S.E Bee Health Updata June 2001

Dear Beekeepers,

The current hot and humid weather - coinciding as it does with the flowering of brambles, limes, sweet chestnuts and many other important nectar sources - provides perfect conditions for a good honey flow. Reports from bee inspectors around the region suggest that colonies are currently filling supers at a rate of knots. So despite the terrible start to the season, there is now the prospect of a good honey crop for
most beekeepers.
Favourable weather has also meant that the region's bee inspectors have also been busy during the last month visiting apiaries. Since the start of the season, we have now visited over 450 apiaries and inspected over 2500 colonies. Recently this has been very hot and sticky work.

During June there was a sharp increase in the number of EFB cases confirmed, bring this seasons total to 172 EFB cases in 70 apiaries - more than twice the figure for a month ago. Most cases have been found in West Sussex, followed by Kent, Surrey, London and East Sussex. No new cases of AFB have been found. The attached table gives more details of the distribution of these diseases within the South East.

This season I have heard from beekeepers about several suspected cases of pesticide poisoning of bees, however, few samples of bees have been sent to the NBU for investigation under the DEFRA Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme. Although it is not obligatory to report such cases, beekeepers sending samples into the scheme provide much needed information about ways in which the use and misuse of pesticides can harm bees. Where pesticides are suspected, we screen them for pesticide residues and very often arrange a field visit to see if the source of the pesticide can be established. This information ultimately feeds back into the regulatory processes that govern pesticide use. So it's well worth keeping an eye out for signs of poisoning - typically the sudden appearance of a large number of dead bees at the hive entrance, very often with the proboscis characteristically extended - and sending a sample to the NBU if in any doubt. We'd also like to hear about poisoning of bumble bees and other beneficial insects.

There have been relatively few reports about serious varroa infestation so far this season. However, we are now entering the most dangerous period, as colonies will generally now have a significant varroa population living within them and this is likely to rise roughly four-fold before the end of the season. It's consequently well worth checking colonies for mites more than once over the next few weeks. If sealed drone brood is removed with an uncapping fork, mites should ideally be relatively difficult to find - say less than 1 per 20 drone pupae. When you find more mites than this, it's a sign that the mite population is starting to get out of hand, and an early treatment may be called for. In case of doubt, your bee inspector will be pleased to advise.

Finally, thanks to those who have got in touch about the hygenic-behaviour, shook-swarm and biological EFB control trials the NBU is running this year. We are still looking for more volunteers in all three trials, so please feel free to get in touch if you are interested. More details of all these projects can be found on our website:
http://www.csl.gov.uk/prodserv/cons/bee/

James Morton

South-Eastern Regional Bee Inspector
Central Science Laboratory
National Bee Unit
Tel/fax: 020 8571 6450
Mobile: 07719 924 418
E-mail: j.morton@csl.gov.uk
Web: http://www.csl.gov.uk
Address: 'Geertje', Canal Lock 92, Windmill Lane, Southall, Middx, UB2 4NH

County Name

OS 10 km Square

Area Name

AFB apiaries

AFB colonies

EFB
apiaries

EFB colonies

East Sussex

TQ30

Brighton

0

0

1

7

East Sussex

TQ41

N.E. Lewes

0

0

1

5

East Sussex

TQ82

Sandhurst & Beckley

0

0

2

3

Greater London

TQ16

Kingston & Esher

0

0

1

2

Greater London

TQ26

Epsom & Sutton

0

0

1

15

Greater London

TQ27

S.W. London

0

0

2

4

Greater London

TQ36

Croydon

0

0

1

1

Greater London

TQ39

Enfield

0

0

1

1

Greater London

TQ47

Woolwich & Eltham

0

0

1

1

Kent

TQ46

Bromley & Orpington

0

0

1

6

Kent

TQ47

Woolwich & Eltham

0

0

1

2

Kent

TQ56

Swanley & Kingsdown

0

0

4

8

Kent

TQ65

W. Malling & Hadlow

1

1

1

2

Kent

TQ66

Meopham

0

0

2

3

Kent

TQ67

Gravesend

0

0

1

1

Kent

TQ74

Staplehurst & Marden

0

0

1

6

Kent

TQ75

Maidstone

0

0

1

5

Kent

TQ77

N. Rochester & Hoo

0

0

4

5

Kent

TQ84

Headcorn

0

0

1

2

Kent

TQ86

E. Gillingham

0

0

3

11

Kent

TQ87

Isle of Grain

0

0

1

1

Kent

TR06

Faversham

1

1

0

0

Surrey

SU83

W. Haslemere

0

0

2

4

Surrey

SU84

Farnham

0

0

1

3

Surrey

SU95

W. Guildford/ Woking

0

0

2

4

Surrey

TQ06

Weybridge

0

0

1

2

Surrey

TQ14

Dorking

0

0

2

2

Surrey

TQ24

S. Reigate & Horley

0

0

2

3

Surrey

TQ25

Reigate & Banstead

0

0

1

1

West Sussex

SU81

West Dean

0

0

1

2

West Sussex

SU90

N. Bognor Regis

0

0

3

9

West Sussex

TQ00

Littlehampton

0

0

6

10

West Sussex

TQ01

Pulborough

0

0

1

1

West Sussex

TQ02

Billingshurst

0

0

2

3

West Sussex

TQ10

Worthing

0

0

3

3

West Sussex

TQ11

Steyning

0

0

2

2

West Sussex

TQ12

S. Horsham

0

0

1

3

West Sussex

TQ20

Shoreham & Hove

0

0

1

2

West Sussex

TQ21

Henfield

0

0

4

21

West Sussex

TQ22

Warninglid

0

0

1

2

West Sussex

TQ33

Crawley Down

0

0

1

1

West Sussex

TQ41

N.E. Lewes

0

0

1

3

Totals:

2

2

70

172