Combings Magazine   
Issue No 19 ~ September 2006

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 ...

The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat Itteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Now read on ...

Sadly I have to report the death of Bill Lockwood at the age of 94. His funeral took place at Huntington Church on Friday 28th July.   John Acheson, Bill Bell and Tom Robinson attended his funeral. Bill was a long standing member of our Association, and judged our Honey Show for a number of years.

I approached him some time ago for an article on his life with bees, but he modestly declined, saying that there was nothing of interest.  He did give me some useful information on the history of York Beekeepers.

Alan Johnston has passed Module 5 of the BBKA examinations.  Well done Alan.

Change of e-mail address.  Colin and Debbie Hattee’s  new e-mail address is: hatteehouse@talktalk.net

Colin Hattee has told me that he is definitely standing down as Association Secretary at the AGM in October.  He has done the job for five years now and feels it is time to let some one else have a go.

If you are interested or want more information, then call Colin on 01430 860972 or Sue Hesp on 01904 489449.

Our Annual honey Show is to be held on Wednesday 22nd November at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton. Entries will be accepted from 1845 hrs to 1930 hrs on the evening.  No entries will be accepted after that time. Please bring along some of your produce and have a go.   The show is for fun – it is not a cut throat competition.  Full details are included with your magazine.

We have two new members since last time “Combings” came out.   Please welcome Martin Ainsley of Bubwith and Peter Francis of Spaldington to our ranks.

At the last count (mid August) we have 107 members.

This year has produced a few meteorological records – the driest winter, the wettest May and the hottest June. 

I heard the saying “A wet May means plenty of corn and hay” a few times this summer.

My honey crops are quite reasonable.  Rape was poor due to the late start to the season.  Borage could have been better had I put them on the crop sooner,  but what I refer to as my “Summer Blossom” honey has done well, with a little more to extract (writing in early August).  Usually when we have drought conditions such as this year, the ground dries up and there is no nectar in plants.  This does not seem to have happened this year - perhaps due to having a wet May.

Last back end I treated varroa with Apiguard and this year have had to treat some hives with Apistan because of high levels of varroa.  I intend to get the last honey off and start treating by early September.

While on the topic of weather, I noticed starlings flocking during the second week in July and wasps sniffing round drinks bottles during the third week in July.   I have it in my mind that starlings congregate in September as the nights start drawing in and temperatures are falling.  Wasps don’t usually become a problem until well into August.  Is this an omen for an early winter?

You may recollect that in your last magazine I mentioned an out break of EFB around Doncaster that was thought to originate in the Howden area.  As part of his quest to track down the source of the out break, Foul Brood Officer Ivor Flatman came and inspected my bees on the morning of Friday 2^nd June.  It was a fine warm day, which made it a pleasure to be out in the country side.  In the afternoon, Ivor went on to inspect Colin Hattee’s bees.  No EFB was found.

In Thorne’s 2006 catalogue they have an uncapping roller priced at £14.69.

Uncapping, being the chore it is, I thought this idea has potential and bought one for £11.69.  It turns out to be made in Turkey, by a firm of equipment suppliers that has an advert In the July 2006 issue of “The Beekeepers Quarterly”.

It came in a strong cardboard box. The roller itself is the same shape as a paint roller. It is substantially made with a large wooden handle that even those with the largest hands will be able to hold comfortably.  The business end consists of a plastic roller 4 inches long by 2¼ inches in diameter including the spikes which are 4/10ths of an inch long.

To use it you pass it over the comb to be uncapped. It pierces the cappings, but not enough to spin out, so I found a couple of passes up and down and left and right did the trick.  It did mash the surface of the comb, most of which came off in my spinner.  The roller itself became clogged after a while and was a bit fiddly to clear. It was certainly quicker than using a hot knife, but then lost time putting it through my strainer.

You do not get the cappings wax that you would with some other methods, but still have some from the strainer.

Overall I thought quite good and worthy of further use.  One negative comment about its construction is the handle. It has been given a flash coat of varnish which came of when I scoured the handle to remove accumulated propolis.

At the end of June and the beginning of July you can smell the distinctive aroma of privet.  Privet used to be very popular as hedging and as such was usually kept well clipped and there fore did not flower.  Left to its own devices it soon grows tall and produces small white flowers in profusion with a distinctive rather unpleasant aroma.  Bumble bees work it avidly.  Honey bees are not quite so keen.

Referring to F N Howes’ book “Plants and Beekeeping” “it produces a strong flavoured, bitter honey, thick and dark coloured, which will spoil any other honey with which it is mixed.  However, privet in flower is seldom sufficiently abundant for this to occur”.

Another plant in flower at the same time is lavender, supposedly worked by bees.  I have watched the lavender for short periods during its flowering period and seen no honey bees working it - only bumbles.

I believe it is possible to get a crop off it in France.  When the composition of honey rules where last changed, lavender, with borage had the permitted sucrose level increased to 15%.  

Change to Cuprinol's Formula

In your last edition of “Combings” you will have read of a conversation I had with Ron and Paul Waites and the communications they had with Cuprinol   and Ronseal regarding the use of their wood preservatives on bee hives.

An e-mail from Ron alerted me to the next two items that are in August’s “Beecraft” and will be of interest to you.   I also got an e-mail from Anthony Lee of Bridgend and District BKA on the same topic.  He too has been in touch with Cuprinol.

Cuprinol has just changed the compo­sition of its wood preservatives and until further investigation from their technical team they are not recommended for treating beehives.

A Cuprinol representative said: “For the interior of a beehive we do NOT recommend the use any of our products. For the exterior, we recommend use of Cuprinol Wood Preserver Clear, Light and Dark Oak or Green, or Cuprinol Trade Decorative Preserver; but the hive must be left empty for at least six weeks to dry fulIy before re-introducing the bees”.

If you have any queries or need any further assistance please do not hesitate contact the Cuprinol Technical Advice Centre on 08704 441111.

Alternative Wood Treatment

E H Thorne is now selling a natural wood paint, made by Natural Building Technologies which is available in four colours. It is specifically NOT a biocide but has been developed to protect wood. Further information from Thorne’s on 01673 858555 or Natural Building Technologies at www.natural-building.co.uk

In the middle of June I was called to a friend’s house to look at some unidentified flying objects in their garden shed.  They turned out to be Bombus terrestris.  The shed was an old brick building with a concrete floor.  At some time the floor had been disturbed along one wall, leaving a hole no bigger than one inch square which the bees were using as a way in and out of their nest.  How do bees find such an obscure hole to set up a nest?  It never fails to amaze me.

I have not heard a cuckoo this year.  For years they would arrive here at the same time as swallows and nest in a nearby lane.  Their call was easily heard. Then a couple of years ago they moved further away and could only just be heard.  This year – nothing.  Nor have I seen or heard them else where.  Can ornithologists among you shed any light on the subject?

A Cautionary Tale ... from Colin and Debbie Hattee

I awoke early in the morning of Friday 30^th June and sprang out of bed.  The reason for this unusual action was the excitement of moving our colonies to the Borage

The previous afternoon we had reduced the colonies down to 1½ boxes and fitted travel screens and clamped the hive securely together with hive straps. We returned at 9pm and, after blocking the entrances with foam, loaded them onto our trailer and returned home

The bees spent the night in the trailer with full access to a fresh of air.

At 6.30 am the following morning (Friday 30 June) we departed to North Lincolnshire – a drive of some 40 minutes. We unloaded the bees and as usual began to remove the straps and travel screens. To our horror one of the colonies was completely destroyed and two others had many casualties

The bees had suffocated!

Trying to analyse the reason for this disaster brings to mind the fact that we reduced the colonies down to 1½ brood for easy moving at lunch time when the vast majority of bees would have been at work in the fields. By 9pm all the bees would have returned and completely filled the hive and, despite having travel screens fitted, they suffocated.  This was a heart breaking sight and not a mistake we wish to repeat

I think that the warm humid night did not help the situation

Another Cautionary Tale ...

A story filtered back to me of one of our newer members who bought some bees and wondered why they where declining. He did the right thing and asked for advice. On inspection, it was found the colony was heavily infested with varroa.

It is always prudent when getting bees from an unknown source to put Apistan / Bayvarol strips in to check for varroa and at the same time have a second look for foul brood.  If the bees can be isolated while these checks are being made, then so much the better.

Visit to Ken & Sue's Open Apiary Evening - Wednesday 28 June

Any of YDBKA Members who do not try to get to at least one of the arranged ‘Open Apiary’ evenings is missing out on such a lot. Not only do we enjoy the company of like-minded people – ie beekeepers, but we learn such a lot from just being with other beekeepers, especially those like Ken who have so many years of experience

We were so lucky to have a wonderful warm sunny evening to travel out to Burn near Selby where Ken and Sue have their bees on spring rape and borage – a fantastic site not only for the crops but because of the ease of access. As Ken pointed out, it is no good having a great site if you have to carry your hives any distance, always try to find a site you can drive your trailer to and just lift off the hives – not always a problem when taking them to crops, but bringing them away when they are heavy is no joke

We were only about 10 in number, which in some ways was disappointing when YDBKA has a membership of over 100, but great for those of us there as we could really take part in the evening and see and hear everything said and done

Ken & Sues hives are all positioned on stands making the manipulation of bees less back-aching, and all colonies were so docile and friendly it was a pleasure to be in them At least, they were all friendly to all of us except Rob Coleman, to whom they seemed to take an instant dislike – he put it down to a new robe!

Ken showed us his latest experiment which was an apidea made of a type of polystyrene and holding just one frame, thus enabling him to rear queens more easily and more successfully – we were so impressed we immediately bought one and hope to put it into use very soon

We chatted and looked and listened – Ken is a mine of information, and the evening was suddenly over, so we all drove to Burn village to the pub where Ken & Sue had arranged for a lovely selection of sandwiches and chips for us. At this point we were all quite happy that the majority of our fellow members had failed to enjoy another open apiary – it meant all the more supper for us!

It was a lovely evening.

Those of us who open our apiaries to our members put in quite a lot of effort in thinking and preparing for the evening and it is a shame that more of our members do not take part in this part of the YDBKA Annual Programme which is designed to be of as much, if not more use and interest to the practical beekeeper as are the winter lectures

Editors Note:

To elaborate on Debbie’s remark about Ken’s “apideas” .

They are a single frame NUC made from roof lagging boards. I was not able to be at this meeting but was shown one later.  It is designed to hold one shallow national frame, to be used as a queen rearing NUC.  A frame of with some honey is taken out of any super (it must be worker comb) and adhering bees. A queen cell is then put into the NUC to emerge and mate.

When using Apidea’s or the slightly larger Warnholz mating boxes you start off with a sheets of foundation, fill the feeder compartment with candy. Then put a cupful of bees into your box before inserting a queen cell – then leave for a couple of days in a dark cool place before opening up on your chosen site. 

This is a lot of messing about.  With Ken’s system the whole job is done in a couple of minutes.  You will have to block the entrance temporarily or take your NUC to another site, to minimise the risk loosing some of your flying bees.  When your queen is mated, the frame can be returned to any super.

In your last “Combings” I wrote of a Norfolk couple where in court on charges of obtaining money by deception by importing 17.7 tons of Argentinian and Chinese honey and selling it throughout the county as Norfolk honey making £70,000 for them selves in the process.

At the time I could find nothing of their sentencing.

BBKA news in June provided me with the answer.  They were fined £8,000 with £90,000 costs, leaving them £28,000 out of pocket.  I consider that a worth while punishment.

My wife came home from the supermarket recently with an aerosol can of furniture polish.  The can is yellow/orange in colour with hexagons printed all over it. The cap is in the shape of a skep.   The hype on the front says “The original non silicone “Wood Silk”.  Contains no silicones which may affect your furniture’s finish”. On the back it states that “it is a blend of the purest beeswax and nutrient oils”.  It then goes on at great length why this polish is good for your furniture and the polish we have been using for many years is bad for your furniture.

There is a tie in with the previous story - it is made in Norfolk.

Varroa Mites in Honeybees

Russell Carey sent me this letter that appeared in the Daily Telegraph on the 24 May from one Christopher Beale of Ruislip in Middlesex which reads:

With reference to varroa mites in honey bees.  It was known, when the mite arrived in this country during the early 1990s, that it would become resistant to pyrethroid treatment within 12 years. 

A team of scientists at Rothamstead led by Dr Brenda Ball – the world’s foremost expert on varroa and the viruses they carry – has been working on alternative treatment using a fungus that attacks the mites without harming the honey bees.  Considering that through pollination, honeybees are vital to our food supplies, readers may be surprised to learn that, last month, Dr Ball and her department were made redundant through lack of funding.

It would appear that ensuring the future of our food supplies is not a priority in government circles. Perhaps when we are scratching around for something to eat they will realise where a very small amount of our taxes should have been used.

Editors note:

Last March we had Norman Carrick from Rothamstead as our speaker and he told us about Brenda Ball’s department being axed.  Considering the large part honeybees play in our food chain, it is a short sighted move, particularly as without beekeepers honey bees could be almost extinct now because of varroa.

Russell also sent me these musings:

Being a beautiful evening, warm and sunny, I decided to cycle round the Buttercrambe Woods which stretch from Stamford Bridge to the York/Malton Road several miles away and which incidentally reach the Central Science Laboratories.   The woodlands surround Sand Hutton, a delightful former estate village once housing forestry workers but now, with the sale of many of the dwellings, it has become a sanctuary for the well healed.

It seems ironic that houses, built for farm and forestry workers of humble means, now sell for nearly half a million such is the inflation of property prices, or is it the desperation of those wishing to flee the cities of modern Britain?

I digress, for the area is beautiful throughout, especially in the spring and summer.  In spring it is the bluebells, daffodils, wood anemones and rhododendron which provide the colour, carpeting many of the woodlands with their spectacular displays whilst during the summer, under the trees verdant foliage, plants become, with the absence of light, more subdued.   It is during the latter part of the summer that the aroma of honeysuckle permeates the leafy glades in accompaniment to the soft dampness of the undergrowth and the smell of pine.

The church in Sand Hutton blends into this rural idyll, its honey coloured sandstone walls and lichen encrusted roof tiles, the epitome of picture postcard views of rural England and nostalgic memories.

It is from small gaps under these tiles, especially near the ridge of the nave roof that the honeybee thrives.  Ancient nests within the roof space of the nave have provided a home for the honeybee for many years, at least 30 to my memory.  How these have survived varroa I do not know.  Are they resistant?  Or is the roof space constantly re-populated by swarms from elsewhere?  Being only a mile or so from the National Bee Unit makes me wonder if a resistant strain is almost literally on their doorstep, or do their bees re-populate the church roof?  It’s an interesting conundrum and raises the question: Are bees with some resistance to varroa slowly emerging?  It would make for an interesting study.

Greater Wax Moth Monitoring Project

I wrote in the last edition of “Combings” of a letter from Colin Howes of Doncaster Museum asking for information from beekeepers of their experiences with greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella). I was one of fourteen beekeepers that responded to Mr Howes letter.  With the information I gave to Mr Howes and other reports he received at the same time dots at Howden, Whitgift and Adlingfleet (both on the south bank of the River Ouse) can be added to the current map.

What follows is a combination of my reply from Mr Howes and an e-mail from Vera Rider.

Wax Moth melt-down!

In recent years there has been a trend for southern moth species to expand their range into north Britain A perceived expansion in the numbers and range of the Greater Wax Moth Galleria mellonella may well be under way. Increases in occurrence have been noted elsewhere in southern England and Wales  and there had been small number of records from south and east Yorkshire since the mid 1990s.  A casual museum enquiry (a Lepidoptera larva in a jar of honey comb) from a department store customer care manager revealed that the Greater Wax Moth had at last reached Yorkshire beehives.

A study in co-operation

Realising the scarcity of North of England records from the published entomological literature, the YBKA and its network of Yorkshire beekeeping organisations were canvassed for records. A flurry of postal and email traffic quickly generated an unprecedented set of records and anecdotes. Merging this information with records from the network of Lepidopterists who run moth traps quickly showed that the Yorkshire region had been colonised as early as 1995 since when its presence had escalated to the status of a ‘pest’ to the detriment of honey bees and some if its native colonial hymenopteran relatives.

 

 

 

 This graph shows the moth’s first appearance and rapid spread in our region. It was first noticed in South Yorkshire (Rossington) in 1995, North Yorkshire (Harrogate) in 1997, East Yorkshire (Spurn) in 1998 and its first post 19^th century West Yorkshire record (Pontefract) was in 2002. First evidence of it invading apiaries (mainly stored comb) seems to date from 2000 with a rapid escalation experienced by beekeepers in 2005.

The preliminary distribution map demonstrates its currently known geographical spread. The solid dots show where beekeepers have experienced problems and the stars show where lepidopterists have caught flying adults at light traps. Importantly, the lepidopterists’ records indicate that wax moths have already extended well into North Yorkshire, the most northerly sites being Ripon and Sleightholmdale. This indicates that beekeepers operating in the Dales edges, Northern Vale of York, North York Moors, and the Cleveland regions should keep a look out for infestations.  

 Since Wax Moth distribution is limited by their inability to survive prolonged periods of cold, they tend to avoid high altitude and high latitude regions (Jeanne 1982).  Until recently, the Yorkshire region has evidently been too chilly for them. It will be interesting to see if the intensely cold spells during this winter have slowed the wax moth’s northerly spread.

Exotic pet food

The issue of larvae, marketed as ‘waxworms’ for the exotic pet trade has been mentioned by several of you as a potential source of spread. Since the vast majority of suppliers and exotic reptile enthusiasts are concentrated in the conurbations of South and West Yorkshire, this distribution has not been picked up by this study, even by entomologists running moth traps in their back gardens.

Control of infestations

Some of you have mentioned the use of Paradichlorobenzine crystals as a means of keeping infestations that bay. Since this is anticipated to be a human carcinogen (US National Toxicology Program, 2002) and has also been linked with harm to the central nervous system, liver, and kidneys, this practice should be discontinued (for these health & safety reasons we are no longer permitted to use it in Museum Insect collections). I know that a number of beekeepers now deep freeze stored combs to keep the temperature-sensitive wax moths, in check.

Hygiene in the Hive

Bob Hirst has put pen to paper and tells us how he made up a cheap boiler enabling him to sterilise his beekeeping equipment.

Do we give our bees the best of starts to a new seasons breeding and colony build up?

I have kept bees now for the best part of eighteen years, learning from older beekeepers, reading all the articles in the numerous magazines available and researching in books highly recommended by the experts whom I meet at the many lectures that I have attended throughout the years. 

Beekeeping in Great Britain has altered to such a degree that if beekeepers of years gone by had to return to 2006 they would not believe some of the lengths modern apiarists have to go to just to keep their stocks alive.  What with the insidious parasite Varroa and the many ways we have and are having to adapt to help keep it at a manageable level.  And now knocking on the door step is the likely invasion of the African hive Beetle from accidental introduction or, more likely, through the importation of new Queens by those unscrupulous beekeepers who try to circumvent the legal ports of entry, and as a result they do so at great risk to everyone.

The main reason why I write this article is because, as seems likely, funding for bee disease research is going to be cut by a greater or lesser degree, and we as beekeepers are going to have to dig deeper into our own pockets (great gasps of anguish I hear) to help fund any research work undertaken on our behalf.  If this is the case then I think it’s time we all started to look at how we can help ourselves on the front line by being more helpful to our own colonies.

2004-05 saw myself and others attending Queen breeding in Sweden and Norway with visits to some of the leading beekeepers in these two countries and believe me they are very meticulous and focussed, but the main thing that stood out from my point of view was their attention to hygiene.

Every year, without fail all the combs in their hives was changed for new foundation, all the hive equipment was steam cleaned (and that includes all frames and boxes, of which the majority are polystyrene) and then prepared for the following season.  It was a real eye opener for us all, for these people looked after many hundreds of colonies, not the 10, 20 or 30 we tend to look after. So it set me thinking.  How can we emulate what they are doing?

I do not have the financial resources available to purchase such things as steam pressure washers (£1,500) or dipping tubs to be filled with scalding water and soda crystals so how do we maintain hygiene without a great outlay of monies?

This is where the ingenuity of the British people comes into play – ‘make do or mend’ – ‘owt for nowt!' ... you see where I’m leading.  No?  Then read on.

First a visit to the local scrap yard for two 45 gallon oil drums (costs nowt).  Then bending the ears of many friends I came across two set pots – cast iron washing tubs from our grandmothers era (cost £15).

Next down to the local metal smith (another friend) a little fabrication and hey presto – two boilers holding 20-30 gallons of water each. 

Next problem, how to heat this amount of water at least expense?  Back to the scrap yard and the purchase of two brake drums off lorry axles.  Back to the metal smith to weld on four six inch legs.  A further purchase of two fire grates (£28) and whiz bang wooosh I have my fire baskets.  Now to see if it all fits together and, more importantly, works. The moment arrives, old wooden pallets are sourced for the fuel, the boilers are filled with water and the fires are lit.  Now all I have to do is sit back and wait to see how long it takes to boil.  Surprisingly it only takes about 45 minutes to reach boiling point, the first frames are stripped of the bulk of wax and into the first boiling pot which contains only water. Hopefully we may be able to salvage some of the wax still on the frames.   After a few minutes in this boiler the frames are given a cursory scrape and into the next boiler which contains the soda crystals (washing type) where they are fully immersed and given a good scrub with a wire brush and then taken out to dry in the sun.  Results – pristine clean frames, clear of all wax- propolis and any adhering hive dirt and hopefully any spores of bee diseases.

The most surprising find when we stripped the frames and boxes was how many greater Wax Moth larvae we found. Obviously the were by now well and truly cooked and a source of further infestation was curtailed.  It is amazing how this pest can hide in the tiniest of crevasses including any cracks in the brood and super boxes.  Now all I had to do was repair any defects in the boxes and frames, re-wax and prepare for the new season.

I am confident that all the hard work and effort has been worth it and I have taken the first of many steps to keeping my bees in a more friendly and disease free environment.  I know that we cannot be totally free of the many ailments that affect our bees but if this cheap and easy way helps us to steer away from the ever-increasing reliance of expensive research and chemical treatments, then it is the better for all concerned.

If you need us to demonstrate what we have done I can arrange for the fires to be lit for I still have more equipment to clean.

What you all wanted to know ...

The American beekeeper Tom Seely in his book ”Honeybee Ecology” maintains that 70% of swarms and casts do not survive.

Past Events

Monday 15 May

The Yorkshire Spring Field Day organisers met at All Saints School, York.

The event is to be held on Sunday 10 June 2007 at All Saints School. The school will be a good venue with all the facilities a conference will need.

Wednesday 17 May

The first of this year's apiary visits was at the home of Colin and Debbie Hattie with a good turn out.

Saturday 20 May

This was the day we held our 7^th Annual Auction at Murton. I got up at 0630 hrs and it was pouring with rain - it will be fine by the time the first of us meet at 0830 hrs I thought.  At 1100 hrs it was still raining - who said “rain before seven, fine before eleven”.  It did not stop raining until I got home at 1530 hrs. It is the wettest auction we have had.  Despite the rain we ended up with 91 lots and all but three or four where sold. 

Like all auctions the lots fell into good and bad.  Of the better buys where a Thorne’s 12 frame MK 2 extractor that was sold to a lady from Beverley   for £300. A new Thorne’s 12 frame MK 2 extractor in their catalogue is selling for £949.

A stainless hand powered extractor that went for  £128  and a large stainless settling tank that fetched £87.

John Bowes produced a podium complete with turned gavel for auctioneer Colin Hattee   to stand upon. It is a fine piece of workmanship. John is to be given full marks for his effort.

I cannot thank enough those of you that turned out in appalling weather to help.   

Wednesday 31 May

This was another well attended meeting hosted by Bob Hirst at a site at Hagg Wood near Colton.  Bob’s bees where adjacent to a field of rape seed which stood head height.

Tuesday 13 June

This meeting – again well attended was held at Rob Coleman’s apiary at Wiggington and was part of the beginners class.  Rob showed us what queen cups, and queen cells look like and demonstrated what to do if queen cells were found with an egg or a larvae inside.  It was a miserable evening with drizzle at the out set.

Wednesday 28 June

Read Debbie Hattee’s account of the meeting held at the apiary of Ken Barran and Sue Hesp further back in your magazine.

Saturday 1 July

This was our annual barbeque.  It was held at the home of Colin and Debbie Hattee at Holme on Spalding Moor.  The weather could not have been kinder – it was a fine warm evening with a new moon.  Over forty members, their spouses, friends and family attended. Thinking back it is probably the highest attendance ever at our barbeque.  There was food in abundance with plenty of non alcoholic drinks.  Not being a great fan of barbeques, I went along for the company, of which there was plenty.

Wednesday 12 July

For years I have wanted to look round the extracting facilities of a full time beekeeper.  Our regular apiary meeting this evening gave me that opportunity at Tom Robinson’s small industrial unit at Crockey Hill.

Tom showed us his uncapping tank – he still uses a heated knife to un cap. The cappings – after draining for a while, go into a centrifuge where they come out nearly dry before being heated and strained in a boiler. Of the resultant blocks, some go to a lady to make candles and the rest exchanged for foundation.

Honey goes from the extractor into a large filtering tank and is then pumped in to tubs or barrels as required.

It was a nice fine evening, yet disappointingly only seven Members turned out.  Three where on these years beginners class, and I thought looked bemused by all the equipment in front of them, having not yet got the hang of handling their own honey from only a couple of hives.

From my point of view, it was a most interesting evening.

Wednesday 26 July

The final apiary meeting of the year was held at Steve Hudson’s borage site just to the north of Middleton on the Wolds.  Eleven members attended on fine warm evening with thunder and lightning in the distance.  Steve spoke of some Greek queens that he had bought in the spring - he did not speak well of them saying they where idle.  He then  went on then to   show us how he removed full supers with out using a clearer board – simply taking a frame out of a super, then giving it a sharp blow to dislodge the bees , then put it into another super to one side and cover to stop bees re entering.  The draw back with this system is that you have a lot of angry bees in the air.

While the meeting was going on, Steve’s smoker went out.  While it was being relit by a member (wearing a veil) the flame shot out the smoker burning a large hole in the Members veil.  Fortunately not burning his face, but allowing bees to get in.  He beat a hasty retreat.

Saturday 5 August

David Aston and I attended Tockwith Show. We spoke to the general public about bees and honey, about bumble bees and wasps – in fact about all flying insects. We quelled a few fears about getting stung.  David set up an observation hive and that was a magnet to people coming into the tent.

Bob Hirst had a honey stall at the show. He tells me that he had a good day.

Monday 7 August

The Honey Show sub committee  (Messrs Coleman, Fuller and Johnston) met to discuss our forthcoming Honey Show.

For Sale ...

Colin Hattee has 1lb squat honey jars with lids for sale . Priced at £29.00 per gross. Lids on their own are £4.50 per half gross.   Colin will bring your order to meetings or you can collect them from Colin’s home by prior arrangement.  ‘phone 01430 860972.

Bill Bell has a set of top load precision electronic scales for sale.  They are made in Germany by a company called Sartorious.   They will weigh up to 2,200 grammes with an accuracy of 0.05 grammes. They are mains operated and come with a carrying case.  Offers to Bill on 01904 744219.

Tired of always ending up with backache every time you go through your hives , do you have to do your beekeeping on your knees ? Then no more, for I have the solution. Purchase one of our purpose made hive stands capable of carrying two or three hives, made of light weigh metal fully galvanised, strong and robust, will last you a life time and find out the pleasures of easy hive manipulation all for the modest cost of £45. Enquiries to Bob Hirst on 01904  706111.

Forthcoming Events (2006)

Friday 8 to Sunday 10 September

BIBBA  Conference at Bath University.  Speakers are Clive de Bruyn, Terry Clare, Celia Davis and Dr Dorian Pritchard.  More details from Tom Robinson on 01904 626170 or e-mail: mautomrobee@btopenworld.com

Wednesday 13 September

Ken Barran will give the first of this winters talks.  His topic –“Heather from the hive to the table”.   This will be an interesting talk. Ken is a beekeeper of long standing and knows his subject inside out.

Friday15 to Sunday 17 September

The North of England Horticultural Society will hold their Autumn flower show at the Great Yorkshire Showground at Harrogate.  £11.00 per person per day on the day or £9.00 per person per day booked in advance.  More information or to book, then ring 08707 583333 or visit the website: www.flowershow.org.uk

Saturday 30 September & Sunday 1 October

There is to be an open weekend at Rothamstead Agricultural Research Centre.  You will be able to visit their world class laboratories, meet the scientists, explore the estate or have cream teas at the 16^th century Manor House.  Admission is free.   Tom Robinson is prepared to organise a bus trip if there is sufficient demand.   If you are interested, then contact Tom quickly as there is little time left after reading this (phone: 01904 626170 or e-mail: mautomrobee@btopenworld.com).

Wednesday 18 October (Murton @ 1930 hrs)

York Beekeepers Annual General Meeting.

Thursday 19 to Sunday 21 October

National Honey Show will be held at the RAF Museum, Grahame Parkway, Hendon, North London,  NW9  5LL.  Entry will cost you £7.00 per person per day. More information from: Rev H F Capener,  1 Baldric Road, Folkstone,  CT20  2NR.

If you have any aspirations to become a honey judge, then contact the Rev Capener.  Judges stewards are wanted at the National.

I have seen an article somewhere that stated that only 418 paying visitors attended the National Honey Show in 2005. With that attendance I would think that takings would barely cover costs.

Saturday 11 November

Yorkshire BKA Annual General Meeting will be held at the Buckles Inn on the A64 between York and Tadcaster.  The speaker is to be Clair Waring and her topic – “Up close and dangerous”.   It sounds intriguing. 

Wednesday 22 November

York Beekeepers Annual Honey Show is to be held this evening at the Farming Museum at Murton. Ivor Flatman will be our judge again.  Entries will be accepted from 1900 hrs.   While judging is taking place, a social will be held in the cafe.

Forthcoming Events (2007)

Saturday 21 April

BBKA Spring Convention at Stoneleigh.

Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 April

The North of England Horticultural Society will be holding their Spring Flower Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

Saturday 19 May

York & District Beekeepers Association Auction will be held at Murton.

Saturday 9 June

This date has been set provisionally for York BKA to host the Yorkshire BKA Spring Field Day.

Sunday 9 to Friday 14 September

Apimondia 2007 will be held in Melbourne, Australia.  For more information visit their website: www.apimondia2007melbourne.com

York & District Beekeepers Association Annual Honey Show 2006 

The Association's Annual Honey Show will be held at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton on Wednesday 22 November 2006.

Schedule of classes:

Class 1.          Honey light clear.
Class 1a.        Honey light clear.  Novice.
Class 2.          Honey medium clear.
Class 2a.        Honey medium clear.  Novice.
Class 3.          Honey dark clear.
Class 3a.        Honey dark clear.  Novice.
Class 4.          Honey naturally set. Not stirred.
Class 5.          Honey soft set.
Class 6.          Heather honey.
Class 7.          Jar of honey for sale.
Class 8.          8 oz cut comb.
Class 9.          Dry mead.
Class 10.        Sweet mead.
Class 11.        Block of beeswax less than 1 lb.
Class 12.        Block of beeswax more than 1 lb.
Class 13.        Honey fruit cake made to the standard recipe.
Class 14.        Honey cake to your own recipe.
Class 15.        Plain moulded beeswax candle.  Minimum dimensions to be 1½" dia & 3" high (excluding wick)
Class 16.        Beeswax candle.  Any shape or size or method of production.
Class 17.        One shallow frame suitable for extraction.

Notes

Classes 1 to 6 - To be in 1lb round squat honey jars.
Class 7 - Can be any shape or size.
Classes 9 and 10 - To be shown in 26 oz clear glass bottles of round section with rounded shoulders.  White flanged corks to be used.
Classes 11 and 12 - Moulds without a pattern are to be used.

Class 13 - The honey fruit cake is to be made to the following recipe:          

Ingredients

225 grm (8 ozs) self raising flour
175 grm (6 ozs) honey
110 grm (4 ozs) butter or margarine
175 grm (6 ozs) sultanas
2 medium sized eggs and a pinch of salt

Method

Cream butter and honey together well. Beat eggs well and add them alternately with sifted flour and salt (save a little flour to add with the sultanas).  Beat all well and lightly. A little milk may be added if necessary.  Fold in the sultanas and stir well.  Transfer to a 2lb loaf tin.  Pre heat the oven to 180° C, 350° F, or gas mark 4. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

General

1. The Honey Show is open to paid up members of the York +DBKA.

2. A novice is a person who has taken up beekeeping since the previous years Honey Show.  Novices may also enter classes 4 to 20 on equal terms with experienced exhibitors.

3. Only one entry per person per class.

4. Candles entered in classes 15 and 16 may be lit at the judges discretion.       

5. The honey and wax used in exhibits shall be from the exhibitors own bees.

6. Points will be awarded to prize winners thus: 3 points to the winner of each class, 2 points will go to second place and 1 point to third place.

7. John Fuller’s Trophy will be awarded to the winner of Class 12.

8. The Alf Race Memorial Cup will be awarded to the member with the most points.  In the event of a draw, the member with the highest number of first places will be the winner.

9. The judge’s decision will be final. Entries will be accepted from 1845 hrs to 1930 hrs on the day.  Judging will commence at 1930 hrs.

 

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