Combings Magazine   
Issue No 10 ~ June 2004

The Combings is the Quarterly Newsletter of the York & District Beekeepers Association offering a good source of information for our local Association.

We welcome contributions.  Please submit your ideas to the Editor, John Fuller, e-mail: japlusja@btinternet.com

First Words from the Editor ...

I wish to open by congratulating our Chairman David Aston on being appointed Chairman of the National Diploma in Beekeeping Board on the retirement of Geoff Hopkinson.

There was a short article in the February 04 edition of BBKA News where the BBKA had been approached by the National Trust. They want to sell more home produced goods in their shops and ask if the BBKA would set up a joint scheme with them to identify local beekeepers that produce quality honey, and would be prepared to supply local National Trust shops.

A similar article appears in the National Trust’s spring magazine, although honey is not specifically mentioned, they are looking for more home produced specialities.

This could be a good opportunity for a few York members to sell honey at the prestigious outlets that the National Trust operates. They have a shop in Goodramgate and every one of their premises has a shop that you are forced to pass through before you leave.

On the evening of Sunday 22nd February snow fell and laid overnight. On Monday in the early afternoon I saw a bumblebee working the last of a winter flowering honeysuckle with snow still on the ground. If you were out of the cold northerly wind it was a lovely warm sunny day. I walked down to the end of my garden to see what my bees were doing and found only the odd one flying. The warmth on the ground must have brought her out of hibernation; sadly I’m sure she must perish in the cold.

At the Committee meeting held on the evening of Wednesday 3^rd March it was decided that, due to lack of support, your Association will not run a bus trip to the BBKA Spring Convention at Stoneleigh. It was also decided that the Association should not subsidise the trip.

At the regular monthly meeting held at Murton on Wednesday 21st April a change to our Constitution was passed. You had all received a letter proposing the amendment to the Constitution whereby the period of grace for paying your annual subscription be reduced from six months to three months. Chairman David Aston and Treasurer William Johnson addressed the meeting outlining the reasons for the change before being put to a vote. The proposition was passed with out any dissention.

Treasurer William Johnson also told the meeting of an award that the Association had been granted by the National Lottery that he had been pursuing for some time. There is a copy of his announcement elsewhere in this edition of "Combings".

This year’s "Introduction to Beekeeping" course got off to a good start with thirteen attending the first session given by Margaret Langstaff . Being the first lesson I went along to give a hand. Jenny Smith was also present to lend a hand. This year’s course is organised by Sue Hesp. The evening went off without a hitch. I got home in time to catch a glimpse of the lunar eclipse as high cloud started obscuring it.

I noticed in a short article in the February edition of Beecraft written by Gill Smith from Thorne’s (Beehives) stating that under the new honey labelling regulations we must have a "best before" date on the jar. I read through the new regulations and found only vague references to "best before", so I contacted Alan Johnson who wrote the article in December 2003 "Combings". He, in turn, wrote to York Trading Standards for clarification. Their reply, signed by Mrs Penny Coupland, is given below and is unambiguous.

Dear Mr Johnson (10 February 2004)

The Honey (England) Regulations 2003 Best Before Dates

Thank you for your letter of 9 February 2004 enquiring whether jars of honey are required to be labelled with "Best Before" or "Sell By" dates.

Jars of honey are now required to be labelled with a "Best Before" date. (The term "sell by" is no longer a recognised term in food labelling legislation.) This requirement was brought about by the introduction of the new Regulations you mention in your letter, The Honey (England) Regulations 2003. I am unable to provide you with a copy of the Regulations but you can view a copy at the HMSO website www.hmso.gov.uk or obtain a copy from any HMSO bookshop.

The new Regulations, which came into force on 25 September 2003, revoke Regulation 4(2) (c) of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996 which previously made honey exempt from the Food Labelling Regulations. This results in the requirement to now label the honey with a Best Before date. Unfortunately there are no set time limits for how long a Best Before date should be applied to any products, including honey – it is matter for a food manufacturer or packer to determine themselves e.g. by the use of shelf life testing. If The York and District Beekeepers are members of a larger, nationwide organisation, they may be able to provide you with guidance on this matter.

This poses the next question "What period do we use for our best before"? The BBKA in its Newsletter for February 2004 does not shed any light on the subject and states "…the best before date can be anything we choose it to be as long as the honey is in a fit state at the end of this period". Thorne’s in their new catalogue says two to five years.

Editor’s note: It is my opinion that honey should be given a shelf life of no more than two years. What are your thoughts on the matter?

An anomaly with these new regulations is the HMF content of honey; this has been reduced from 80 mg/kg to 40 mg/kg EXCEPT honey from tropical climates. No definition is given regarding tropical climates, but I would think that southern Spain and Greece would fall into this category. Is this one law for us and one law for them?

History of York & District Beekeepers (Part 3) … by Alf Race

These were very lean times and I remember meetings at the Bay Horse hotel in Gillygate and later at St William's College when the attendance at the meetings was as low as five or six including Messrs Leafe, Cass, Graham, Boatfield and myself when apologies had to be made to the lecturer and when perhaps the first three mentioned attenders knew more about beekeeping than the lecturer.

It was in the late 1940's that our membership declined rapidly and in 1952 it was down to 27 with a cash balance of £9. With an annual subscription of three shillings and six pence and a capitation fee paid to the Yorkshire Beekeepers Association of two shillings, it will be seen that the balance left for the York Association of one shilling and six pence (equivalent to seven and a half pence in present day money) did not give much scope for adventurous programmes.

All our lecturers were obtained free through the Education Authorities and films where these could be hired free of charge. We also got a cheap rate for postage on circulars in those days (less than half a penny in present day money) but with only 27 members our annual income after paying capitation fee was about £2 and things were really tight. I remember quite a lot of time being spent on wondering what we got from the County Association for our two shillings per member capitation fee and whether we should cease being members of the Yorkshire Beekeepers Association. This continued to be a very sore point right through the 1950's. We did however arrange some interesting demonstrations and lectures but it was essential that no cost be incurred.

All typing and duplicate work was done free to the Association but I'm afraid at British Railways cost. Such people as Mr G Potter of Wilberfoss and Mr C Etherington also of Wilberfoss, Mr J L Graham of Bishopthorpe, Miss A Thornton of Bide-a-Wee cafe and Mr W Hamilton and Mr W Slinger of Alne being persons I remember who were very generous in their hospitality at demonstrations and lectures. Mr W Hamilton, writer of the well known book on beekeeping, took his aunt’s bees to the moors as a boy, loading four hives on the back of a donkey. On one occasion one became loose and the four hives dropped off the donkey’s back. The bees stung the donkey which bolted and caused Hamilton quite a lot of trouble. I attended a demonstration by Hamilton at Lady Starmer's apiary at Washington in 1939 when he dealt with a hive about to swarm. Later it was found his efforts had not been successful and I remember Lady Starmer saying "Never let that man come near my bees again". All the same he was a very successful beekeeper, held in high esteem. He consulted Mr Cass of Bishopthorpe in writing his chapter on "Queen Rearing".

At this time New Earswick members were being invited to our functions which eventually led to our taking over that Association in 1959.

A Question of Size … John Whittaker

John Whittaker who is Secretary of Barkston Ash BKA gives his thoughts on how much space a colony really needs. This article was circulated to members of the Barkston Ash Beekeepers last summer and was printed in the Yorkshire BKA Newsletter. It is worthy of printing again as it fly’s in the face of current thinking and gives us food for thought.

After keeping bees for several years I have started to question the assumptions upon which my beekeeping methods are based. The first of these is the relative merits of using different sizes of brood. As all my equipment conforms to British National standards I have the choice of:

-  using a single National brood box;
-  using a national brood box plus a super (brood and a half);
-  using a 14 x 12 brood box.

When I started beekeeping I was taught that a thriving colony would require a brood and a half. In addition this arrangement gave a quick method of checking for queen cells as these would be built hanging below the upper box, and so could be spotted by simply lifting the upper box at an angle.

Unfortunately my bees have never filled a brood and a half with brood and would appear to not to have been concentrating when taught about where queen cells should be built. And finding a queen, whether marked or not, is at least twice as time consuming as in a single brood box.

For years I have been willing to accept that my unsatisfactory experience with this arrangement was due to my own shortcomings as a beekeeper, but now, while retaining the above explanation as an option I am now willing to question the method.

For a while I have considered introducing deep brood boxes. It is the cost that I find a discouragement. Frames, boxes and foundation are at least 50% more expensive than for normal national brood boxes. Maintaining both deep brood and normal brood boxes adds to the complications of managing my hives.

So now for some mathematics. The different brood box systems are primarily designed to provide the appropriate number of cells in the brood area. So how many cells are there? I calculated that the area of a worker cell is 23.9 sq mm. The formula for the area of a hexagon is: Area = 6 x 0.5 x 0.866 x d x d where d is the length of the side. By measuring over twenty cells of foundation I was able to determine, with a little trigonometry, that the length of a side of a cell is 3.032mm. No doubt there is an accepted value for this tucked away in a text book somewhere.

The books I have available to me suggest that in a good colony of honey bees, the number of brood cells peaks at about 40,000 in June. I'm sure there will be colonies that perform better than this, but I hope this would be accepted as the basis of discussion. A peak of 40,000 brood would result in a colony of between 70,000 and 80,000 bees.

From the table above it can be seen that even with just a single National brood box less than 70% of the available cells are required for brood. Certainly some of the available cells must be used for pollen, and some will empty, being cleaned for the next batch of eggs. But we do not need, in mid season, combs of granulated honey, damaged comb and two wasted surfaces of frames positioned right up against the sides of the box. So I am led to the conclusion that hive management would be simpler and cheaper if a single brood box were used, and there would be no loss of production provided 2/3 of the available cells were used for brood. So is this possible?

After a lecture given by Ian Molyneux at the Bishop Burton conference I was encouraged to use the Shook Swarm Technique. The technique is well documented. I decided that in my situation the best time to do it was immediately after the rape flow ceased and the rape honey had been removed. This technique was originally developed as a method of disease control (EFB) in which case all the old frames need to be destroyed. Where the technique is used as a part of yearly colony management, such ruthlessness is not necessary.

Supers can be given to other colonies, drone brood and damaged frames go straight in the solar extractor, and worker brood frames given to weaker colonies. If there are queen cells present these can be used to make up a nucleus.

So the result is equivalent to a very strong swarm at the beginning of May. In a normal swarm there are just flying bees; in a shook swarm there are also nurse bees. All instincts to swarm are laid aside. In my limited experience this technique results in an exceptionally vital colony. The queens are soon laying a tight brood pattern across the full brood chamber.

The honey crop has exceeded, by far, what I have achieved from a single colony in the past. Maybe I was lucky and I know this year has been exceptional. The technique has a number of other benefits:

-  many of the viruses and pests are removed with the old frames, so the colony is healthy;
-  the relentless increase in the number of varroa mites is halted by the break in production of brood;
-  the brood cells are full size, resulting in stronger new bees;
-  the new foundation encourages the queen to lay in a tight pattern across the full frame;
-  the procedure gives an ideal opportunity to change your hive set up, or introduce a new queen.

Of course there is a cost: 11 sheets of BS deep foundation £7.50 plus 4 Kg of sugar £2.40 = £9.90 = 5 jars of honey - not too bad. For more definitive information on the shook swarm method you can contact Ian Molyneux at his e-mail address i.molyneux@csl.gov.uk

Shook Swarm Method of Swarm Control … by Ian Molyneux

Ian Molyneux also demonstrated it at the Yorkshire BKA Conference and Colin Hattee has supplied these notes on the method.

Shook Swarm method of Swarm Control as demonstrated by Ian Molyneux at the Yorkshire Beekeepers Conference on Saturday 13^th March 2004

Ian explained this did not guarantee the colony would not swarm but could help prevent it. It also is:

-  a very useful tool to transfer a colony of bees from one type of frame to another;
-  effective in removing EFB;
-  effective in reducing other brood diseases (eg chalk brood, sac brood etc) and also enables replacement of old comb.

Process - A sterilised hive with new frames and foundation is placed at the side of the colony to be manipulated. The Queen is then located, and placed in a cage in the new hive and a Queen Excluder is placed above the floor – this prevents her from absconding. It is possible that she may do so after the bees have released her from her cage, hours or possibly a couple of days later. The sterilised hive, with new frame and foundation, is then placed on the site of the original hive and the bees shaken from the old comb to the new hive. The existing brood, if infected, should be placed in black plastic bags and destroyed, or, if in good health, can be used to support and improve a weaker colony. The Queen should be released after 24 hours if she has not already escaped from the cage. The colony needs to be fed with syrup and left alone for several days, during which time the new foundation will be drawn out and the Queen should be laying prolifically.

Recommendation – This should be undertaken every 4 – 5 years with all your colonies. Ian also advocates the use of ventilated floors and sealed cover boards. There is a lot to discuss here – why not try it yourself and see if the colony is better after this manipulation than your other colonies. I hope the Association can arrange for a demonstration to take place this summer for the benefit of the membership.

York & District Beekeepers Association – Awards for All Grant – April 2004

As you will know we have been awarded a grant of £3000 which we will be able to spend after the 21st April. The areas in which we wish to spend the money were required to be specific and we are expected within reason to stay within these limits. Any variation of any significance has to be advised to the awards committee for their approval. We may spend within the specified amounts only for the benefit of the Association and its members and not for any third party. The list is as follows:

£300 Information packs for new members
£100 Duplicating and printing of information
£50 Membership details
£750 Protective clothing
£150 Posters and diagrams
£500 Bee equipment and hives for demonstration
£250 Garden shed-storage garden equipment
£100 Warning signs
£200 Grass cutter
£100 Uncapping knife
£500 Stainless steel Honey extractor

This list will be circulated to members authorised to procure the items and all invoices and receipts must be forwarded to the Treasurer for payment or reimbursement as appropriate.

William Johnson
Honorary Treasurer

Who’s Who … Frank Arnold

A long standing member of our Association tells us of how he got started keeping bees and some of the people he has met over the years. Frank currently runs 20+ colonies. My Dad bought two hives of bees just after the war. Father had quite a lot of apple trees and soft fruit bushes so he needed bees for pollination. During the war, beekeepers were allowed 10lbs of sugar per hive. This was Winston Churchill’s idea and what a good one it was. Food rationing didn’t finish until 1954. Father hadn’t all the beekeeping equipment, so he left the honey for the bees and we had the sugar.

1954 was my first trip to the North Yorkshire Moors. I went to help my good friend and beekeeper Peter Popplewell to take bees to the heather. Peter’s lorry was an ex WD Ford 2 tonner, bought for £20. 0s 0d from Byrom Park. I have gone to the moors each year ever since apart from the foot and mouth year.

In 1958 after three years in the army with the Royal Engineers, mainly in Germany, I took over Father’s two hives. I was doing some building work at Wilberfoss next to Cecil Etherington and he got me to do some work for him. Cecil, a good friend and beekeeper, got me to join York and District Beekeepers – this would be in 1960 or 1961. Meetings then where held at St Williams College with eight to ten members attending meetings. Norman Boatfield was Chairman, Alf Race was Secretary and Treasurer, (who only missed three meetings in 25 years). Alf was first at meetings and last to leave – he was a wonderful person. Bill Lockwood, Arthur Minney, Bernard Leafe, Mr Cass, Mr Graham (whose wife died through a bee sting) John Rowbottom and Cecil Etherington. All were good attender’s at meetings.

Mr Minney. a good friend and beekeeper, had a Morris 1000 Traveller which took four hives of bees; he had this vehicle for 25 years and did 298,000 miles on one engine. He worked for Rowntrees as an engineer and set up factories in Canada, Ireland and up North.

York + DBKA moved to a room in Purey Cust Chambers. This was achieved through John Acheson who worked there. Membership grew and we had to move to larger premises. We then had a chance to go to Askham Bryan where we stayed for quite a number of years and had many good meetings there. Barry Potter got us there. Our last move took us to Murton Park.

This has been our HQ for many years. We have our bee hut and hives of bees, an observation hive and extracting equipment for our members and a large room for our winter monthly meetings. Summer beekeeping classes are also held there and our Spring Beekeeping Auction which I have had the pleasure and privilege of being the Auctioneer these last three years. Membership peaked at about 100 before varroa struck, it was a sad day when this happened, but with bees coming from down south to the heather and bees going from north to south to apple orchards it was only a matter of time for us to get it. Treatment now is just over half the price it was when varroa first arrived, and with treating each year we are better beekeepers.

This last ten years we have had some wonderful summers and last year 2003 I would rate it as the sunniest and the best in living memory. With oil seed rape, borage and heather there’s a lot of travelling taking the bees to these crops. Nobody needs to fear oil seed rape providing you take your honey off just before it finishes flowering.

Bill Bell has done a very good job with spring training classes and it’s good to see new members each year. John Acheson has also worked hard over the years. Others who have given many hours to the Association are Ken Barran, Rob Coleman, Dick Gardner, Terry Nundy, David Aston, Tom Robinson, John Rowbottom and Bob Hirst.

Here are some of Frank’s tips to make beekeeping easier.

I use 9" × 3" alloy sliding vents situated in the brood box, these prevent mice getting into the hive and also make it easy to fasten the hive up. Put your queen excluder on top of your crown board in the autumn and take it off at spring. Every school should have an observation hive.

Swarms – be prepared. You need a deep lift with combs, place this on top of a crown board on one of your hives and place another crown board on top and use the lid from the hive, this saves you a floor and a roof. Either have hole in the deep brood box or pack up with ?" piece of wood. Bees collect 3lbs of nectar and have to drive off 2lbs of moisture to finish with 1lb of honey.

Horoscopes … by Madam Debbie

GEMINI (22 May – 22 June)

You are a chatterbox! Communicative, witty and sociable, intellectual and quick minded. With a youthful outlook and a lively personality you demand constant change and variety in your life. At worst you are a terrible flirt and an awful gossip. The sunny yellow colour of French Sunflower honey suits your bright disposition. A strong flavoured, set honey it will get your day off to a cheerful start.

CANCER (23 June – 23 July)

You love your home and family! A caring, kind and sympathetic person and sometimes a little shy. Ruled by your emotions you have a tendency to worry. You are however tenacious and shrewd in business. Moodiness and hypersensitivity are your worst faults. The sweet mild flavour of acacia honey matches your delicate emotions. However a spoonful of this will soon lay your worries to rest.

LEO (24 July – 23 August)

Love to party and have lots of fun! Warm hearted, magnanimous and generous. You're a born organiser who is creative and enthusiastic. You like a sense of drama in your life and like to look good. At your worst you are bossy and like showing off. Dark, wild thyme honey is dramatically delicious, of medium consistency and amber in the colour the strong herb flower reflects your warm and generous character.

VIRGO (24 August – 23 September)

You analyse everything! You love facts and know all sorts of rubbish about everything. Practical, reliable and organised - a true perfectionist. You can be quite modest and shy. At your worst you can be over critical, fussy and a worrier. Don't be too hard on yourself. The 'not quite clear' heather honey is how people sometimes see you. However as with this golden amber rich, chewy honey, any effort proves worthwhile.

What you all wanted to know …

The collective noun for a group of magpies is a tiding and a group of swans is a herd.

Past Events

Wednesday 18 February

This was our regular monthly meeting at Murton. There was a good turn out to hear Selwyn Wilkins from the Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton speak on "Integrated Pest Management". It is 10 years since varroa was first found in the UK and predictably it is now becoming resistant to pyrethroids. We now have to look to other methods to combat the pest with chemical treatments being the last resort. Everything Selwyn mentioned revolved round knowing how many mites are present in the colony. Open mesh floors seemed to be the best way of counting how many mites have fallen over a given period. Open mesh floors in use allow any live mites that fall off bees to drop to the ground and die. With a solid floor they will be able to attach themselves to a passing bee and continue as before. The easiest way to keep a check on your varroa population is to insert a shallow frame at one end of your brood box. The bees will draw drone comb from the bottom bar which the queen soon lays eggs. Varroa mites enter the cells just before the cells are sealed. If you leave the comb another week until the drone larvae reach the purple eye stage, it will then be easier to uncap. Any varroa mites will then be readily visible on the white bodies of the larvae.

Another method recommended by Selwyn to rid the colony of excess mites is to dust them with unperfumed talcum powder or icing sugar. The theory is the power makes the mites loose their foot hold. Pyrethroid resistant mites have not been found in our area yet, so Apistan/Bayvarol can still be used effectively.

Editors note: I use a shallow frame in a deep box to trap drones. It works well and does not require any extra equipment or extra visits to your bees. The cost of a National Varroa floor from Thorne’s is £40 (2003 prices). For newcomers to the craft it would be a good idea to purchase these as you go along.

Tuesday 24 February

Bill Bell organised a trip round Sam Smith’s Brewery at Tadcaster. Twenty-three of us met in the Angel and White Horse public house which is part of the brewery complex. We were split into two parties to be shown how they still brew beer in the old traditional way, the five grey Shire horses used for delivering beer round Tadcaster and for show, the Coopers shop where an apprenticeship is four years, and, very much a man’s thing – a refrigeration compressor built in 1920 and acquired by Sam Smith’s when Hull Brewery closed down. It was a massive piece of machinery driven by a large DC motor, belt and a flywheel that must have been 10 feet in diameter. Finally we sampled their produce in the bar. When I left it was snowing hard with buildings and cars covered in snow. It was an evening with a difference – nice not to have a bee related topic.

Wednesday 3 March

There was a Committee meeting held at the Murton Farming Museum where it was decided that because of lack of support we would not run the bus trip to Stoneleigh. Russell Carey reported that our website has had 567 hits. Sue Hesp reported that she had sent out 24 letters to people who had shown an interest in keeping bees, inviting them to this year’s "Introduction to Beekeeping" classes. Other topics discussed were: the make up of the panel for April’s Open Forum; the purchase of coloured vest to identify stewards at our auction in May; Rob Coleman and Bob Hirst were charged with putting together the summer programme and the weekend manning of the pavilion at Murton.

Wednesday 17 March (St Patrick’s Day)

We had a good turnout this evening for our "Open Forum" meeting. The panel was made up of John Acheson, Ken Barran, Bill Bell and Tom Robinson with Rob Coleman in the chair. Many topics were touched upon including:

When is the earliest that queens are ready?
How to requeen a bad tempered colony.
Home-reared queens versus bought-in queens.
When removing honey, bees can detect the smell of honey if ventilated floors are used, thus setting off robbing.
Through ventilation as opposed to no ventilation.
The reluctance of bees to use stored heather honey during the winter.

Wednesday 21 April

Our regular monthly meeting saw an above average attendance to listen to Vera Rider talk to us on "Cosmetics and Bees". The first thing Vera stressed when making polish of any sort was to use only genuine turpentine. To use white spirit (usually as an economy measure) gave you a product with an awful smell.

Here is her formula for furniture cream:

1 pint genuine turpentine
5 ounces beeswax
½ pint boiling water
1 ounce pure soap powder

Method: Dissolve the beeswax in the turpentine in a water bath. Mix the soap powder with the water and heat until it is the same temperature as the wax/turpentine mixture, then blend the two together. Allow to cool a little before pouring into containers.

Vera produces a wide range of cosmetics and stresses all the time to use only the best quality ingredients including your cleanest wax. She produces moulded candles which she sells by weight – a little honey bear for £2 and a small owl for £3. Rolled foundation candles made from a single sheet of shallow foundation she sells for £1 and two sheets rolled together for £2.40. The appeal of rolled candles can be improved by wrapping them in cellophane with the wick end tied with a bow made from florist’s ribbon.

Tuesday 4 May

Margaret Langstaff gave the introductory talk at this year’s "Introduction to Beekeeping" course at Murton, followed by making frames and lighting a smoker. Heather Aston of Hutton Wandesby, ichard Blades of South Duffield, eather Burkit of Osbaldwick, Ray Childs of Wilberfoss, Polly Kirk of Barton-on-Humber, Charles Lamb of Heslington, Rachel McBride of Eskrick, Danielle Palmour of York, Chris Robinson of Barton-le-Willows, Chris Simpson of Thirsk, Norman Thompson of Seaton Ross and Kate Wallace of Bishopthorpe attended this first lesson. Edmund Downs and Geoff Norton attended the second lesson.

Saturday 15 May

York + DBKA’s 5^th Annual Auction was held at Murton on a fine warm day. Lots for sale were down on last year, but nonetheless, there was a good selection. Four honey extractors were for sale, two of which were small hand-powered table top models, both in good condition. One fetched £20 and the other £50. Another interesting extractor was an early model Thorne’s Mk II, this was knocked down for £42. Also of interest was a Mountain Grey heather press in first class condition went for £32. Three vertical sided WBC type hives with all the innards in good condition apart from some easily rectifiable rot on the legs only fetched £5 each. Hives such as these usually command a price ten times this as a garden feature. The rest of the lots where the usual floors, brood boxes, frames, and queen excluders.

For Sale

1lb squat honey jars with screw lids. £28.00 per gross. Lids are available at £6.60 per gross. Your order can be brought to meetings or collected by prior arrangement. Contact Colin Hattee on 01430 860972.

Forthcoming Events

Saturday 5 June – Yorkshire BKA Field Day

Hosted this year by Richmond BKA and held at Foxglove Covert Local Nature Reserve. This is former Ministry of Defence land and is situated behind Cambrai Barracks in Catterick Garrison. Apart from beekeeping activities, there will be scheduled guided walks in the Reserve, pond dipping and moth trapping will also feature. There will be a bookstall and two equipment suppliers present. Admission is by free ticket obtainable from Donna Parker, Dale Farm House, Worton, Leyburn, DL8 3ET. Telephone 01969 650550.

Wednesday 9 June (1900 hrs)

The second of this year’s apiary visits will be at the home apiary of Colin and Debbie Hattee, "Greenside Lodge", Little End, Holme-on-Spalding Moor. Take the A614 Howden road out of the village, turn right at the Cross Keys pub. Their house is at the end of the lane.

Wednesday 23 June (1900 hrs)

Visit one of Margaret Langstaff’s apiaries. Site not yet known. Contact Margaret on 01759 380546 nearer the time.

Saturday 3 July (1730 hrs onwards)

Our Annual Summer Barbeque will be held at the home of Colin and Debbie Hattee. Bring your own meat, sweets and drink. All salads, disposable plates, cutlery and glasses will be provided by the Association. In case of inclement weather, contact Colin and Debbie on 01430 860972. Please confirm your attendance no later than Friday 25 June.

Wednesday 7 July (1900 hrs)

Rob Coleman’s apiary visit. "Plainville Farm", Plainville Lane, Wiggington. From the North York ring road, two miles up the B1363 signposted to Helmsley. First left then first right signed "No through Road/Jacobean pub". White farm house just past the pub on the left. Rob’s ‘phone number is 01904 762532.

Saturday 10 July (0900 hrs)

Thorne’s Open Day at their showroom at Wragby. 0900 hrs start with workshops starting at 1100 hrs.

Wednesday 21 July (1900 hrs)

Visit Jenny Smith’s apiary. Meet at the Nags Head public house in Askham Bryan. Jenny’s ‘phone number is 01904 706941.

Wednesday 21st July

Driffield Show at the Driffield Showground.

Wednesday 4th August (1900 hrs)

The last of this year’s apiary visits will be at William and Anne Johnson’s apiary at their home – "Orchard House", Marston Lane,Moor, Monkton. Take the A59 Harrogate road out of York. Turn left at the cross roads and then right immediately before the level crossings. Their telephone number is 01904 738541.

Wednesday 4th August

Yorkshire BKA Honey Show in association with the Egton Horse and Agricultural Society. Exhibits can be left prior to the show at Mr Jefferson’s Apiary, ‘phone 01947 840723, or with Mr Ivor Flatman, ‘phone 01924 257089. Judging to start at 09.30 prompt.

Thursday 5, Friday 6 and Saturday 7 August

Pickering Traction Engine Rally. For more information ring Ray Hurdus on 01929 257196. This will be a good day out for steam fans.

Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August

Leeds BKA Honey Show will be held in conjunction with the Leeds Flower Show at Leeds Boys Grammar School, Harrogate Road, Leeds. All the usual classes plus photographs and one class voted by members of the public. More information from Terry Beddows on 0113 2688231. Members of other districts are always welcome to visit Leeds BKA apiary at Temple Newsam House.

Wednesday 15 September (1930 hrs)

Lester Quayle of Beverley BKA will tell us about "Beekeeping my Way".

Wednesday 20 October

York Beekeepers Annual General Meeting and Honey Show. Exhibits for the Honey show will be accepted from 1900 hrs.

Thursday 21, Friday 22 and Saturday 23 October

The National Honey Show is being held at its new venue – the RAF Museum, Hendon, which is close to junction 2 of the M1 motorway. For us coming from the north, probably a little easier to get to than previous venues in central London. For more information contact: Reverend Francis Capener, 1 Baldric Road, Folkestone, CT20 2NR. Telephone 01303 254579 or e-mail: nathon@zbee.com. One of the major obstacles to exhibiting at the National is getting your exhibits to and from the show. This year Thorne’s will take your exhibit to the show from their head office in Wragby and hand it over to a steward for staging. After the show they will bring it back to Wragby. This is free of charge, all you have to do is get it to Wragby by Monday 15 October and pick it up afterwards. I think this is a generous offer by Thorne’s, for it could entail a lot of work for them.