb
attachment to the roof of the box in say 9-10 days. This averages
comb attachment at some 5-6 inches per day. To obtain the maximum
effect the inner hive would require to turn through 90 degrees
during this period which works out at 10 degrees per day. If the
inner hive is turned clockwise 10 degrees at the end of each day,
after the introduction of the swarm, this would appear to be a
reasonable approach particularly as it will take the bees say 6
hours to change their minds regarding alignment after each 10 degree
adjustment. So, under these arrangements, what may we expect. If
no rotation of the inner hive occurred and the inner hive was placed
square facing East towards the oncoming gravitomagnetic field, as
depicted by red arrows, the comb over the first 10 days may be
expected to appear as figs 1-10.
However, if a 10 degree clockwise movement was applied at the end
of each day, and the subsequent new comb constructed followed the
new East-West alignment, then the comb construction may be expected
to be modified as figs 11-20.
As may be seen a considerable change in comb construction could
be expected due to this daily 10 degree movement, if our theory is
valid. The hive is built and assembled. The photos taken.(as shown
below) The swarm is introduced. Let us retire and, at our leisure,
await the pleasure of our bees.
Gravitomagnetism
Ian answers the query from last month’s article on rotating comb
May I suggest that after the vertically aligned comb had been
constructed in the left hand diagram, that the hive was then rotated
through 90 degrees, in an anti-clockwise direction, and that the
remaining comb was built subsequent to this time. From the diagrams
in Part 2, this seems a distinct possibility.
Ian Rumsey
In this article, Chad warns of the results of a lifestyle
of greed.
Swarm Collection
I write this article as a lesson to all others who may find
themselves as weak in the face of temptation as I did. I have had
much time to reflect upon my misdoings and have reasoned that by
coming clean, I can help prevent other souls from being lost down
the same path that I took. Having been called out many times the
previous summer to collect swarms I realised that there was a great
deal of money to be had for offering my services as a swarm
collector. I therefore advertised widely in the local area with my
name and number; in the local shop, the pub and with the local
police station. So it was, that the phone began ringing in late May
with some regularity.
It was quite exciting at first, popping-off here and there to
collect swarms. On one particular day I hived a swarm and brought it
back to my home apiary only to find that some minutes later the
swarm had re-emerged and re-formed their cluster on a nearby apple
tree. That got me thinking. My thoughts are not always good ones.
The following afternoon I was phoned by a rather distraught elderly
couple in Ashton Keynes. Would I be able to please come and deal
with a swarm that had appeared on their washing-line pole? I
certainly could and, informing them that there would be a small (yet
not crippling) collection fee, I was there within the hour. It was
not a large swarm, two frames worth I’d say. I shook the bees into
my box and then waited for the remaining stragglers to find their
way through the entrance hole. The majority of the bees were in the
box by the time I’d finished the two cups of tea and three slices of
local-fete-winning fruit cake that I’d be given.
Having bid my farewell to the elderly couple. who expressed their
gratitude with a bag of greengage plums, I made-off. I felt a little
like Robin Hood going merrily on my way with the nuked swarm on the
back seat of my car. That’s when it all went wrong. Two miles down
the road, at the entry to a rather well-to-do housing estate. I
stopped the car. looked around to see if there was anyone about
before opening the car door and tipping the nuked-swarm back out of
the box on to the road. I then closed the door and headed home to
wait by the phone.
Sure enough, after an hour the phone rang. It was no great
surprise that the voice on the phone belonged to the owner of the
house and garden closest to my release site. ’Oh really?’ I said in
reply to the panicked voice on the phone. ‘A swarm arrived just
before, did it? As big as a football you say?’ (I knew perfectly
well that the swarm was no bigger than the size of a baked bean
tin.) ‘Very well. I am a little busy,’ I continued, looking at my
cup of coffee, ‘but I’ll come just as soon as t can. Keep an eye on
the swarm, stay indoors and what ever you do, don’t go near it.
Swarms can be very dangerous,’ I said reassuringly. And then just
before 1 hung up I mentioned, ‘I do ask for a collection fee...’ A
warm feeling ran through me as the words. ‘would pay anything to get
rid of them,’ were replied.
With regard to payment I always applied a sliding scale to my
charges for swarm collection. An elderly couple who had fought two
world wars for my freedom would not be charged as much as a business
man who understood that he should pay for my petrol, time and (most
expensively) my expertise. After all, I thought, isn’t money made
round so that it can roll towards me?
My swarm collection service was stretched to its limits
throughout the early summer months, which is why I decided to employ
Fred. (I have of course changed names to protect the innocent.) He
and I worked together in a capture and release partnership. At the
height of the season we recaptured the same swarm thirteen times and
were operating about twenty swarms throughout Wiltshire. I even
began my own queen rearing program, selecting only those bees which
showed a strong tendency to swarm. I can highly recommend Italian
bees for this purpose; I had little luck in raising Carniolans with
such a strong swarming urge.
Greed is a terrible thing and with time, Fred and I became rather
blase about the whole procedure. The length of time we were prepared
to wait for the summoning phone-call grew less and less. Soon we
fell into the trap of pre-empting the phone call. I remember that in
a few instances I even pre-empted the arrival of a swarm, knocking
on a front door and telling some bemused-looking soul that I had
come to collect a swarm (that they were completely unaware of) from
their garden. There were also a few awkward moments when I was stood
looking around a back garden feeling like a chump muttering, ‘I had
a feeling that there might be a bee swarm about,’ and wondering
whether Fred had really released the bees at all. It would be fair
to say that I gained an almost mystical status in Wiltshire for
being able to turn up just in the nick of time whenever a swarm
appeared. I received a massive amount of publicity by releasing a
swarm behind the marquee at the church fete. At 1.30pm the vicar was
beside himself with worry, wondering whether to cancel the event
which was scheduled to start at 2pm. I can vividly recall the photo
of me that appeared in the parish magazine: ‘Vicar-tory for the
bee-keeper!’ it said. Looking back I realise now that I had fallen
in league with the devil and that there was no health in me. I was,
on the other hand, making a great deal of not-so-hard-earned cash
and that (as you know) can disguise a great host of other
deleterious feelings. My fame and notoriety spread like wild fire or
wild swarms, as I was keen to tell people. Certainly a statistician
would be able to tell you that in 2004 there was somewhere in the
region of a 4000% increase in the incidence of swarming in the
Wiltshire area.
No doubt it was a disgruntled Warminster Branch beekeeper,
jealous and suspicious of the number of swarms I was taking,) that
blew the whistle on me and brought my enterprise crashing down
around me.Not only was I filmed operating my capture and release
technique but a phone call was made to the Inland Revenue which left
me with the impossible job of explaining away the inexplicable
trappings of my by then lavish cash-in-hand lifestyle. Of course I
should have seen that one coming. I know of no other bee-keeper who
turns up to take swarms in a brand new S-Class Mercedes (bought in
ten and five pound notes.)
Fred and I are now into our third month of community service and
spend our days picking chewing gum from the pavement in Chippenham.
I realise now the error of my ways and have been made aware of the
hurt I have caused to my friends and family. Naturally, I was made
to pay back the £20,456 that I had acquired through my ‘enterprise’,
but it was a greater blow to be expelled from the Melksham and
District Association.
Chad
FEEDING SUGAR SYRUP? ARE YOU POISONING YOUR BEES?
In the last issue of Apis UK we took a look at HMF in honey and it
was noted that although an indicator of post harvest treatment of
honey, and so therefore subject to legal limits of quantity in honey
for sale, it wasn’t in fact poisonous or harmful in any way to
humans. It is however harmful to bees and yet many beekeepers,
commercial ones included inadvertently feed poisonous sugar syrup to
their bees in the form of invert sugar syrup. How is this? Well it
all depends upon how you invert it.
When bees collect nectar, which is mainly the disaccharide,
sucrose, they invert it, reshaping the molecule and forming the two
simple sugars glucose and fructose. By doing this, it enables them
to pack the resultant liquid more efficiently. Thus when beekeepers
feed liquid sugar syrup, the bees (as in nature) have the task of
inverting it. From experience among commercial beekeepers with
thousands of hives however, it does seem that the feeding of invert
sugar rather than normal sugar syrup, which more naturally
replicates inverted nectar, gives the bees a huge boost. It’s as
though the bees think that it’s spring again and off they go. Nucs
respond especially well to the feeding of invert and if all other
nutritional requirements are met, invert will give them a huge
boost. Research shows that bees have a longer life, and build comb
faster when fed invert than when fed normal sugar syrup. There are
dangers however. Invert sugar syrup from a manufacturer is expensive
and so many beekeepers invert the sugar themselves. There are two
ways of doing this.
Acid Hydrolysis
One
way is to add acid (almost any acid will) to the sugar syrup. This
will split the molecule into the two component sugars and so invert
it. The problems with this method are as follows:
- You have to take the liquid to high temperatures, (near to
boiling), which is dangerous to the beekeeper and also dangerous
when pumping the liquid.
- You need to stop the process somehow using a base such as
soda ash. If you don’t, the acid will continue to break down the
sugar into other potentially harmful substances.
- Inversion via acid hydrolysis splits the molecule and one of
the by products is HMF. This can build up to high levels and
poison your bees. A study in Germany in 1975 found that the
concentration of HMF in sugar syrups is indeed the factor that
causes mortality in bees. Concentrations at levels below 3mg per
100g of syrup did not kill bees, but levels of 15mg per 100g of
syrup, which is common in commercially available acid hydrolysed
sugar syrup causes significantly increased bee mortality.
(Mortality is due to gut ulceration).
Yeast (Invertase action)
In contrast to this, the other method of inverting sugar syrup
using dried active yeast achieves the intended result, safely, more
easily, in the same way as the bees do it and with no formation of
HMF. The mix and temperatures are as follows:
Per thousand litres of sugar syrup:
250g of dried active bakers yeast.
Mix with a cup of the sugar syrup.
Add 1 litre of warm water (about 40C).
Mix well and leave for a few minutes until it starts rising.
Add this to the sugar syrup, which must be at 30C or above and stir in well. (Best have a constant stirrer).
Increase the temperature of the syrup to 65C ensuring that the
liquid is between 45C and 55C for at least two hours. This allows
the Invertase in the yeast time to work at its optimum working
temperatures and by raising it to 65C you kill off the yeast. (Or
you may end up with a vat of home brew, which of course may not be a
bad thing).
The sugar is inverted at very little cost, is safe for bees (and
beekeeper) and is ready to use.
The fight against Varroa
A better and safer way of using oxalic acid
Many beekeepers have been using oxalic acid now for some time in
the fight against varroa so it is interesting to note that the Swiss
company Andermatt Biocontrol; have developed an oxalic acid-sucrose
trickling product for varroa control (OXUVAR). See
http://files.biovet.ch/documents/oxuvar_en.pdf It is now
licensed for use in Germany and it is expected to be licensed in
Switzerland by the end of the year. Oxalic acid is simple in
application and has a low risk of residues and its use is wide
spread in Europe. OXUVAR has been developed to simplify the
trickling or drip method of applying oxalic acid and meets the
requirements for veterinary products see:
http://www.apis.admin.ch/en/krankheiten/docs/saeuren/acide_oxaliqueBeeWorld.pdf.
BOOK AND FILM REVIEWS Back to Top
BOOK REVIEW
POLLINATOR BEES A look at a book on the subject
Following
on from the research news item on the role of pollinator bees, we
bring you an excellent idea for a present for someone interested in
the subject, or just for yourself. The book is available from that
admirable charity, Bees for Development.
The Xerces Society and The Bee Works 2003 145 pages A5 soft
cover. Most flowering plants are pollinated by insects. If
pollinator populations are depleted, then many of these plants will
produce few seeds, or no seeds. The consequence is that plant
populations decline and maybe disappear, and the pollinators decline
and disappear too. This excellent handbook describes how you can
help to protect and re-establish populations of pollinators:
included here are solitary and social bees, flies and beetles.
Chapters cover threats to pollinators, actions to help pollinators,
planning habitats, providing forage, nesting and over-wintering
sites. Annexes include more ideas for educators and parents,
resources and plant lists. Although written primarily for North
America, this book will be helpful for farmers, gardeners and
environmentalists everywhere. With beautiful colour pictures
throughout, this is an extremely useful text.
The book costs just £19-70 from Bees for Development and can be
seen and purchased from their web site
www.beesfordevelopment.org
MAGAZINE REVIEW
The Beekeepers Quarterly. Spring 2006 No 83.
Our sister magazine, The Beekeepers Quarterly (incorporating Bee
Biz) is of course now out and if you haven’t yet seen a copy, here
are some of the high lights
Under the usual regular items (Letters and Newsround) are some
intriguing happenings, including details on the couple from Norfolk
(UK) who sold 20 tonnes of foreign honey as Norfolk produce! The
honey apparently came from Argentina and China. A research item
claims that bees can recognise human faces. Work has shown that bees
may transmit viruses to their offspring. Apiguard is launched in the
USA. Sales of honey in the UK have soared, but honey crops in
Argentina are likely to be low.
A highlight of this issue is a splendid article on Monastic
Beekeeping. This beautifully illustrated piece discusses beekeeping
in monasteries from Greece (the remote Mount Athos), England (Worth
Abbey, Quarr Abbey, Farnborough Abbey, Buckfast Abbey, Mount Saint
Bernard, Douai Abbey), Scotland (Pluscardin Abbey), Hungary (Alsovarosi
Church and Monastery), New Mexico (Monastery of Christ in the
Desert) and USA (Mount Assumption Abbey, St Benedict’s Abbey).
There is a report from last year’s Apimondia on bees as pollinators.
Another report on pollination is from the US and discusses almond
trees and honey bees, while in New Zealand, tea trees are apparently
a good source of honey.
A new item is called ‘Soapbox’ and has more discussions on queens,
drones and varroa. Several letters also refer to this topic.
FILM REVIEW
DANCING WITH BEES: A film by Gill Sentinella
It isn’t often that a new beekeeping film comes out, but here is
a new one which is ideal for those wishing to explain what bees are
all about to all sections of the general public who generally
wouldn’t be able to tell a bee from a wasp and who think that
beekeepers make honey from bumble bees. (Two of my friends did think
that). I tested Dancing with Bees on my 11 and 4 year old daughters
and it worked brilliantly for them. They were glued to it and it was
short enough for them to want more which is always better than
losing their attention. At one point one of them shouted out, “Hey
dad, all your bees swarm like that.” Years ago I could have clipped
her round the ear! I reckon that this delightful ‘nutshell of bees
and beekeeping’ set to Mozart no less, is the perfect medium for use
as described in the blurb ‘…. entertaining and educational and
can be used for all venues; schools, colleges, clubs and societies,
museums or as an introduction or backdrop for speakers everywhere.’
It cleverly covers just about everything you need to know about the
subject on a general level in a short enough time not to bore people
and it does so in an extremely interesting manner, managing to
explain the bees’ natural history, the colony social structure, the
importance of pollination, the production of honey and of course the
sting. I know that beekeepers will thoroughly enjoy the film and non
beekeepers will be captivated and educated. It is a great shame that
in a world where bees are so important to everyone on the planet
that there should be such general and increasing lack of knowledge
about them amongst the general public. This short film may be a way
of correcting that state of affairs and I recommend that firstly you
buy it and secondly you show it to all your non beekeeping friends.
If you are ever asked to speak at a meeting or school or scout/guide
group etc, then take it along. Libraries too would do well to obtain
copies for their video sections and to publicise it with the poster.
The film which comes as a DVD or VHS is inexpensive and costs DVD
£7.95, VHS £6.95. You can also obtain a colourful poster with scenes
from the film for £6.95 or the DVD and poster together for £13.95.To
buy a copy send a cheque or postal order (made payable to Gill
Sentinella) to: Wardengate, 218 Old Bedford Road, Luton, Beds, LU2
7HP and for more information on the film, email Gill at:
dancingwithbees@hotmail.co.uk.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH Back to Top
Almond Cakes (Not just ordinary ones though). Andalucians have long been known for their prowess in making some
of the most delicate cakes and pastries you can find. Many of these
delicacies were first prepared by the Muslim conquerors of Spain in
the AD 700s and since have been taken on by those most Christian of
institutions, the convents. The cake and pastries made in Spanish
convents are famous for the result of careful preparation and
traditional methods. One particular convent in the gaditano town of
Medina Sidonia (itself an Arab name) is my favourite, producing pure
magic with eggs, almonds and honey. Here is an excellent recipe that
will give you a true taste of this excellent tradition..
Recipe:
Servings: Makes 6-8 cakes
Prep Time: 30 min.
Cook Time: 15 min.
You will need:
4 eggs
9 oz blanched peeled almonds
4 oz sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
Cinnamon
1/4 cup flaked almonds
Butter and flour to grease the pans
Preparation:
Grind the almonds in an electric grinder with a little sugar to
prevent them from going oily.
Method:
Beat the eggs with the rest of the
sugar until light and fluffy. (If done by hand, first beat the yolks
with the sugar, add the almonds, etc. and finally the egg whites
beaten stiff).
Add the cinnamon and lemon zest then gently fold in the ground
almonds. Grease and dust with flour 6-8 individual tart pans; fill
them with the mixture and sprinkle with almonds flakes. Bake at 350
degrees F for 15 minutes.
Remove from the pans while hot and leave to cool.
To get these really light and delicate is not easy and you may well
mess it up first time, but keep trying because they are worth it.
Drink with a sip of anise or a decent agua dente.
(This recipe came from the Spain GourmeTour magazine).
FACT
FILE Back to top
THE COLOUR OF HONEY
The colour of honey depends on a whole variety of factors and is
something that cannot be controlled by the beekeeper, but as colour
is an important characteristic used by producers, packers and end
users alike, its measurement is important in quality control
processes and colour designation is an important factor in honey
grading.75% of industrial users include colour specifications in
their designations.
Colour grading has been used by the honey industry in the UK and
abroad for many years. In natural conditions, there is a continuous
range of colours related to floral source and mineral content. The
colour has a connection with taste as well as lighter coloured
honeys are generally milder than dark honeys. (There are exceptions
though to this. E.g. basswood is light in colour but strong
tasting).
Possibly the simplest devices used for grading colour are simple
coloured glass plates used in local competitions and shows. These
devices usually divide the grades into two or three different
categories of light, dark and very dark honeys and although
sufficient for their purposes in show grading, are too simple for
industrial use.
Originally a device known as a Pfund grader was used to grade colour
in industry.
The amber glass wedge of a Pfund colour grader.
The scale for this is called the "Pfund" Scale and is measured in
millimetres. The scale is actually a metric ruler measuring the
point along a calibrated amber glass wedge where the sample (placed
in a glass wedge shaped trough) matches the amber wedge. The scale
starts at 0mm (colourless) and finishes at 140mm (black). Some
common terms describing the colour of honey actually have specific
ranges on the Pfund Scale. These also vary slightly from country to
country with the USA, Canada and Australia all having slight
variations. The US scale is below:
| |
0-8mm |
|
Water White |
| |
Up to 17 mm |
|
Extra White |
| |
Up to 34 mm |
|
White |
| |
Up to 50 mm |
|
Extra Light Amber |
| |
Up to 85 mm |
|
Light Amber |
| |
Up to 114 mm |
|
Amber |
| |
Over 114 mm |
|
Dark |
This instrument and method of measuring the colour of honey is
inexpensive and convenient but there is quite some variation between
instruments.
Spectrophotometry is another method used by industry and has the
advantage of not suffering variation between instruments, but is a
very much more expensive instrument and more complex to use. It
measures absorbance at 560nm and thus enables a colour
classification to be established as follows:
| |
Pfund scale |
|
Classification |
|
Mid range absorbance at 560nm |
| |
0-8mm |
|
Water White |
|
0.0945 |
| |
Up to 17 mm |
|
Extra White |
|
0.189 |
| |
Up to 34 mm |
|
White |
|
0.378 |
| |
Up to 50 mm |
|
Extra Light Amber |
|
0.595 |
| |
Up to 85 mm |
|
Light Amber |
|
1.389 |
| |
Up to 114 mm |
|
Amber |
|
3.008 |
| |
Over 114 mm |
|
Dark |
|
>3.1 |
HISTORICAL NOTE Back to top
John Evelyn 1620 - 1706
This month we look back to the 1600s and John Evelyn who, like
his contemporary Samuel Pepys, is perhaps better known to many as a
diarist. But we are interested in John Evelyn the keen observer of
beekeeping and bees as described in his Elysium Britannicum. The
Book begins with what could be termed one of the great openers of
English literature.
‘When Almighty God had exiled our fore-fathers out of
paradise, the memorie of that delicious place was not yet so far
obliterated, but that their early attempts sufficiently discovered
how unhappily they were to live without a garden’.
Elysium Britannicum was intended to be an encyclopaedic work on
gardens and gardening and an encouragement for land owners to plant
and preserve trees for the benefit of the whole nation. The project
was so huge that he was unable to finish it, but his chapter on bees
and beekeeping was completed. His plea to land owners to instruct
their gardeners in the preservation of this ‘celebrated creature’
says much for Evelyn’s appreciation of bees.
If we contemplate, the Bee is a rare Architect, forming her
hexangular cell for every foot an Angle. They have a City, King,
Empire, Society; they feed not on flesh, fat or blood, but on the
sweetest flowers, yet so feed on them not to deface either their
beauty, rifle or discompose their chaste folds. Idleness they abhor
and when any difference arises Musique reconciles them again and
therefore they are the Muses birds, prophetic and auspicious to
poets and eloquent men. Plato, Pindar, Virgil and St. Ambrose and
divers other persons are instances of this assertion……….
POEM OF THE MONTH Back to top
| |
Midwinter Hive On that sparkling sheet of white,
I spy a lesser-white --a hive,
The wind howls; the cold numbs
But inside, countless creatures cling
To one another; waiting,
Waiting for the first signs of spring,
That once more they might reap,
For man and bee, with buzzing wing.
Alan Ratcliffe
|
LETTERS Back to top
Hi,
I was asked in the April Newsletter to keep in touch and tell y'all
what is going on in the photo. (See last month’s issue No.41).
Going only by appearance, a pallet of hives have been upset and the
hive tie down straps failed to hold the hive that the gentleman is
working on to stay on the pallet to his left which is still
upturned. I would presume that this pallet of hives were either
being moved or being set, unless a four legged creature did the up
turning, it was just another beekeeping nightmare. Beyond this
beekeepers wildest dreams he now has the gentle job of cleaning up
the mess and setting things right at night.
Keith Malone, Chugiak, Alaska USA,
http://www.cer.org/,
c(((([ , Apiarian,
http://takeoff.to/alaskahoney/,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/akbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norlandbeekeepers/ ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApiarianBreedersGuild/
(You are right of course Keith. Ed)
The Editor,
(We) Would like to offer for your catalogue the reference to the
Internet a site about beekeeping in Russia. Here are be about 400
beekeepers daily. Huge set of interesting clauses and news about
beekeeping in Russia and all world. I think to your visitors it will
be interesting to get acquainted with the beekeepers from Russia -
www.beeland.ru - site
about the Russian beekeepers, eyes of the Russian beekeepers
DATES FOR YOUR
DIARY Back to top
8-10 June SOUTH OF ENGLAND
SHOW at Ardingly,West Sussex. Bees and Honey Show open to all
beekeepers. Schedules available now from Mrs Audrey Gill, 143
Smallfield Road, Horley RH6 9LR
2 to 8 July THE ROYAL SHOW BBKA
is planning a comprehensive display of bees and beekeeping at the
Royal Show, Stoneleigh on 2-5 July 2006. This will be located in the
new Countryside Smallholders area. To volunteer as steward send your
name, address, telephone number, (e-mail) to Clive Joyce National
Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, CV8 2LG.
Friday-Saturday 21st-23rd
July DBKA Summer Conference at Exeter University. For more
information Download Booking Form [159KB PDF]
Sunday 25th June BIIG
(Bee Instrumental Insemination Group) practical day at Islip Village
hall, Islip village hall, Islip Oxfordshire (map).
Starts 11:00am. There will be a nominal entry fee for non members.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH Back to
top
Which historical figure, when asked by the Emperor
Augustus how he managed to live to such a ripe old age, answered:
“Intus mulso fores oleo”.
Which of course means: ‘honeyed wine inside, olive oil outside’
– which are my sentiments exactly. (Ed).
Editor: David Cramp Submissions
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