I don’t know about you but my bees have been nothing but trouble these last few weeks. St Leonards has good forage so starvation has not been a problem but my difficulty has been the number of boxes that have wanted to swarm for a second time. The bees seem to have felt cramped in their brood boxes after splits were done; no doubt in part due to their difficulty in drawing wax given the lowish temperatures we have had recently. Every box has now built queen cells. My biggest challenge has been one box of extremely prolific bees ( I got from another beekeeper) where varroa had been allowed to build up. I decided to do a split but leaving the queen on the old site with just foundation (I knew this queen needed a fresh start). This just didn’t work as I had planned, however, as the temperatures just weren’t elevated enough and with the supers above the bees just didn’t bother to work Mr Kembles nice foundation. I eventually gave them drawn comb and the Queen laid into that. But now for the second time they have built queen cells and so I have just banked her in an apidea mating hive with a cupful of bees. Bees are so frustrating at times! The parent hive was another story. Over a period of two weeks a carpet of dead bees has built up in front of the hive as diseased bees crawled out of the hive. They had wings but couldn’t take off and a stream of them seemed to be making their way daily down the garden. I knew it would be risky getting a viable queen cell so took out an insurance policy of two frames of brood with over 10 queen cells. I left them all in the nuc I took away from the parent hive. From that insurance policy I got one nice looking queen. In the parent hive I left one queen cell. Just as well I had my insurance policy as the queen cell I left in the parent hive, when checked, contained a dead larva. So I was able to put back my insurance policy. However what had been a big box of bees is now a smallish unit. The three supers they had laden with honey have now had to be given to other hives as there aren’t enough of them to look after it or to cap it! My queen will take another week to come into lay and as I have a lot of units I have added a frame of sacrificial larvae. Phoretic varroa mites will hopefully dive into this as there is no other brood and in a weeks time I shall remove this frame and burn it. Let’s hope this gives my new queen a fresh start. I have a similar scenario at my out apiary with the box of bees I allowed to expand into a double 14*12 brood box for queen rearing. Lots of bees equates to lots of varroa and lots of varroa means lots of viruses getting a hold. I have created a real management headache for myself! I don’t know about you but varroa seems to be a big problem this year. Yet again this is proving to be a year like no other and my prediction is that many of you will struggle with varroa in your hives earlier than normal so you will need to monitor carefully what the daily mite drop is. We have bee safaris organised for the end of June and those who will come will be in for a treat. Look out for the session on treatments. In my opinion this is the most important session. Get that right and the bees are far more likely to survive the winter. Get it wrong and hives can collapse in March.
Malcolm Wilkie – July 2024
Author Archives: Peter Halford
Links – End of July 2024
Ouch! Why wasps like stinging us on August 5th
31-Jul-24 – ResponseSource
https://pressreleases.responsesource.com/news/105637/ouch-why-wasps-like-stinging-us-on-august-5th/
International Recognition For Wilton Centre’s Teenage Beekeeper
29-Jul-24 - Pioneer
https://thepioneergroup.com/international-recognition-for-wilton-centres-teenage-beekeeper/
'Ingenious' insects build rockface nest
25-Jul-243 – Jersey Evening Post
Jeremy Clarkson hits back at fans stung by bees near Clarkson’s farm
24-Jul-24 – The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/jeremy-clarkson-beehive-farm-b2585088.html
Insect decline of 37% over 50 years shows support for farmers is crucial to biodiversity recovery
22-Jul-24 – GWCT
Woman develops 'full-blown addiction' to bee stings for pain relief and 'great sex'
19-Jul-24 – Unilad
https://www.unilad.com/news/health/woman-addicted-bee-stings-pain-relief-margaret-505747-20240719
Air pollution harms pollinators more than pests, study finds
11-Jul-24 – University of Reading
Brit drivers warned hitch-hiking wasps could see them slapped with a whopping £2500 fine this summer
10-Jul-24 – The Sun
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/29071729/brit-drivers-warned-hitch-hiking-wasps-whopping-fine/
Watchdog investigates emergency authorisation for banned bee-killing pesticide
08-Jul-24 – Shropshire Star
Asian hornets' nests on the increase in Belgium
02-Jul-24 – The Brussels Times
https://www.brusselstimes.com/1122261/asian-hornets-nests-on-the-increase-in-belgium
Will AI help stop spread of killer Asian Hornets? BBC Springwatch presenter Gillian Burke backs technology which helps identify invasive insects
02-Jul-24 – The Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13591633
Devon school trains 'mini beekeepers'
01-Jul-24 – BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c511dr7glz9o
Shoppers run for cover as swarm of bees takes over high street
29-Jun-24 – Metro
https://metro.co.uk/2024/06/29/shoppers-run-cover-swarm-bees-takes-high-street-21130001/
HWBKA Apiarist – July 2024
Links – End of June 2024
AI in action – Stopping the Asian Hornet Invasion
26-Jun-24 – CapGemini
Raspberry Pi used to count bees — Brazilian researchers use a Pi Zero 2 W and some AI to help keep hives healthy
21-Jun-24 – Toms Hardware
Artificial Intelligence raises alarm on invasive hornet species
18-Jun-24 – Labmate
Honeybees Can Sniff Out Lung Cancer, Scientists Suggest
15-Jun-24 – Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/honeybees-can-sniff-out-lung-cancer/
How to help British bees with the rise of Asian Hornets
06-Jun-24 - ITV
https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/how-to-help-british-bees-with-the-rise-of-asian-hornets
Help the bees: expert tips to create a brighter, more colourful and diverse garden
04-Jun-24 – House Beautiful
https://www.housebeautiful.com/uk/garden/a60912717/attract-bees-garden-cuprinol/
Asian hornets overwintered in UK for first time, DNA testing shows
03-Jun-24 – The Guardian
‘Considerable’ drop in number of Asian hornet queens spotted in Jersey
03-Jun-24 – Jersey Evening Post
Warning over invasive plant taking over Gloucestershire rivers as mission launched today
03-Jun-24 – Gloucestershire Live
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/warning-over-invasive-plant-taking-9319318
Invasive Asian hornet threatens Luxembourg’s bees
02-Jun-24 – Lux Times
https://www.luxtimes.lu/luxembourg/invasive-asian-hornet-threatens-luxembourg-s-bees/13451872.html
Links – End of May 2024
Asian hornets have overwintered in the UK for the first time
31-May-24 – New Scientist
How to catch an Asian Hornet? – (includes recipe for bait)
24-May-24 – The Portugal News
https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2024-05-24/how-to-catch-an-asian-hornet/89196
Why are there so many Asian hornets?
22-May-24 – BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnllevy5wxro
Chief Plant Health Officer urges increased Asian hornet vigilance
20-May-24 – British Assoc Landscape Ind
https://www.bali.org.uk/news/chief-plant-health-officer-urges-increased-asian-hornet/
I’m an Asian hornet specialist – this is how to protect your children
20-May-24 – iNews
https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/asian-hornet-specialist-how-to-protect-children-3064794
Public told to report invasive Asian Hornet sightings amid surge warning
20-May-24 – ITVx
Warning over Asian hornets after record sightings
20-May-24 – BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckddw0wg5deo#
Traps to catch Asian hornets at wastewater sites in East Sussex
17-May-24 – PlanetRadio
Welsh honey producers take next generation of bee farmers under their wings
16-May-24 – Business Wales
Turkey's 'mad honey' aphrodisiac that can knock you flat
16-May-24 – MedicalPress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-05-turkey-mad-honey-aphrodisiac-flat.html
Hundreds of hornets attack IDF soldiers in southern Gaza, 10 hospitalized
10-May-24 – The Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-800712
Most of 15 million bees contained after bee-laden truck crashes
10-May-24 – ABC News
https://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/15-million-bees-contained-after-bee-laden-truck-110108697
Sowing seeds of sustainability: Our approach to supporting pollinators and agriculture
09-May-24 – LightSource BP
Pharmacist explains how to tell which insect has bitten or stung you - and if it is serious
08-May-24 – Daily Record
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/health/pharmacist-explains-how-tell-insect-32759649
Incredible close-up photos of bees inspire exhibition in Liverpool
07-May-24 – Sky News
https://news.sky.com/story/incredible-close-up-photos-of-bees-go-on-display-in-liverpool-13128191
Gardeners 'banned' from using weedkiller in garden in May or June after stark warning
04-May-24 – The Express
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/1894398/gardeners-weedkiller-ban-may-june
Gardeners ‘banned’ from getting rid of dandelions until July date after expert warning
30-Apr-24 – The Express
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/1893972/get-rid-dandelions-garden
Gardeners 'banned' from mowing lawns until July date after expert's stark warning
29-Apr-24 – The Express
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/1893688/Gardeners-banned-mowing-lawns-July-date