First words by the Editor ...

In days gone by, when I manned the honey stall at Murton, I found that the majority of people were not honey eaters and consequently thought all honey tasted the same and came from Gale’s. I tried explaining to them that no two honeys are the same. Honey should be looked upon like tea, coffee, cheese and wine. All these products produce different flavours depending on where they are produced even if grown on the same variety of plant, and so it is with honey. I tried to explain that if it where possible to collect the nectar from a particular plant say on the bank of the River Humber, then collect the nectar from the same specie of plant on the North Yorkshire Moors, you would have two different honeys because the nutrients in the soil are different. I always had open jars of the honey I was selling and gave them a taste of each to illustrate how they differed. (Having done that I nearly always got a sale.)

How honeys can differ was brought home to me the other day when I was bottling some honey. It was very pale, only a shade darker than borage, yet there was no borage for miles around. The previous batch was much darker and I shall enter it in medium honey class at our next Honey Show. These two batches where extracted only five weeks apart from the same apiary.

I went to the Lincoln Beekeepers auction held at the Lincoln Showground on the 5 April. It was a cold and overcast day but a good crowd turned up nonetheless. The auction was held in a big barn in which, on a rainy day, nothing gets spoiled. Like all auctions there where good, bad and indifferent items for sale. Among the bad were old brood boxes with Greater Wax Moth pupae on the sides, bundles of frames that where falling apart and brood boxes/supers of comb complete with wax moth. There were 21 lots of homemade shallow frames made from unplaned timber in honey jar boxes, 30 frames to a box, and two boxes per lot. By my way of thinking, something to be wary of, yet they were sold for £5 per lot. Among the best buys were ten new cedar brood boxes in the flat with Hoffman frames and foundation all wrapped, that sold for £22 each. A Thorne's 12 frame stainless Mk2 extracter went for £140. The cost new is £924. A Thorne's nine frame polythene electric extractor went for £185. I cannot remember if it was a lightweight or a heavy duty, but a lightweight electric new is £547. Two skeps, a large one and a smaller one that sat on top of it, caused some incredulous stares among beekeepers when they were knocked down for £65. Both were well made and unused. There where plenty of bees for sale with prices ranging from £70 to £102 for Nationals, £60 to £90 for a National nucleus and £54 to £76 for bees in WBC's.

The following week I went to the Leeds BKA auction at Temple Newsam, a glorious spring day it was. Again there was the usual mix of good and bad. One bad item that caught my eye was a brood box in the flat - the wood was so rotten I could poke my finger into it - yet it was sold! Another was a bundle of ten deep frames and a bundle of shallow frame, very dirty and falling apart went for £2. One interesting item was one of Bill Bielby's Catenery Hives. Those I have seen in the past had hardboard bottoms. This one the bottom was made of thin galvanised steel and would not be prone to rotting caused by damp. It had a full compliment of frames, the "bottom bars" being made out of split bamboo. It sold for £3. The best buy was a 56lb stainless bottling tank that fetched £55 – the new price is £147. Another good buy was a Thorne’s lightweight polythene manual extractor for £75, which new is £245. There was one colony of bees and two nuc's, the best price was £85.

In the March edition of "Combings" I put out a plea for members to man the Bee Pavilion at Murton on Sundays during June, July and August. The same plea was also made at our monthly meetings. I am pleased to tell you that all slots have been filled. We will be manning the Bee Pavilion again next year and will require volunteers. Please lend a hand.

There is a new leaflet published by the Central Science Laboratory titled "The Small Hive Beetle - A serious threat to European apiculture". Mention has been made in the bee press about the small hive beetle, but I failed to recognise the damage it can cause until I saw the photographs in the leaflet. The beetle is about one third the size of a honeybee worker, dark brown or black in colour when mature, so can be readily seen. The female lays clusters of eggs in crevices or on frames containing pollen or brood. It is the larvae that cause the problem, eating bee eggs, brood, pollen and honey. In a severely infested colony there will be tens of thousands of larvae in one hive! I find it incredulous. What is more, adults are able to detect the smell of a hive and are able to fly for five miles. The small hive beetle originates in South Africa and is found in the USA, Canada and Eastern Australia. e UK has not permitted the importation of packaged bees from these countries for many years, but there is considerable trade from Australia to other European countries within the EEC and anything can come into our country from there.

Pam Todd and Jenny Smith have spent a lot of time cleaning the bee pavilion at Murton and Ken Barran has also spent a lot of time there keeping the grass cut and other maintenance work and, as a result of their efforts, the whole site looks a lot tidier. Bob Hirst organised the purchase of more beekeeping equipment and has set it up ready for use.

Russell and Linda Carey have made good progress with our new website and it should be up and running in the near future. It is planned that this edition of "Combings" will be included.

It is with sadness that I have to tell you of the death of member Les Burnett on Friday 25 April at the age of 86. Jim Britten, Tom Robinson and John Rowbottom attended his funeral. It is the desire of his family that his bees and equipment go to the Association.

Please welcome Ellie Angellou of Pocklington, Alan Burnside of Bishophill, Robert Colley of Norton, Sandy Crebland of Clifton Moor, Sue Driscoll of Church Fenton, Mike Elsworth of South Milford, Emily Harvey of Copmanthorpe, Belinda Jackson of Clifton Moor, Tricia Johns of Sutton on the Forrest, Chris Kay of Acomb, Frank Marchione of Acomb, Niel Matthews of York, Lynne Pearce of Flaxton, Jean Riley of Appleton Roebuck, Kevin Welby of Heworth, Emma Jane Whelan of Melbourne, Gary Woodburn of Fangfoss, and Jodie Woodburn of Fangfoss who joined our Association when they enrolled for this year’s Beginners Class at Murton.

In the March 2003 copy of "Combings", Debbie Hattee in her cookery article told us not to feed honey to infants under twelve months old. A label to this effect appears on the jars of imported honey.

Beekeepers and Botulism

Terry Nundy MB has produced this article for us on the subject.

The anaerobic bacterium, Clostridium Botulinium is of interest to beekeepers because of a condition called infant botulism - a type of human food poisoning first described in California 1976. The botulism organism is widely present in the environment and soil and will thrive in the absence of oxygen, in canned foods imperfectly sterilised or in contaminated meat or fish. A very potent toxin is produced which paralyses muscles and quickly leads to respiratory failure with a high mortality. This is the classical picture, but in infants, if the organism is ingested before the toxin is produced it can lead to a much slower onset of paralysis, as the botulism spores can survive in the infants gut and gradually produce the toxin there. In an adult the spores are destroyed, but before the age of one year this is not possible as the infant has not developed the necessary defence mechanism in the gut. Most cases in infants have been reported in North America and some of these have followed the ingestion of honey which can contain Botulism spores. Thus for the last 20 years it has been advised that infants under twelve months old should not be given honey. Having said that, no proven case of infantile botulism due to honey ingestion has been reported in the UK, and of course adults are at no risk even if honey is contaminated with botulism spores. Fortunately botulism is a rare disease, because it can be lethal. One of the most celebrated cases of botulism poisoning occurred in Scotland at the Loch Maree Hotel in the 1920's, when several salmon fishermen died the day after eating contaminated duck pate. Two topical aspects of botulism are the use of the toxin in so called "chemical face lifts" (BOTOX), where a local injection of the toxin paralyses facial muscles and thus removes wrinkles and the suggestion that botulism toxin could be used in biological warfare or terrorist attacks.

Editors note: While typing out Terry's article on Botulism, I received my March edition of Beecraft in which Dr Drone talks on the same subject.

Personality Portrait – David Aston

David Aston was elected to the post of Chairman of York Beekeepers last October and is the author of the "Healthcheck" article in "Combings"

My interest in beekeeping was first awakened in 1981 when my wife thought it might be something I could be interested in. Her great grandmother and great uncle had been skeppist beekeepers. At the time I was travelling a lot for my job and there was no real pattern to when I would be home. The usual clubs and activities were out for me. In spite of this I attended a beekeeping course run by Eddie Eade (of Mountain Grey reputation) and I was hooked.

Having got some bees and joined the York and District Beekeepers Association, I started reading about the subject. I am a biologist by training with interests, among other things, in history and the landscape and I soon became fascinated by the many facets to bees and their impact on the ecology of the earth and the social history of man. So I started looking at books on beekeeping and realised I really needed to study the subject in a more structured way.

I signed on the BBKA Correspondence Course run by Gerry Collins and this led to my starting on the bottom rung of the BBKA Beekeeping qualifications by gaining my Basic Certificate. I was very fortunate to have Janet Dowling as my tutor and what with her and Gerry Collins support and encouragement I went on to get my Senior (Master Beekeeper) Certificate in 1995. Then there was the challenge of the NDB (National Diploma in Beekeeping). I was very honoured to be awarded the NDB in 2000.

But enough about studying - what about my beekeeping? I live in Wressle, a village alongside the River Derwent, near to Howden. I mainly work out of one apiary, my home apiary. It is surrounded agricultural fields, mixed arable (oil seed rape, field beans, borage, game cover) and the bees are also in flying distance of willows and other forage in the Lower Derwent National Nature Reserve just up the road from me. The bees will also obtain forage from the roadside verges with clover. There is also the main Hull to Leeds railway line with bramble along the side of the permanent way. I keep around 10 to 15 colonies in a mixture of double and single brood Modified National hives.

For me the main achievement is to keep healthy and productive colonies in a way so as to optimise productivity at minimal cost in time and money and to produce and sell quality honey and wax. All of my sales are local. I find keeping a small number of larger colonies to be much more productive than a larger number of smaller colonies. I am quite ruthless in eliminating week colonies and poor queens. Most of my beekeeping is done in the home apiary but I do take four colonies to the North Moors for the heather and will again this year be supplying a few colonies to carry out pollination of glasshouse grown vegetable crops being grown for seed.

In the twenty odd years I have kept bees I have learned a lot from beekeepers willing to share their experience and knowledge. I believe that good beekeepers are always learning about their craft. Some further their knowledge through study and observing their bees. I benefited a lot from studying for the BBKA exams and I have just finished a six year stint on the BBKA Examinations Board working to encourage beekeepers to learn more about their craft. I am also a BBKA Examiner and also participate in running the advanced beekeeping courses held at CSL every year. In recent years I have seen the introduction of the modular scheme encouraging beekeepers to study in bite-sized chunks and more recently the BBKA has introduced the Certificate in Beekeeping Husbandry aimed at beekeepers who may not wish to take written exams but can still gain qualifications to demonstrate their competence in beekeeping. In this way I hope, in turn, to make my small contribution to encouraging the craft of beekeeping and helping people to enjoy their bees.

Healthcheck … by David Aston

Apiary Hygiene

It is surprising how many beekeepers seem to pay little attention to the state of their apiaries. Here are some good practices well worth while introducing into your beekeeping practices:

Keep the apiary clean and tidy, don’t leave odd bits of equipment lying about.
Never throw propolis onto the ground; always remove it from the apiary in a container and either melt it down or dispose of it in a sealed bag.
Never leave combs around "for the bees to clean up".
Take care to prevent bees robbing other colonies.
If you have to feed do not feed fermented or infected honey, always feed sugar syrup.
If a colony dies out close up the hive straight away and remove it from the apiary as soon as possible.
Do not exchange brood and super combs from one colony to another unless you are sure all colonies are disease free.
If possible keep swarms from unknown sources in an out apiary until you are sure they are disease free.
Keep your personal protective equipment, hive tools and other equipment clean.
Do not buy old combs. Only use second hand frames if you have sterilised them.
Always sterilise second hand hives before use.
Do not buy bees from a doubtful source; know they come from disease free apiaries.

The problems of a Secretary to a Beekeeping Association … by Colin Hattee

I do hope that these few lines do not give the impression that I am not enjoying the post as Secretary to the YDBKA. It is an honour to hold the post and a great pleasure when things fall into place. The role of secretary should be limited to the following tasks:

Preparation of the Agendas (in conjunction with the Chair) and minutes for all Association and Committee meetings
Preparation of summer and winter programmes
Attending meetings of the Association whenever possible
Deal with day-to-day enquiries and correspondence
Ensure the membership lists (names and addresses etc) are up-to-date
Ensure all members receive relevant information regularly.

Easy isn't it?

Thanks to the very strong support from the individuals on the Committee the Association programme of events has never been more varied or interesting. All members of the Committee, bar none, have taken some responsibility for the organising of an event during the year. "Combings", Barbecues, Training, Auction, Apiary visits and trips are just a few of the exciting events that took place last year and are scheduled for this years programme. On occasions things do not go quite according to plan, a speaker is disappointing, an event not well supported or that the food at a function not just to our individual taste. When this happens we should all try to remember the effort that others have taken to provide you with an effective Beekeeping Association. Personally I have enjoyed almost all the events I have attended and in addition have made friends and acquaintances.

How can things be improved?

The answer to this question is to be appreciative of the work undertaken by others on your behalf, be forgiving if things are not quite to your liking and, just occasionally, say thank you and well done to the workers. Your attendance at the various business and social occasions is vital to the development of the Association. I am fortunate in having the expertise of my wife to assist me in my role as Secretary and I believe a much improved professional image has been achieved. Our ideas will probably be exhausted by October 2004 and we will be happy to continue as Secretary until then, if the Association so desires. It is important all Committee roles are changed on a regular basis, and I believe three years for the Secretary and Treasurer and two years for a Chair are adequate.

Thank you for reading this brief correspondence and look forward to an even better beekeeping season.

When a Helper is not a Helper … by Bill Bell

Back in the early 1980's I ran a course at the local agricultural college for "Beginners in Beekeeping". The course was to run for ten weeks but, but due to bad weather on two nights, I added a couple of further sessions to the end of the course which put the last evening into late July.

The final evening concerned "Preparation for movement to the heather moors". After removing surplus honey and supers, checking the condition of the queen, brood and stores, installing an empty super and ensuring the hive was secure and bee tight, except for the entrance. I explained the procedure for the move to the 18 mature students. At the end of the evening one of the students came up to me saying he had the use of a two ton truck and that he would like to take his bees to the moors. He asked if I would like some help moving my bees using the two tonner and perhaps he could include his own four hives. As it is heavy work loading and unloading 30 hives on your own, I accepted Fred's offer gratefully. I arranged to meet him at his house the following Friday at about 9 o'clock and advised him to secure his hives ready for stopping up the entrances by the time I arrived. What a nightmare this evening would turn out to be! If only I’d known before hand, I’d have declined the offer politely and struggled on alone.

On arrival at Fred’s house I noticed an old lorry parked in the drive. It looked as if it had chased Rommel round the Western Desert 40 years earlier. However it was evidently a runner. I went to the back door to find it open and the kitchen windows full of bees. Fred’s wife had sealed herself into the lounge and Fred was trying to shoo the bees out of the house. Bees were everywhere. The air was swarming with bees and the hive fronts down the garden were covered in masses of bees. Even the greenhouse was full. Rather than securing the hives and removing the supers the previous evening then allowing the bees to calm down during the day, Fred had been moving the supers that evening. He had been carrying the supers full of honey into the kitchen one at a time, leaving the door open as he journeyed back and forth to collect supers from the hives in the garden. Of course the flying bees had been attracted to the honey and started robbing. Fred had noticed and started to take the remaining supers into the greenhouse. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten the kitchen window was open. Bees continued to invade the house. Meanwhile, Fred’s wife was in hysterics.

We gathered the supers together outside and covered them with a sheet. They were almost full of bees again by this time. By fair means or foul, we cleared the bees from the kitchen and the greenhouse. Then we secured empty supers to the four hives, leaving the entrances open for returning bees. We now proceeded to the covered supers and brushed the robbing bees from the comb frame by frame, placing the brushed combs into a bee tight super, keeping it covered as much as possible. Eventually we had four supers full of honey and empty of bees sealed behind closed doors and windows in the kitchen. We had a quiet cup of tea whilst the bees outside settled into their hives and I collected my thoughts. By the time we had fastened up and loaded the hives onto the lorry ready for departure it was 10.45 - and we hadn’t even started the journey yet.

About half a mile down the road Fred noticed we were low on fuel and so drove onto the forecourt of the local garage, illuminated by high floodlights. As Fred and the attendant filled up, I glanced up only to see insects flying around the lights. Yes, you’ve guessed it, the bees were out. I could see they were escaping from under one of the hives. Knowing this might cause the garage man some concern, I discretely whispered to Fred that we had better get moving and nodded to the lights. Fred agreed and we sped off.

We still had to pick up my four demonstration hives from the college and I mentioned to Fred that there were new extensive road works on the way which involved several chicanes. Rattling along at about 50 mph, we approached one of these obstacles when the wagon lights went out! We could see from the road works lights, but we were still travelling far too fast. Fred was frantically thumping the dashboard (in what I now think was a well practised manner) and I thought we’d had it. The lights flickered back on just in time for Fred to return both hands to the steering wheel in order to negotiate the chicane at speed. Fortunately we did not loose any hives.

As we arrived at the college, we made our way to the bees, but to my horror, Fred decided to go by the footpath, despite being in a two ton truck. I dread to think what damage was done to the little trees lining the narrow path, no doubt planted recently by dedicated horticulture students. After loading up we went to my apiary a few miles away to collect the remaining 26 hives I was going to take on their holidays. Fred, eager to make up for lost time as it was 12.45 by now, ran along my 40 odd hives thumping them on the roof and shouting "I this one going? This one?" I didn’t intend taking them all and had been inspecting some of the colonies that afternoon. Consequently they were still a bit more alert than is perhaps usual. Fred managed to grab one of the hives before I could say anything and swung it round towards the truck. Unbeknown to Fred, this was not one of the hives designated for the moors and unfortunately caught the corner on the gantry. The bottom fell off onto his feet along with a good proportion of the angered bees.

Now we had bees crawling on the grass where we had to walk and aggressive bees running around the fronts of the hives we were going to lift. Fred had started running around removing hive roofs to make them lighter to carry but without checking which were due to be moved. In his haste and clumsiness he was also dislodging the quilts covering the bees causing more pandemonium. I am afraid that by now I was tired, frustrated and a little annoyed. I told him to get into the cab, stay there and leave the poor bees alone. He went.

It took a good half hour to sort out the mess and load up. We left for the moors 40 miles away at 2 o'clock in the morning. An hour or so later we arrived and I left Fred to sulk in the lorry whilst I unloaded my hives and his on my own. The journey back was quiet. I picked up my car and drove home. If I’d declined the "help" I would have expected to be in my bed after midnight. As it was I eventually crawled into bed at 5.30 am. I only hope Fred remembers the experience and learned from his mistakes. I certainly will not. Never again.

Trials and Trepidations of a Learner Apiarist … by Ann Johnson

The two hives created from swarms were a concern to me as I needed to get the colonies large enough to over winter. The first swarm from No 3 hive was magnificent and produced over 30lbs of honey in the latter part of 2002. No 4 hive was slower to build up and therefore created more worries, the bee population was less than No 3 hive (about half the number of bees). Nevertheless at the end of the honey flow all hives were treated for varroa with Apistan. After six weeks on the dot the strips were removed and mouse guards fitted, all the hives had ample stores for the winter and as I explained earlier No. 4 hive was my main concern. Not all the foundation had been drawn out when the hives were shut for the winter. I just had to wait and hope for the best.

I regularly go down my garden and sit and watch the hives. Periodically bees would be flying when the sun shone and this was a good sign. Due to holidaying in the middle of February 2003 and the fact that I needed to prepare the bees for spring rape, (the farmer opposite me has planted 170 acres of rape) and get the queen laying, I decided to feed them before going away. Although when hefting each hive all of them felt as though the honey stocks were good, but I did not want to return from Cyprus to four hives of dead bees. I fed them with sugar syrup - one litre of water to one kilo of sugar, half a gallon to each hive. After one week I removed the feed. Some had been left and none of the hives had taken all the syrup, but at least I could go away happy that they would not die of starvation.

On return in the middle of March it was wonderful to see bees flying from all hives. Throughout the next month both William and I were very busy planning the moves to prevent swarming and getting the hives ready for the rape. My No 2 hive had shown signs of damp on the floor so I replaced the floor with a new one and also put a new brood box on after scraping, scorching, scrubbing and staining one that I was able to purchase from one of my mentors , this is a large brood box and the frames measure 14" × 11½". The queen was laying well, although on transfer of frames I almost lost her. I was trying to find her and going through the frames when William said "there she is, right on the edge of the frame", I jumped and the queen fell off on to the side of the brood box.

Fortunately I was able to place her inside the hive, to my relief and satisfaction. On moving the frames from one box to another I noticed many young bees on the frame with ragged wings, I immediately thought this must be varroa and sought prompt advice as to what to do about the obvious severity of this. It was decided to try the knock down test, and after obtaining Apistan from Thorne’s I placed the strips inside the hive with a piece of card the size of the floor to collect any mites. The first 24 hours produced approximately 50 mites and since this time the varroa strips have remained in and I have collected in total to date 281 mites. This hive is also very full and not much room for the queen to lay, so a half brood box has been fitted, this will also allow space for the new bees to go and produce wax to draw out the combs. I have not seen a rapid increase in deformed bees, so I hope that I have caught the problem in time.

No 2 hive also has its problems. Since the arrival of the hive I have had chalk brood present and this year I must make an effort to rid the hive of this. One of my mentors suggests putting Apiguard in as this seems to prevent the spores of the fungus forming and I will also look to better ventilation of the hive.

By the middle of April there was very little space for the queen to lay and the chalk brood was subsiding. I place a half brood chamber on the hive, the queen excluder and then a super for surplus honey, there are many bees, and the hive, other than the problem of chalk brood is doing very well.

The No 3 hive being the first swarm from No 2 hive last year is magnificent, my inspection on 5th April 2003 discovered seven full frames of brood and not enough space for the queen and all the bees and an extra half brood was fitted. Two weeks later on the 23rd, six frames of the half brood were full of larvae and eggs. I couldn’t believe it, the queen is brilliant. A honey super was then fitted to this hive in readiness for the rape.

Ann’s narrative will continue in the September edition of "Combings".

What you all wanted to know …

A Portuguese custom was told to me the other day. If you are out side and a swarm of bees passes by, if you throw your hat through it , you can claim ownership of the swarm.

Did you know that the collective noun for a group of moles is a labour?

Past Events

Thursday 6 March

Messrs Coleman, Fuller and Johnston met at Murton to discuss the forthcoming auction.

Monday 10 March

A full Committee meeting was held at the Farming Museum at Murton. Among the topics discussed were:

membership of Yorkshire BKA
a financial report from the Treasurer
the summer programme
the forthcoming auction
the forthcoming trip to Stoneleigh
the forthcoming Beginners Class.

It had been suggested to me at our last dinner by Russell Carey and his wife Linda that York Beekeepers has it’s own website. This was thought to be a good idea and to approach Russell and Linda to make further investigations.

Tuesday 11 March

Association meeting (Murton Museum) – There was another good turnout - including faces that I have not seen for a while - to hear Bee Inspector Mike Booth talk about his work as a Seasonal Bee Inspector. He started in 1993 doing 2½ days a week in the Humberside region, but cutbacks have extended his region to cover the whole of Yorkshire. He was the first SBI to use a computer to keep his records and now carries a laptop with him and a satellite navigation system. The satellite navigation system must be a boon to him finding his way round. During the recent foot and mouth out break Mike was taken off beekeeping duties to assist the MAFF in North Yorkshire and then on to North Wales to help there. He runs up to 25 colonies of bees himself and has experienced AFB in his own apiary. AFB spores can lay dormant in stored equipment for twenty years, thus once you have had an out break it can be difficult to completely eradicate.

Mike touched on many points including spreading AFB/EFB by equalising hives in the spring as suggested by Phil Askham. Replacing old black combs as suggested by David Aston last month. The prevention of robbing will stop the transfer of AFB/EFB. He mentioned the Small Hive Beetle - not yet found in this country. It is far worse than wax moth for destroying comb, it is a lot bigger than varroa and there fore readily seen. It is beige in colour. EFB is rife down south and is spreading north. And his last little gem was that creosote is to be taken off the market very soon.

If a white Reliant Robin stops out side your house - put the kettle on - your SBI has arrived to look at your bees. Should you need the services of the Seasonal Bee Inspector, his ‘phone number is 01482 571709.

Monday 7 April

The Beginners Course tutors met at the Bee Pavilion to discuss their respective rolls. The meeting was led by the course organiser Pam Todd.

Wednesday 16 April

Association meeting – Twenty eight members turned out on a fine warm evening. After doing Association business an "Open Forum" was held as our advertised speaker had double booked and was unable to attend. In retrospect, I think we had a better evening. e panel consisted John Acheson, Ken Barran, John Fuller, Bob Hirst, and Pam Todd. In the Chair was David Aston. Topics touched upon were the pro’s and con’s of large single hives against the conventional one and a half. Pollen traps, Chalk Brood, Supercedure of queens when introduced to a colony from Apideas. The possibility of Bayvarol/Apistan affecting the ability of drones and queens to mate properly.

Thursday 24 April

Messrs Coleman, Fuller and Johnston met at Murton to make final arrangements for the forthcoming auction.

Saturday 26 April

Our annual bus trip to the BBKA Convention to Stoneleigh. It was a poor turn out. There were 23 people on the trip of which only 15 were York members. Bob Hirst who put a lot of time and effort into organising the trip posed two questions. Was the 7 am start to early and as the Convention is much the same year after year, should we run the trip every two years? Bob will welcome your thoughts on those questions, or any other points regarding the trip.

Saturday 3 May

Our 4th Annual Auction of beekeeping equipment was held at the Murton Museum of Farming. It was a fine and warm sunny day with 110 lots going under Auctioneer Frank Arnold's hammer. Some of the prices fetched were: eight Waldron queen excluder’s £41, National brood box, three supers, roof, QE and frames one fetched £28 and the other £30. An electric uncapping knife in working order with a comb scraper and a few metal ends went for £26 - a good buy I thought. A four frame nuc box £4. A WBC hive in good condition with inners and a QE went for £40 - another good buy. Hive barrow £39. 8 × 28lb good quality plastic honey tubs - £9. The auction was considered to be a success with no hitches. There were no bees for sale again this year which underlines the general shortage of bees. I think the main factor in helping the auction go so well was the number of members that turned up on the day to lend a hand. I cannot thank them enough.

Tuesday 6 May

The first lesson of these year’s Beginners Course was held in the bee pavilion at Murton. Twenty-one persons have enrolled for this year’s course. It is a long time since we have had such numbers and credit must be given to Pam Todd for her organisation. Margaret Langstaff gave the introductory talk.

Wednesday 21 May

The first evening meeting of this summer’s programme was held at my home at Barmby on the Marsh. Eleven members turned out on a wet evening and, even though we could not look through my bees, informal discussions took place on various aspects of beekeeping equipment followed by a cup of tea and a bun.

For Sale

1lb squat honey jars are available from Colin Hattee ‘phone 01430 860972. Colin will bring jars to meetings or you can pick them up from his house by prior arrangements. Price £25.00 per gross. 1lb screw lids are also available priced at £6.60 per gross.

Observation Hive - takes two National brood frames and one super frame - £25. Contact Pam Todd on 01904 707408.

Forthcoming Events

Saturday 7 June

Preston Park, Stockton – Yorkshire BKA’s Annual Field Day at the Preston Hall Museum.

Wednesday 11 June (1830 hrs)

At Rob Coleman's home apiary. "Plainville Farm", Plainville Lane, Wiggington. From the Northern York ring road, two miles up the B1363 sign posted to Helmsley, first left then first right, sign posted "No through road/Jacobean pub". White farm house just passed the pub on the left. Contact Rob on 01904 762532.

Saturday 21 June (1300 hrs)

At Ken Barran's apiary. Apiary site not yet known. Contact Ken on 01757 708925 nearer the time for more details.

Saturday 5 July (1400 hrs)

At Tom Robinson's apiary. Meet at "The Highwayman" Sheriff Hutton. Bring a picnic. Contact Tom on 01904 626170.

Saturday 5th July

Annual Barbeque – Our annual barbeque will be held at the home of Steve and Margaret Langstaff at 11 Willow Park Road, Wilberfoss. Take the A1079 Hull road out of York. Wilberfoss is five miles from the Grimston Bar roundabout. Take the second turning on the left into Wilberfoss then turn right down Beckside, thence 100 yards to Willow Park on your right. No 11 is the sixth house on your left behind a Leylandii hedge. Festivities will commence at 1730 hrs. Bring your own meat and drink. Everything else will be provided. In case of inclement weather call Steve and Margaret on 01759 380546.

Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 July

Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate.

Saturday 12 July

Thorne's Open Day at Wragby. Shop opens 0900 hrs for bargains. Workshops from 1100 hrs.

Wednesday 16 July (1830 hrs)

Pam Todd and Jenny Smith’s apiary visit. Meet at the "Nags Head" Askham Bryan.

Wednesday 30 July (1830 hrs)

Visit the apiary of William and Ann Johnson, "Orchard House", Marston Lane, Moor Monkton. Take the A59 from York to Harrogate road. Turn left at crossroads into Marston Lane. On the right just before the railway line. Ring 01904 738541 for more information. A map is given for your assistance.

Saturday 24 August to Friday 29 August

38th Apimondia International Congress, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Bob Hirst 01904 706111 has details of a coach being organised by BIBBA going from the UK to Ljubljana.

Wednesday 17 September (1930 hrs)

York + DBKA meeting at Murton. Hilda Cowling will talk on "Beekeeping My Way".

Wednesday 15 October

York BKA Annual General Meeting and Honey Show will be held at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton. Exhibits for the honey show will be recieved from 1915 hrs and the AGM will commence at 1930 hrs.

Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 November

The 72nd National Honey Show will be held at the Kensington Town Hall, London.

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