Plymouth Branch Newsletter January / February 2018

Plymouth Branch Newsletter January / February 2018 BEEKEEPERS QUIZ NIGHT Blindman s Wood Scout Centre - Wednesday 24th January 2018 For those members who were unable to attend the Beekeepers Quiz Night, you missed a great evening. On arrival and after the customary greetings, the group sorted themselves out into Teams of 2-3-4 people, paid their 1 entry fee, gave their Team a name and the Quiz commenced. Terry, our Quiz Master, started off with a few easy questions on the identification of the common wasp and the Asian hornet. I m delighted to say, all Teams answered those two questions correctly. There were 50 questions in all; mostly slide related, some multiple choice and a few direct questions. As the Quiz progressed and the Teams relaxed, laughter, giggling and the occasional friendly heckling and banter could be heard. However, as each question was asked, the hall fell silent as each Team thought hard about the answer. With all questions asked, it was time for a tea break and the raffle. Then came the marking of the quiz sheets accompanied with more laughter and friendly banter. Scores were pretty close but it was Team Apiary Dogs (Patrick and Claude) who came up tops and took the 16 prize money. Well done guys! The evening was a lot of fun and I think most members learned a few new beekeeping facts. I m really hoping this will become an annual event and thanks to Terry and Valerie for all their hard work in ensuring its success on the night. JEAN FRENCH 1

PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS Apiary Programme 2018 FEBRUARY Thursday 8 th Wednesday 21 st Branch Meeting: Venue: Elburton Village Hall Speaker: Terry McAuliffe Beekeeping and the Law, Winter Study Group: Film Night More than Honey Venue: Blindman s Wood Scout Centre, Outland Road PL3 5TB 7.30pm 7pm for 7.30 start MARCH Sunday 4 th Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Thursday 8 th Branch Meeting: Elburton Village Hall 7.30 pm Sunday 11 th Beginners Meeting (1) - Education Team 10 am Sunday 18 th General Meeting Jean French 10 am Sunday 25 th Beginners Meeting (2) - Neil D-Waite/Patrick Mansfield 10 am APRIL (Easter Sunday 1st April) Sunday 1 st No Meeting - Easter Sunday. Sunday 8 th Beginners Meeting (3) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am Tuesday 9 th Committee Meeting at Blindman s Wood Scout Centre 7 pm Sunday 15 th Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 22 nd Beginners Meeting (4) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am Sunday 29 th Apiary Maintenance Morning all members welcome 10 am MAY (Bank Holidays: Mon 7th + Mon 27th) Sunday 6 th Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 13 th Beginners Meeting (5) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am Sunday 20 th Beginners Meeting (6) Jean French 10 am Sunday 27 th No Meeting (Bank Holiday Weekend) JUNE Sunday 3 rd Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 10 th Beginners Meeting (7) MH or V&TMcA? tbc 10 am Sunday 17 th General Meeting Jean French 10 am Sunday 24 th Beginners Meeting (8) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am JULY Sunday 3 rd Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 10 th Beginners Meeting (7) MH or V&TMcA? tbc 10 am Sunday 17 th General Meeting Jean French 10 am Sunday 24 th Beginners Meeting (8) - Valerie & Terry McAuliffe 10 am AUGUST (Bank Holiday: Mon 27th) Sunday 5 th Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 12 th Beginners Meeting (11) Patrick Mansfield & Terry McA 10 am Sunday 19 th General Meeting Jean French 10 am Sunday 26 th No Meeting - Bank Holiday Weekend SEPTEMBER Sunday 2 nd Improvers Meeting David Milford 10 am Sunday 9 th Apiary Maintenance Morning all members welcome 10 am OCTOBER Tuesday 9 th Branch Honey Show, Blindmans Wood Scout Centre Doors open 7pm NOVEMBER Thursday 15 th Branch AGM Blindmans Wood Scout Centre 7.30 pm DECEMBER Sunday 9 th Branch Christmas Lunch to be confirmed 2

Meetings will be held at the Branch Apiary Site unless advised otherwise Directions to Branch Apiary at Lee Mill, Ivybridge: Turn left off the A38 at Lee Mill and follow the signs for Tesco Drive past the Tesco entrance, take next right for Central Avenue on the industrial estate Drive down the hill of Central Avenue, looking for East Way on your right Drive along East Way, looking for Cadleigh Close on your left Drive into Cadleigh Close; the apiary site is behind the big iron gates of the Bandvulc tyre factory Park inside the gates, walk up the concrete path & the portacabin is on your right Phil Aitken on passing the BBKA Module 5 (Honey Bee Biology). Phil has passed Modules 1,2,3 and 5 so has been awarded the INTERMEDIATE THEORY CERTIFICATE (ITC). Terry 3

CHAIRMAN S BLOG Hello again beekeepers of Plymouth and district and welcome to the first Chairman s Blog of 2018. I hope you all had a restful holiday and are now ready to tackle those winter jobs we were all going to get around to in October / November! I m writing this on the morning after the first ever Branch Beekeeping quiz. I certainly got the impression that most, if not all of the participants enjoyed themselves, which was a great relief as I wasn t sure whether or not it would work. It just goes to show that new ideas are always worth trying. What I liked most was the laughter, giggling, heckling and banter that went on throughout from this very friendly group, but as each question was asked, everyone fell silent as they thought hard about the answer. I also think that as well as having fun, most people learned a few new beekeeping facts. It s been suggested that we should make the quiz an annual event. What do members think? Now, news of some committee changes. I m delighted to report that at its January meeting, the committee accepted my nomination of Neil Downing-Waite for the position of Branch Vice-Chairman. Neil is well known in the Branch and has the distinction of being the first member from Plymouth Branch to win the Frank Alston skep for receiving the highest mark in Devon for the BBKA Basic Assessment. While on the subject of committee changes, I must also report that our former Spray Liaison Officer, Annette Quartly is no longer a member of the committee or indeed the branch. In this issue, you will find a thought-provoking article from Mark Ovenden on the subject of the importation of honey bees, in particular, queens. Mark makes his views on this practice abundantly clear and he cites a number of sources of evidence to support his case. Those of you with a long memory may recall that I wrote in my Blog many months ago about this very subject. I did so under the heading Issues that divide beekeepers. This particular issue is one of the most divisive of all and the views expressed by beekeepers on both sides of the dividing line are sincere and firmly held. What I am keen to do is to make sure that new beekeepers (from 2016 and 2017 intakes of Novices) are not confused to the point of bewilderment by conflicting information and advice. If you read Mark s article you are likely to be persuaded that importation of queens is to be avoided at all costs. If you come to this conclusion having listened to both sides of the argument then that s fine; but please do try to find out the case for importation and then make a balanced judgement. It is true that it is BBKA policy to discourage the importation of bees and queens, but remember that BBKA is not an authority. It is just a national members organisation and as such, it expresses the opinions of its members who are almost all hobby beekeepers. I freely admit that I am sat firmly on the fence when it comes to this issue, but if I decide to buy a queen imported from Gozo, that s my business, not the BBKA s. Now if DeFRA, through the National Bee Unit, issues an order banning the importation of bees, that s a different matter. That would be the Government making it illegal to import them. But the Government has not made such an order and has not even hinted that it may, so currently it is perfectly legal to import bees provided the correct procedures are followed. And it has to be remembered that Brother Adam, the patron saint of Devon beekeepers was a prolific importer of bees himself, from which he eventually produced the famous Buckfast strain. As I write this Blog on a cold, damp January morning I reflect on the fact that your next issue of Bee Brief may well arrive after our first Spring inspection. The Branch Committee s decision to have six issues per year (one every two months) could well have the consequence of making the year go by very quickly. Doesn t it always? Terry 4

Registered Charity No 270675 Devon Beekeepers Day 2018 The first (DBKA) Devon Beekeepers Day (Previously President s Day) will be held in the Bridge Suite, the ISCA Centre, Summer Lane, Whipton, Exeter EX4 8NT from 9.30 am on Saturday 3rd March 2018 A day to celebrate all the achievements of Devon Beekeepers during 2017. Static displays by the Branches will show the variety of contributions made across the county. Programme 9.30 Refreshments available from the Wakely Lounge 10.00 Welcome & Introduction - Christopher Smith DBKA President 10.15 DBKA Annual General Meeting - Chaired by Tony Lindsell 11.15/30 Living with the Asian Hornet - presentation by John De Carteret, Vice-President, Jersey Beekeepers' Association. Martyn Hocking will also be present. Dr Cathy Horsley of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust 12.30 Lunch available from Wakely Lounge - if you require lunch please order on arrival. 13.30 Presentation of awards including Education Certificates, Frank Alston Memorial Skep & Downing Memorial Bowl 14.30 Topical Presentation (TBC) 15.00 Question & Answer Session on any issues members would like to raise 15.30 Closure by Christopher Smith Please note this programme may be subject to change. 5

A FEW THOUGHTS ON HEAT LOSS, NATIONAL HIVES & WINTER STORES by MAC M c CORRY I have an infra-red camera. I know, gadget man, but I do have an excuse which I won t go into here. So: Having used the device to observe bee hives I thought others may be interested. The image below was taken at night in October last year with an air temperature of just under 9 o C. The camera equipment cleverly overlays edge details from a visible light image with Infra-Red imaging of the same view. The strength of IR emission is shown using a colour scale, shown on the right, with the maximum and minimum temperature in Celsius shown. Crucially; invisible IR light has just the correct wavelength to act as a means of heat energy transfer. Generally the hotter a material is the more IR it will emit. Making IR visible can help visualise heat loss (among other things). What you see in the image is a flat roofed National Hive with three supers over a standard brood box with a hornet trap floor. The row of four green dots at the bottom indicating trap entrances on that elevation. You are largely seeing heat leaving the nucleus from the surface of the hive. It is leaving the whole surface but the imaging shows less from the sides more from the front (and back not shown). I note that in the winter heat loss will equate to honey stores used to keep warm. The National Hive design largely has the same thickness and material on sides and front. So what is going on? I have the habit of always aligning my frames perpendicularly to the entrance. Wax is a good insulator so this arrangement will allow IR (like the invisible light it is: traveling in straight lines) to leave the nucleus easily only parallel to the frames, warming the internal front and rear faces of the box. As a result of heat transmission through the timber; IR leaving the external faces will draw heat energy I m a novice keeper and would be the first to admit that I ve lost a hive to condensation and the resulting mould growth during a winter in my early years. As a result I now keep open mesh floors to my hives. I notice however that the bees tend to block the upper meshed ventilation holes in the roof and crown board. This, coupled with their habit of propolising everything in sight, particularly air gaps, would tend to block heat loss by convection. In any case it seems to me that giving the bees the choice is a must with the equipment we use. So far I ve not lost a hive to lack of stores and further have not yet had to feed any nucleus during, or in the lead up to, winter. I do have a very favourable apiary site in terms of local ecology & micro-climate. However it also occurs to me that a winter coat may help with National Hives on more exposed sites. Wind chill being a significant factor in the South West. Consider the design of a WBC Hive. I can t help noting that a wild colony would have very different conditions. Additionally the wild comb I ve seen is built in curves rather than flat surfaces. This preferred geometry would trap more heat in by blocking and therefore slowing IR transmission outwards. With best wishes to all. Hoping 2018 is good to our bees and us. 6

WHY IMPORT BEES/QUEENS? By Mark Ovenden I know some members have already ordered bees from abroad this year. I'd like to outline the reasons why I believe this is ill-advised and unnecessary. Whilst I am passionate about this, I welcome hearing others' views, including the case for imports. Here are some of the reasons for my current position: 1) Imports are contrary to current BBKA best practice. In fact Devon Executive Committee don't consider BBKA's stance robust enough so have recently tabled resolutions for debate at the Annual Delegates' Meeting. These ask BBKA to take a stronger stance and push for more restrictions on imports of bees. We are therefore out-of-step with the mainstream. 2) Imports risk introducing new pathogens and pests by overcoming natural barriers to migration (mountains, oceans.) There are plenty of examples to illustrate this, now and in the past; (? varroa mite.) The U.K. has a poor biosecurity record and government services are stretched and poorly resourced. In 2017, 150 out of 319 (less than 50%) of consignments from the EU were checked. Of these, only small samples were taken; primarily looking for small hive beetle, tropilaelaps mites etc.; these consignments had EU health certificates but what of viruses? Scientists now recognise these are an increasingly serious threat to bees and we have enough already in the UK to deal with. The recent discovery of a single Asian Hornet nest in North Devon required 30? (~50%) of our bee inspectors time and resources to eradicate. 3) I believe we have sufficient genetic material/bees to work with, without the need to import. Many commercial and hobbyist beekeepers manage to maintain and breed happy, healthy, productive colonies without doing so. Importing queens can seem an easy, short-term solution to make life easier for the beekeeper, especially the novice, who feels this will ensure quieter bees and a bigger honey crop. It is selfperpetuating since you cannot breed a pure A.m.ligustica or Buckfast bee locally, so each year you have to import again. 4) Queens/bees from Malta/Italy/Denmark etc. will be adapted to the climate and foraging opportunities of their origin, not to our unpredictable weather and damp, mild maritime environment. It's preferable to choose and select colonies which have survived and thrived within 50 miles of your home apiary. 5) By importing bees, we're undermining the efforts of our neighbours, many of whom are trying to select and breed for desirable traits, to maintain and improve the local gene pool. 6) When these imported genotypes cross with local bees they tend, in a few generations, to produce grouchy, defensive colonies. This is not an inherent characteristic of local bees but the result of crossbreeding which can be selected out. To prevent this, we either have to continue to import frequently, at cost, or selectively cull out these undesirable traits which takes time and effort. 7) By relying on imports, beekeepers are not encouraged to try and improve their colonies by rearing queens from the best, and replacing the rest with locally better stock - whether this is a dark european bee or a mongrel with the characteristics we want to foster. Having quiet bees which produce a good honey crop can be achieved with local bees - it just takes time and the determination to work together with other beekeepers. Learning about queen-rearing can lead to closer observation working with our bees, stimulate education and an increase in our knowledge and skills. For those interested to learn more, there is a special conference hosted by BIBBA (a joint venture with others) at the Eden Project on 17th February. Follow the link: https://bibba.com/event/sustainable-beekeeping-futurewithout-imports/#more-4270 Also for those ready to assess their colonies and raise their own preferred queens, there is a 'Bee Improvement For All day' at South Brent on Sunday 18th February. Follow the link: https://bibba.com/eventlist/ 7

PLYMOUTH BEEKEEPERS LIBRARY A complete list of the books is available on the website, so please spare a few minutes to look at the available titles. The library also has a small quantity of DVDs. Books and DVDs can be borrowed for one calendar month, after which they should be returned or renewed. Renewal can be by telephone or by email. Failure to return or renew results in a small fine. If you have a request on a particular topic and would like help to choose the right book please contact me and I ll be happy to help. If you read one of the books and can recommend it (or otherwise) then please let me have your feedback. Liz Wallis, Windlestraw, Penquit, Ivybridge PL21 0LU 01752 698384 windlestraw@btinternet.com Contact Details Plymouth Branch Link to PBKA Library /LibraryBooks Chairman Terry McAuliffe 219573 tjm1952@hotmail.com Acting Vice Neil Downing- 309483 dc.arborists@gmail.com Chair Waite Secretary Jean French 338279 jeanfrench1957@yahoo.co.uk Treasurer Bernie Talling 709470 bernie868@hotmail.com Editor Dawn Clarke 309483 oakwoman@gmail.com Branch Librarian Apiary Manager Social Secretaries Liz Wallis 698384 windlestraw@btinternet.com Patrick Mansfield 07887 patrick11@btinternet.com 997764 Jean & Steve 215827 jeanandsteverussell@gmail.com Russell DBKA Website - Members Area Password: If you have forgotten the password, contact Terry McAuliffe or Jean French. 8

The Buzz Honeybees & Beekeeping Smell of death tells undertaker bees it s time to remove corpses Honeybees pick up dead or diseased nest mates and drag them out of the hive. Removing corpses protects against infection, which can spread like wildfire in densely packed hives. The honeybees work together to fight off disease, says Alison McAfee at the University of British Columbia, Canada. But not all hives remove their corpses. McAfee and her colleagues have been figuring out why this is. In a 2017 study, they discovered two pheromones, called oleic acid and betaocimene, which are only released by dead bee larvae. When they wafted these death pheromones over honeybees, nerve cells in the antennae of corpse-removing bees were more active than those of other bees. This suggested that corpse-removing bees were better able to smell the pheromones. Now the team has added the pheromones to healthy larvae. As expected, worker bees removed dosed individuals from Read more on the New Scientist website: Almost 30,000 bees killed after strong winds see tree crush hive near Norwich Simon Greenwood keeps hives across several sites in Norfolk, and received a call from one landowner just west of Norwich to say a tree had blown over near two hives on Thursday morning. They quickly realised one had been completely destroyed by the tree, with 90% of the bees in the hive killed. The blow comes just months after Mr Greenwood had 60,000 bees stolen from one of his sites last September. Read more on the Eastern Daily Press website: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23731604-900-smell-of-death-tellsundertaker-bees-its-time-to-remove-corpses/ http://www.edp24.co.uk/news/tree-toppled-by-strong-winds-crushes-hive-nearnorwich-killing-30-000-bees-1-5362797 9

HEMBURY BEE SUPPLIES Agents for the main manufacturers We can supply all your Beekeeping needs Foundation Hives Frames - Jars And many, many more We can be found at: John Harler Outer Finches Hembury Cock Hill, Buckfast, Devon, TQ11 0HN Tel/Fax : 01364 642517 Mobile: 07769 878476 Email: fire221@btinternet.com 10