The Monthly Newsletter.
One or two items may have been moved to the Members. Page.
OBKA NEWS
April 2008
BEGINNERS CLASSES 2008
At The Teaching Apiary
I am pleased to announce that Mr. John Harris has volunteered his services as a teacher at the forthcoming classes. John has a wealth of experience and knowledge and will be a great addition to the team. Ian James. Chairman
Note: Sally reported at the last Committee Meeting that we have had 20 people put their names down for the course (first meeting 9th April) which is now full.
FUTURE MEETINGS
Sat 19th April BBKA Spring Convention, Stoneleigh
1 pm Sat 3rd May Meon Valley Beekeepers’ Auction.
The Village Hall, Greatham, Nr Liss (off A3). Info and Catalogues from James Laybourne, (01489) 892853 or email jamesdeb12@tiscali.co.uk
Sat 17th May APIARY VISIT
The first of our weekend visits to members’ apiaries kicks off with a trip hosted by
EDITORIAL
There’s not much to report from my apiary this month. I went round a couple of times to check on the fondant I had given them and topped them up when appropriate.
I haven’t yet put on any supers but will make it a priority to do this during the coming week.
I have a field of OSR about 200m from the hives this year. There are a lot of reports that the cold spring has held back the growth of this crop: good news for beekeepers because the later it flowers the stronger our hives will be and this should increase our chances of getting a decent crop.
Phil
SWARMS
Clifford McLean and
Members who are in need of a swarm, or alternatively have an unwanted one of their own may get in touch with Clifford via email at cmclean@alden.co.uk, or on the following telephone numbers:
Home 01993 774895
Mobile 07870 765211
Rowena can be contacted on (01993) 880519.
There is always a risk of disease transmission from swarms (or when moving hives) and we need to be alert to this when handling them. The workers fill their honey stomachs before they swarm and may ingest disease spores as well, if they are present in the parent hive. If this honey is stored in the new hive the spores may be able to cause an outbreak when they are released. If, however the bees consume this honey, the spores are destroyed and the new hive should be free from disease.
So, always hive a swarm on foundation and don’t feed them for 2 days. This limits their ability to store honey in the new hive. Instead they should use up this stored honey as they draw out new wax. In the process any disease spores that may be present will be destroyed thus eliminating the problem.
CITY FARM
Hello,
My name is Jude Thorp, and I am trying to get together a steering committee to start up a city farm in
We would love somebody from the BBKA to be involved in our venture and even better – right from the start as part of our steering committee. Please let me know if you or anybody else would be interested,
We are having a meeting on Tuesday 22nd April at 11:30am at my home in
Many thanks
Jude Thorp
OBKA CLOTHING
We are now taking orders for the next batch of OBKA branded clothing and are pleased to offer an increased choice this time.
Sweatshirts approx. £12 Black, Bottle Green, Maroon, Navy Blue, Red, Royal Blue.
Sizes S, M, L, XL (46/48).
Jumpers approx. £16 Black, Brown, Bottle Green, Grey, Maroon, Navy Blue, Red, Royal Blue
Sizes S, M, L, XL (46/48).
Polo Shirts approx. £11 Emerald Green, Gold, Navy Blue, Red, Royal Blue, Sky Blue, White.
Sizes S, M, L, XL (46/48)
Body warmers approx. £13 Navy Blue, Red
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Reversible Fleeces approx. £18 Black, Bottle Green, Navy Blue, Red, Royal Blue
Sizes S, M, L, XL (46/48)
These prices will have to be indicative rather than definite - but I would be surprised if they end up being significantly more than the amounts quoted above.
Please let me know if anyone wants to place an order.
Peter Randall
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
MARCH – AGM
We are grateful to Camilla and Clendon Daukes who hosted the Annual General Meeting at their home in Signet and provided a wonderful buffet afterwards.
ROYAL SHOW HONEY SHOW
The Royal Show Honey Show is organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of England. This is the only BBKA national Honey Show staged by the BBKA. It is a very prestigious Show which awards some beautiful prize cards.
We are hoping for record entries this year from all parts of the
The link to our web page is
http://www.britishbee.org.uk/news/current_news/bbka_honeyshow_3-6-july08.shtml
Martin Tovey, General Secretary BBKA
NOSEMA CERANAE
A new species of nosema, N. ceranae has recently been discovered in the
So far it has been found in seven English Counties:
Older infected honeybees defecate on brood combs and this contamination is subsequently cleaned up by the young bees, thus spreading the infection. Although colonies suffering from N.apis often recover spontaneously, it does not appear to be so with N. ceranae.
This infection considerably shortens the lifespan of the adult bees causing a big reduction in the honey crop.Fortunately it is susceptible to the antibiotic fumagillin (available to us as Fumidil-B) so should be treatable. Infected combs can be treated with 80% acetic acid.
Editor’s Note: My own view is that messing about with infected brood comb isn’t worth the effort. Acetic acid is quite expensive- and certainly is very dangerous –inhaling the fumes can really ruin your day. Much better is just to render down the comb, burn the frames, blow torch the brood box and start again with foundation).
OBKA
The Oxfordshire Beekeepers Association is a registered charity, number 1005846.
The OBKA website is now on-line. Visit www.oxfordshirebeekeepers.com to see details of future events, links to other useful sites and other relevant information.
Our Secretary is
Our Swarms Liaison Officer is Clifford McLean, Tel 01993 774895.
Our Spray Contact is Harry Jessup, Tel 01491 682645.
The Seasonal Bee Inspector is Margaret Holland, Tel 01327 857328.
THORNES AGENT
John Harris is a main agent for E H Thorne, and can supply most beekeeping equipment. Contact John at