While typing Ann Johnson’s contribution to December’s "Combings", I could not help but sympathise with her. When you have been in the craft for a few years and you have found answers to the questions she asks, you soon forget the struggle you had finding this information and listening too often to conflicting answers from other beekeepers. It is what you learn in those first few formative years that stays with you for the whole of your beekeeping life. It is up to old hands to help new comers as much as possible so that they stay beekeepers for a long time.

In the December edition of "Combings" I said that Bill Bell was relinquishing his position as Education Officer. I have found out from him that he joined the York Association in 1965 and was on the Committee prior to 1975. He was Chairman from 1980 to 1982 when John Acheson (more of whom later) took over. His stint as Education Officer started in 1971. He held classes for beginners at his home apiary on an annual basis for many years - many of you will have started keeping bees under Bill's guidance. One of Bill's out apiaries was a short drive from his home over estate roads. It was by a lake with ducks and geese on it - with no traffic noise and bees buzzing in the back ground it was a blissful spot.

Also in the December edition of "Combings" I mentioned a friend of mine who had found dog hairs in honey he had been bottling. Last week I opened a tub of rape honey to find quite a number of thrips on the surface of the honey. Thrips are less than ?" long with thin bodies and black in colour which makes them stand out well on the white surface of honey, where, with a little patience they can be picked off one by one while your honey is still hard. The alternative is to warm your honey and skim the whole surface. Thrips are also known as harvest flies or thunder bugs, appearing as they do in August when grain crops are being harvested and when thunder storms are about. There are 180 or so British species of thrips and probably the one we come across most will be the Grain Thrip (limothrips cerealium) which attacks grain crops and will be thrown into the air when the grain is harvested, to be carried considerable distances on the wind.

On the 1 December 2002 I was walking round my garden and was surprised to see crocus and daffodil bulbs an inch through the ground. No doubt this is due to the unusually mild autumn we have experienced. Snowdrops, aconites and crocus are an early source of pollen, when the weather allows bees to fly.

Volunteers are required to man the Murton Bee Pavilion at weekends during June, July and August to spread the word to the public about bees and beekeeping. You do not have to be an expert, but be able to convey the basics to visitors with no knowledge what so ever about bees. The bonus for your time is to able to sell your honey to visitors. To avoid any accusations of over pricing or under pricing it was decided by your Committee that a fair price for honey is £2.50 per pound and you are asked to go along with this. Any time you can spare will be greatly appreciated. Contact Colin Hattee on 01430 860972.

Volunteers are also wanted to help for short periods at the beginners classes. It has been found that when a hive has been opened and the tutor wishes to point some thing out, it becomes difficult for the tutor if there are half a dozen students all wanting to look at the same time. A volunteer would take half of the group to demonstrate the point being discussed, thus taking the pressure off the tutor. Contact Pam Todd on 01904 707408.

More volunteers are wanted as mentors to new beekeepers. The idea is for you to be on the end of the telephone whenever a novice wants advice. You may on occasions have to visit the beginner’s apiary. Every endeavour would be made to pair you with some one in you vicinity. Contact Pam Todd on 01904 707408.

Members are being sought to supply a five frame nucleus to those on the beginner’s class who want them. You will be paid for your nucleus. As yet no price has been set. The nucleus must not be on old frames or black comb. Above all, the bees must be DOCILE. Again, contact Pam Todd on 01904 707408 if you can help. It will be wanted towards the end of May.

You will have gathered from the forgoing that the Association is running a course for beginners again this year with Pam Todd organising it. It is being run at the Murton Bee Pavilion, on Tuesday evenings, with the first session being held on the 6 May, commencing at 1830 hrs. Pass the word round.

A more adventurous idea was discussed at the last Committee meeting to organise trips for small parties to beekeeping events such as the annual sale at Veenendal in Holland or visit Michael MacGiolla Coda's breeding apiary in Southern Ireland. If you are interested or have any thoughts on the subject, please let the Committee know.

I am sorry to have to report the death, after illness of Alan Hawes on Saturday 25th January. Alan was a member of the Leeds Beekeepers and also Barkston Ash Beekeepers. He held Office with the Yorkshire BKA. He was a good speaker and has spoken to us at York.

On a happier note, Michael Badger, also a member of the Leeds and Barkston Ash Associations was awarded the MBE in the New Years Honours List for "Services to the British Beekeeping Industry". Michael is the immediate past President of the British BKA, he has been both President and Chairman of Leeds BKA and was responsible for the re formation of the Barkston Ash Association some years ago. He has also held High Office in the Yorkshire BKA. Michael is coming to speak to speak to us on Wednesday 16th April. His topic - "Beekeeping and Heather Honey Production". A talk not to be missed given by a gentleman of distinction!

It was Friday 7 February - the morning of our Annual Dinner, when I saw a real indication the better weather was on it’s way. Just out side my bedroom window I have a heather bed - it doesn’t look much to me just now, but to a Collared Dove it must have been heaven, for I watched her for fifteen minutes collecting nesting material and taking into next door's conifer tree. A scene I always look forward to at this time of the year.

Healthcheck … by David Aston

Although it is only March when you read this, the beekeeping season will have started and it is well worth thinking through the health monitoring regime you intend to follow for your bees in the coming season. Part of this regime should be a programme for the progressive replacement of brood comb in your colonies. Old brood comb becomes brown and contorted and you will see the proportion of the comb that can be used by the bees for brood rearing or the storage of pollen or honey becomes progressively restricted. The brown colour of the comb is caused by the continual addition of faecal matter produced by the larvae and the cocoons from previous generations of larvae. If the larvae have been diseased then there is every reason for some of the cells in the comb to harbour disease that could infect the successive generations of larvae that will be raised in the comb.

Nosema is a particular disease that is endemic in the colonies of bees, and the main strategy for keeping it under control is to reduce the levels of the resistant spores present in the combs. Nosema is a spore forming organism belonging to the Microspora, and the single celled organism lives and multiplies in the gut of the adult bee and impairs the digestion of pollen thereby shortening the life of the bee. Nosema is also intimately linked with the occurrence of a number of viral diseases including Black Queen Cell Virus, Chronic Bee Paralysis and Filamentous and Y viruses. One method of dealing with a colony with Nosema is to carry out a complete change of the brood combs by transferring the colony onto a complete set of new foundation. This is known as "the Bailey frame change" and was proposed by Lesley Bailey, the famous expert on bee diseases. Good disease control relies on the principles of integrated pest management, one of which is to continually take steps to reduce the incidence of the disease, in this case the spores.

It is good practice to change the brood combs every three or four years, or sooner if they become distorted or covered in bee excrement. You should try to introduce a rolling programme of comb replacement in each brood box, perhaps three or four frames per year per brood box. Selected frames should be progressively moved to the edge of the colony and clean frames fitted with foundation should be inserted to the edge of the brood area, taking care not to split the brood nest. The old combs should be melted down or disposed of, but should not be left lying around for other bees to find and transfer any disease from the old combs into their colonies. Old comb left lying around also attracts wax moth. Frame changes are also now increasingly recognised as being effective in helping to reduce the effects of European Foulbrood.

Personal Safety …

At the start of a new beekeeping season let me remind you of your own safety when working alone in out apiaries. Firstly, leave word where you are going and what time you anticipate returning. If you have a mobile ‘phone take it with you with the battery fully charged and carry it on your person. Some apiary sites I have visited have very uneven surfaces - headlands for instance when bees have been taken to rape or borage were it is all to easy to twist an ankle. Using power tools to cut back undergrowth presents it’s own problems, particularly if your field of vision is restricted by wearing a veil because of the proximity of bees that don’t like the noise or smell of the hedge cutter you are using. GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE.

Personality Portrait … by Vice President John Acheson

In 1939 I was evacuated from Leeds to a market garden in Ripon. I do not remember how many hives they had, but they were just returning from the heather. I, with two other evacuees were given the job of sorting the sections (the early form of selling honey in the comb). Those which were fully sealed were prepared for sale, the rest were broken up to be pressed - after we had taken a bite!. By Christmas we were all back home in Leeds.

It was not until 196? that I resumed contact with bees, when I purchased two cottager hives at a sale at Scagglethorpe. I put them on my allotment and called in every day on my way home from work to see how much honey they had collected. After two weeks one of them swarmed - panic - what should I do? I had already joined the York Association and a kind member came and sorted me out. I have often repeated the advice which he gave me "Give them some work to do".

In those days the North Riding employed Bill Beilby (of Catenary Hive fame) as Bee Advisory Officer based at Askham Bryan College. There were regular demonstrations and classes together with visits to other apiaries. I attended as many of these as possible in order to learn as much as I could. Also I am always grateful to Frank Arnold and Cecil Etherington for my introduction to bees on the heather and subsequently pressing the combs. I was very pleased to be given Cecil’s library following his death, especially books by Wedmore and Mace which became my "bibles" and I still find useful.

Alf Race had been association Secretary and practically everything else for many years, and although we had a reasonable sized membership it was not a very wealthy Association. A room was hired in St Williams College for meetings.

I was able to arrange for future meetings to be held at Purey Cust Chambers. With more space the numbers increased from about ten to over 40 on occasions. Eventually over crowding forced us to hold meetings at Askham Bryan College.

In due course I was appointed Chairman and when the Museum of Farming was being set up, I was approached to help them with the beekeeping corner. Brian Horner (who managed the Museum for a few years) obtained funds from the Parkinson Trust for the pavilion, and we went to Wragby to scrounge the equipment from Les Thorne, who proved to be very generous.

The Bee Pavilion was manned by our members nearly every week end in the summer. We talked with the public as well as selling Members honey. A small surcharge on sales built up a sizeable fund for the Association.

The BBKA did not appear to be taking notice of "A Celebration of British Food and Farming Year" which was held in July 1989 so the York Association decided to run their own Convention at Murton Museum. Joe Bird from Malton was Chairman at this occasion. We obtained support from all the major equipment suppliers, and famous names came to lecture.

Our Secretary then was Hilary Baul, who went to teach in Portugal, and when a volunteer was asked for to replace her there was a deathly hush. In the end, I let myself in for the job on the understanding that it was for one year only.

On the beekeeping side, my understanding had increased and I had gradually developed a dislike for some of the aggressive bees there were around. One day Peter Bates (a beginner), asked me to help with his hive which he thought was about to swarm. We found about ten beautiful queen cells in this nice quiet colony, and decided to raise them in nuclei. That was the start of an overriding interest.

We visited the NBU at Luddington for courses on queen raising, and even bought breeder queens from them, but the best and nicest queen was a dark one which Peter fetched from Whitby. Tom Robinson joined us, and then Peter left York. In the meantime we had developed from half a dozen hives to about fifty. We were selling about 200 queens a year plus eight or ten nuclei, some of which travelled as far as the Orkneys. Due to all this activity we were buying a lot of equipment, so, in order to get it at a reasonable price we started a shop in the Bothy adjacent to my home at Crockey Hill. We never made a fortune out of the sales, but I believe we provided a useful service.

Inbetween working for a living and helping my wife bring up two girls, I have always enjoyed my beekeeping and meeting other beekeepers, and I have relieved many people of unwanted swarms. I am also very proud to have been honoured by the York Association when elected to be an Honoury Vice President.

Editors note: John took over the Chairmanship from Bill Bell in 1982 until 1984 when he handed over to Barry Potter.

John mentions Joe Bird in his narrative. Joe was a carpenter by trade and he was responsible for supplying the timber and fitting the cupboards you see at Murton today. The plumbing was done by Clive Worley - a plumber by trade. Clive and Joe are no longer members of our Association. I cannot remember at this stage who did the electrical work. There was a group of half a dozen or so that assisted doing the painting and other odd jobs.

The Association had a separate bank account for the bee pavilion that paid for any maintenance and items for sale in the shop. The Farming Museum closed down for a short while and in 1992 £1552 was transferred from the pavilion account to a savings account where it still resides. At the end of June 2002 the Association had over £4,000 in it’s coffers. I reckon that with accumulated interest the pavilion account represents half of this amount.

The siting of hives and what forage can be planted … by Peter Green

I suppose that most beekeepers actively look for somewhere to put their bees in order for them to take advantage of whatever is there for them. This can mean siting them in a particular place which is rich in flowers or near beneficial arable crops, or even in the vicinity of useful trees.

Hives can be transported during the season to various places where seasonal plants are available. The alternative is to provide a bee friendly environment where the bees actually live.

My bees are kept on a farm belonging to my Father in Law. Most of the land is let out to a neighbouring farmer who grows a rotation of arable crops which fit in with the larger picture of his total farming activity. Occasionally we are lucky and get a crop of oil - seed! A few years ago he grew borage, which is becoming a bit of a rarity, but the good thing about borage that it self seeds, and we have the stuff growing in various corners that the sprayer and the plough cannot reach.

After last harvest I persuaded the farmer to give up a third of an acre at the corner of the field near the bees. This is an awkward corner and it incorporates two telegraph poles. It is a triangular piece, and we call a piece of land that shape "short rows" or "gayes" or "garings".

I worked it up after the harvest and planted it with mustard, which very soon came into flower and was very popular with the bees. I also noticed that there is a solid layer of self - sown borage growing with, and protected by the mustard. I am hoping the borage will come into flower next summer.

As well as the borage, I would like to plant a variety of seasonal flowers, perhaps round the outside, so that I can put oil- seed rape and mustard in the middle. This little corner will also attract both game and wild-life and insects, and should become a very interesting environment for a wide range of creatures.

I think this is a quite exciting project, but I am a bit unsure as to the best and most suitable plants, seasonal and perennial, that should be planted. The land is quite light, situated on the edge of the Wolds, and it contains typical Wolds chalk. I would be very grateful for advice on what to plant. It is an opportunity to provide a good natural environment, but it is very important to grow the right sort of plants to be of maximum benefit for the bees. I hope this little article will be read by some one who is able to give some advice, and it will provide some more material for "Combings".

If you can help Peter in any way, you can contact him on 01759 301386.

Trials and Trepidations of a Learner Apiarist … by Ann Johnson

After feeding the bees in both hives much activity followed, the queens were laying well and the brood cells quickly filling up, also there were many foraging bees. I had ready the spare hive just in case a swarm emerged and during three weeks in April the weather became so wet and windy that we were prevented from entering the hives. In early May an extra brood box ( a super ) was placed on my No 1 hive to enable the queen to have more laying space, but it was felt by my mentors that the No 2 hive would be OK as the number of bees in here was far less than in No 1.

At the end of the wet and windy period we inspected the hives. The honey super on No 1 hive was very heavy and some already capped, we were put on the alert to keep an eye on this so as to remove it as soon as one third to one half was capped. I then ordered a porter escape to get bees out so that we could remove the honey. No 2 hive was also filling up and the bee population seemed to have increased very quickly. The porter escape was fitted to the No.1 hive and we extracted 29lbs of honey. This is probably the most exciting event we encountered during our first year. We didn’t think we would get any honey in the first year - I don’t know why, only that you are not aware of the bees annual behaviour until ou actually keep your own bees. It was a magical time to think that our little bees had produced this amount of surplus honey for us.

Our No 2 hive proved even better and on 31 May we removed the super and extracted 31lbs. On removing the super it was apparent that there were far too many bees for the space they were using and immediately placed a super on top of the brood box to give extra room. Alas it was too late, two days after extracting the honey we were walking down the garden - I often do this to ensure all is well - when "Oh no" I said, William said "What's wrong now?", this is because I am always finding some problem. There hanging on a conifer branch was what looked like a large brown rug. It was a swarm. Help, panic, never had to do this before, first time again. Like Jones on Dads Army - keep calm, keep calm.

We first took a white sheet and placed on the ground under the branch, then a box was placed on the sheet under the branch holding the swarm. Knocking the branch encouraged most of the bees to fall into the box; I just prayed that the queen was there. We left the box for a time and at about 6pm we returned to find that almost all the bees had gone into the box. The box was then tipped over the prepared hive after removing three central frames, these where later replaced when all the bees where housed. Next morning they were flying and seemed quite happy as if they had been there for months, but then I had the next trauma to deal with.

I was instructed to go through hive No 2 and take out all queen cells but for two and leave these to hatch out. In the event of both hatching the new queens would fight for supremacy. I removed about 12 queen cells some of which were ready to emerge, and left what I thought was just two cells and closed the hive. But it was not to be. Eight days after this procedure there, on another conifer was another swarm. I followed the same procedure as before and hived this swarm in my No 4 hive, but it contains far fewer bees than the first swarm. I checked the hive and could find no other queen cells. What is happening to this hive? I felt convinced that no more such activity could follow again, but it did four days later - swarm number three. I didn’t want another hive so this was given to a colleague who was on the bee keeping course at Murton with us. Although traumatic we needed to go through this experience and learned a great deal, we now know we have to be two steps ahead of the bees and it really is mismanagement if such occurrences happen. Next year I will be ready. After the rape honey, supers were placed on all hives for the summer flow. Hive No 3 was by the end of June in good condition and the queen was laying well. All the new foundation had been drawn out and honey was being stored in the super. Throughout this time our No 1 hive never swarmed, this was because we gave extra room for the queen to lay and for the increased number of bees to wander the latter - so important if the weather is bad and the bees are confined to the hive. We have also had our fair share of stings, William was walking down the garden on one occasion when a bee stung him on the ear, this came up like cauliflower and was very painful. But from this we learned another lesson - that it is necessary to check on the route the bees are taking to forage so that you can avoid crossing this path, for if you do and they bump into you then you are likely to be stung. On another occasion he was stung in his hair, again very painful. I went to empty the wheel barrow on the rubbish pile and was stung on the hand. I then realised that many bees were crossing the heap to forage and so I had to avoid this area until they were in the hive for the night.

It’s all good stuff and an enormous learning curve.

Tips to file away for future use … Debbie Hattee's

Storing Honey - Store honey at room temperature - the kitchen cupboard or pantry shelf is ideal. Storing honey in the ‘fridge accelerates the honeys crystallisation.

Crystallisation is the natural process in which the liquid honey becomes solid.

Honey - safe for babies? The ancient Egyptians were aware of honey's diverse uses and it is still well known for it culinary, medicinal and healing properties. It is a food that supplies easy energy, vitamins and trace elements. However, honey should not be introduced into a babies diet until after their first birthday. It contains Botulism spores that, whilst harmless to adults, can cause severe food poisoning in babies. Check with your GP or health visitor to get their recommendations about when it is safe to include this food.

Honey may be good for your heart - Six newspapers in August 2002 reported that taking honey may improve levels of antioxidants in the blood. This reporting is generally accurate. However, limitations in the way the study was designed mean that only tentative conclusions can be drawn that honey might be good for the heart. All the newspapers reported that honey has been found to contain anti oxidants and, as such, that honey may be good for the heart. In addition, four newspapers reported that mead, an alcoholic drink made from honey, may have a similar effect. The newspaper stories were based on a study which assessed the effect that drinking a mixture of buckwheat honey and water or black tea had on the levels of antioxidant's in the blood (4 tablespoons buckwheat honey dissolved in 16 ounces of either water or black tea). While all six newspapers reported that honey may have similar antioxidant effects as fruit and vegetables, only the Daily Mail commented that equal weights of honey and vegetables would be need to be eaten to get the same effect. The Daily Mail, The Independent and the Daily Express reported that the antioxidant levels in mead were equivalent to white wine but there were lower levels of antioxidant's in red wine. The Independent quoted a press release by the American Chemical Society stating that honey may reduce cholesterol but this was not substantiated by the research.

A quick way to enjoy Pork Chops:

Ingredients:

4 pork chops
2 teaspoons honey
3 tablespoons cranberry jelly
4 ground cloves

Method:

Fry off the chops in hot fat to brown them, season and cover with a mixture of the remaining ingredients. Cook for about 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve with a crisp mixed salad and jacket potato.

What you all wanted to know …

The world’s first teacher of beekeeping was in Greek mythology, his name was Aristaeus. He was the son of the god Apollo and the nymph Cyrene. Born in Libya and reared by the Seasons who fed him on nectar and ambrosia. He was worshipped as the protector of hunters, herdsmen and flocks and as the inventor of beekeeping and olive culture. When Aristaeus tried to seduce Eurydice, wife of the poet and musician Orpheus, she fled from him and received a fatal snake bite. The nymphs punished him by causing all his bees to die; but he appeased them with a sacrifice of cattle, from whose carcasses emerged new swarms of bees. Aristaeus was learned in the arts of healing and prophecy. He wandered over many lands sharing his knowledge and curing the sick. He was the first to teach the management of bees. He is widely honoured as a beneficent god and was often represented as a youthful shepherd carrying a lamb.

The queen marking colour for 2003 is RED.

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 arrangement. Price £25.00 per gross.

Past Events

Wednesday 27 November 2002

Messer's Coleman, Fuller and Johnston, the Honey Show sub committee, met to discuss the recent Honey Show and any improvements that could be made.

Tuesday 7 January 2003

The Committee met at Murton. Some of the matters discussed where our annual auction, the bus trip to Stoneleigh, unpaid subscriptions and the summer programme.

Wednesday 15 January

This was a well attended meeting to hear Mr Tony Eayrs talk on making mead. Mr Eayrs has the imposing title of "Co-ordinator for the Yorkshire Federation of Amateur Wine and Beermakers". Don’t let that put you off, he has won prizes for his mead at County level and know’s his subject inside out. I have been making wine and mead for some time now and consider myself competent in the art but was still able to come away with a few ideas. The best part of the evening was tasting the samples he had brought. A dry and a sweet mead and then two more, one flavoured with elder berries and the other with orange blossom.

This is Mr Eayrs recipe for making mead:

Ingredients:

3lb honey
3 teaspoons citric acid
1 teaspoon Minavit nutrient
1 packet Gervin Yeast Type E
1 gallon boiled water

Method:

It is recommended that to destroy any micro-organisms lurking in the honey, the honey should be mixed with the water and then heated to 60 to 70°C (140 to 160°F) for about 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and the actively fermenting yeast (follow the instructions on the packet - it is straight forward). Leave in a warm place and ferment to dryness. If you do not have a hydrometer, this is when a taste makes your mouth pucker! When fermentation has ceased a sediment will settle on the bottom. It is important to carefully siphon or pour the clearing mead off this sediment and add a Campden tablet to sterilise it. You will have to do this a second time and may be a third time before your mead is sparkling bright. If you are a mead/ wine maker you will have all the equipment necessary. If not, and to save you having to buy any, use a sound and clean bucket that has been sterilised and cover with a double thickness of clean cotton cloth (tea towels for instance ) to keep dust and dirt out. When you are happy with your mead then you can store it plastic coke or lemonade bottles filled brim full. After the first racking, you can add more honey to taste. A couple of ounces at a time.

Mr Eayrs wrote an article on mead in the December 2002 edition of Beecraft. He also recommends a book - "Wine Making in Style " by Gerry Fowles.

Sterilising equipment is most important in making mead to avoid spoilage. Sodium Metabisulphite - known as Campden Tablets (obtainable from home brew shops). Chempro is another proprietary cleanser cum steriliser or the solution used to sterilise babies feeding bottles.

Everything you want for making mead, wine and beer can be obtained from Millfield Homebrew Supplies, 115 Millfield Lane, Hull Road, York. Freephone 0800 298 5778 or 01904 415569. Other suppliers are listed in Harrogate, Hull and Scarborough.

Friday 7 February

This was the evening for our Annual Dinner that was held at the Gateway to York Hotel on the Hull road at Kexby. It was one of the best venues we have had for our dinner. It also was the best patronised with 39 members, their spouses and friends attending.

Wednesday 19 February

This was another well attended meeting. A welcome was given to new member Gill Partridge who has moved into the area and Carsten Svengaard and his wife Barbara. Carsten and Barbara are members of the Wharfedale Association. There has been a hitch in receiving foundation from Yorkshire association. Your foundation should be available in early March and can be collected at our March meeting. If you are in urgent need of your order, then please contact Pam Todd on 01904 707408. The Committee apologise for the delay. Our speaker this evening was Phil Askham from Barnsley who spoke on maximising honey production. Mr Askham runs 100 colonies and only has assistance at harvest time. Three things affect your honey crop - your bees, their forage and the weather. You have control of you bees and their forage - the weather is in the lap of the gods. Mr Askham reckons that 15 to 20 colonies in one apiary is enough.

Having tried a brood box and a half and double brood box, which splits the brood in half and which the bees join together with brace comb that has to be torn apart every time you wish to inspect the bottom box, making the bees unnecessarily angry. He now runs his bees on a single National brood box. He also uses a modified floor with only a ¼" space under the frames to prevent brace comb being built. (You can achieve this by turning a flat floor upside down).

In the spring he equalises all hives in an apiary by taking frames of brood and adhering bees from strong colonies and giving them to weak ones. Once any one colony in an apiary starts making queen cups preparatory to swarming, Mr Askham goes into his swarm prevention routine. For this he requires a spare brood box preferably with drawn comb and a board similar to a crown board except instead of a hole for a porter escape, you have a hole in the middle some four to six inches in diameter covered with queen excluder and one edge a pivoting entrance like a Snelgrove Board.

Then the oft quoted phrase "then finds the queen". It becomes a lot easier if she is marked - and put her and the frame she is on into the new brood box, put your original brood box to one side and replace it with the box containing your queen and frame of brood. Now rebuild your hive, queen excluder, supers, the board with its entrance to the back or side, but not the front, and your original brood box, crown board and roof. The queen in the bottom box now has plenty of room to lay, flying bees will drift to the bottom box and emerging brood will find its way down through the queen excluder. Your bees urge to swarm has been satisfied and you have a full colony to collect large quantities of honey for you. After three weeks when all the brood in the top box has emerged, it can be removed. In a good season you may have to repeat this procedure. One thing that Mr Askham does that flies in the face of pundits - when requeening, he puts the new queen and workers in their cage directly into the hive. He does not have the frustration we do of having to separate queen from workers. Using a bit of foresight, he decides in the autumn which fields of rape he wants to use next spring, and, when returning bees from the heather, he takes them direct to the rape field. It saves a lot of time and effort.

Mr Askham has put a lot of thought into his beekeeping, and is rewarded with an average honey crop of 150lbs per colony.

Forthcoming Events

Saturday 8 March

Buckles Inn on the A64 twix York and Tadcaster - Yorkshire BKA Spring Conference. Starts 1030 hrs.

Monday 10 March

A Committee meeting will be held at Murton, commencing 1930 hrs.

Tuesday 11 March

Mike Booth of Hull will talk about "The Work of the Bee Inspector". A bee inspector of many years standing. He knows bees inside out and is now familiar with foot and mouth disease!

Wednesday 12 March

Ruth Waite from Central Science Laboratory, at Sand Hutton will be speaking to the Beverley BKA at the Parish Rooms, Highgate, Beverley. Car parking is available near by. York members are welcome.

Saturday 5 April

Lincoln BKA. Sale of bees and equipment will be held at the County Show ground, Scampton, Lincoln. The show ground is on the A15 about five miles north of Lincoln. Ring 01526 522679 for more details.

Saturday 12 April

Leeds BKA Auction, Temple Newsam. Lots for sale accepted from 0830 hrs until 1200 hrs. Viewing from 1200 hrs and the auction will commence at 1300 hrs. There will be bees for sale.

Saturday 12 April

Yorkshire BKA Conference, Bishop Burton College near Beverley. Tickets £27.00 including lunch or £20.00 without from Dudley Gue ‘phone 01482 881288. Registration begins at 0830 hrs and the first lecture commences at 0945 hrs. Bishop Burton is four miles west of Beverley on the A1079 York to Hull road.

Wednesday 16 April

Michael Badger MBE, ex President of the British BKA and ex Chairman of Yorkshire BKA will be speaking to us on "Beekeeping & Heather Honey Production".

Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 April

Harrogate Spring Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground.

Saturday 26 April

York BKA are doing a bus trip to the British BKA's "Spring Convention and Exhibition" at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The bus will leave the Farming Museum, Murton at 0700 hrs and Stoneleigh at 1600 hrs. The cost will be £20.00 per head which includes admission to the Convention. To book a seat send a cheque for £10.00 to Bob Hirst no later than Saturday 29th March. A booking form is enclosed with "Combings". Seats will be allotted on a first come first served basis, so book early to avoid disappointment. Full catering facilities are available in the Convention hall.

Saturday 3 May

York BKA’s 4th annual auction of beekeeping equipment will be held at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton. Lots for sale will be accepted from 1000 hrs. Viewing from 1100 hrs and the auction will commence at 1230 hrs. Bees for sale will be accepted between 1900 hrs and 2100 hrs the previous evening. Items purchased to be removed immediately after the sale except bees which are to be removed between 19.00 and 21.00 on the day. The Stewards reserve the right to refuse rusty tin ware or any item to be considered sub standard.

Sunday 4 May

Beverley BKA auction of beekeeping equipment will be held at Beverley Park, Long Lane, Beverley. Auction to commence at 1300 hrs with viewing before hand. The auction will be sign posted.

Tuesday 6 May

The first of eight classes for beginners to be held every Tuesday at the bee pavilion. The cost will be £25.00 per person. Pam Todd is co-ordinating the class, contact her on 01904 707408 for more information. Spread the word around.

Wednesday 21 May

First apiary visit of the season to be held at John Fuller’s apiary at "Summerfield", High Street, Barmby on the Marsh, Goole. ‘phone 01757 638388. Coming from York, pick up the A63 to Howden and M62. Turn right at a minor cross roads on the out skirts of Howden at Knedlington, to Asselby and Barmby. Ignore dead end signs. It is thence 3 miles to Barmby. "Summerfield" is a bungalow five doors on the left passed the pub. Pull in, there is plenty of parking.

Wednesday 28 May

At Bill Scriven's apiary. Apiary site not yet known. Contact Bill on 01653 618751 nearer the time for details.

Saturday 7 June

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

Wednesday 11 June

At Rob Coleman’s home apiary, "Plainville Farm", Plainville Lane, Wiggington. Contact Rob on 01904 762532.

Saturday 21 June

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

Wednesday 2 July

At Tom Robinson's apiary. Apiary site not yet known. Contact Tom on 01904 626170 nearer the time for more details.

Saturday 5 July

Our annual barbeque will be held at the home of Colin and Debbie Hattee, at "Greenside Lodge". Little End, Holme on Spalding Moor. Festivities will commence at 1730 hrs. Bring your own meat and drink. Everything else will be provided. In case of inclement weather call Colin or Debbie on 01430 860972.

Tuesday 8, Wednesday 9 and Thursday 10 July

Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate.

Wednesday 16 July

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

Saturday 24 August to Friday 29 August

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

Wednesday 17 September

YDBKA meeting at Murton. Hilda Cowling will talk on "Beekeeping My Way".

Wednesday 15 October

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