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“Why bee banters are so important and a female hairy footed flower bee” - by Malcolm Wilkie

Below is a link to a video of a female hairy footed flower bee.  Lesley rescued her as she was clinging onto a crocus flower, completely frozen, which is a scenario you may already have come across with you own honeybees. This hairy footed flower bee was taken into the warm and given some sugar syrup and as you can see it revived her.

How is it that she became so listless? Well it is because the nights are still very cold and the current wet weather has brought down the temperatures considerably.

So how is this relevant to all of us? The problem is that during February we have had some record warm temperatures and the bees have started to raise brood. Most of you will have noticed your bees bringing back pollen baskets crammed full of pollen, and this is a clear sign that your Queen has come back into lay.

Wonderful, of course.

Well is it so wonderful? Such unseasonal temperatures have tempted some of you to open up your hives. Not a good idea as if you crush your queen inadvertently now they will not be able to make a new queen. Or if they do, there is no chance of her getting mated! You will also be breaking the propolis seal and be setting the bees back which is an unwise thing to do so early in the year. Keith says that there is no point in looking so early on because if something has gone wrong with your hive there is nothing you can do about it anyway! Better to leave well alone!

Our bees have responded to the environment because early spring flowers have come into bloom and nighttime temperatures have been well above average. The consequence of this is that there will be brood in those hives. And that brood needs to be fed and to be kept warm. And that is a problem for us all.

Go to your hive and look at the uncappings below your open mesh floor. Watch your bees gathering water from your bird bath. What does this mean? Well, it means that they are using honey in order to keep the brood warm and in order to make new bees. The energy from the nectar last year is being converted into new life. So that, of course, is a danger if you did not feed your bees adequately last autumn because they could run out of food. March is that critical moment when new beekeepers do not realise what is happening and let their bees starve! That is why I always put fondant on in January.

What else should one be doing? I add a pollen pattie (neopoll). If the bees manage to get out and collect pollen (some of it they will store as bee bread)  this may be a waste of my money, but if for a whole week they are incarcerated in their hive due to bad weather then my pollen pattie will be a lifeline for them.  Given the current cold weather I am jolly glad I put on those patties! I hope you all have done so too.

So why my title? Because it is a chance to talk to other experienced beekeepers and work out what is going on and what you should be doing. I learn a lot and a lot of what I have set down here is information gathered at the February bee banter. As for the furry footed flower bee, it is just that I couldn’t resist sending you my video and the fact that she had got chilled was sort of relevant.

Look at the environment around you and try and read the signs. You will be a better bee keeper in consequence.

Malcolm Wilkie 4th March 2019

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“Preparing for the coming season” - by Malcolm Wilkie

The Sun has got some warmth in it at last and the bees are coming out and looking for fresh pollen and nectar. I have seen them working camellias, hellebores and snowdrops. It is only flowers planted in some sunshine that are being worked.

If you have not already been busy preparing for the coming season, now would be a good time to start.

  1. On a sunny morning check whether the bees are flying or if that is not possible then stick your ear to the side of the hive and listen for the gentle hum of the cluster. If you cannot hear anything, then gently tap the side of the hive and they will respond.
  2. Make a plan for what you are going to do with your bees this coming season. If you are a beginner and have only one hive, then you will be going for increase. Make sure you have ordered a second hive and that you have sufficient frames and foundation to be able to do a split. Better to order all this now than to be caught out at the end of April. I will run a session on swarm control in early April. April 3rd at 7:30pm at the Cross in Hand pub.

    (I am spelling out what I mean by the above so there can be no room for misunderstanding.

    If you are doing an artificial swarm then you will need 11 frames and eleven pieces of foundation. When you do an artificial swarm the Old Queen is placed on a brood frame on the original site in a new box (new floor, new crown board and new roof).  Have you purchased and built a new hive for this purpose? This new hive is filled with frames of foundation around the one brood frame where your old Queen is laying eggs.
    You will also need a large rapid feeder. If you have not yet purchased one this will be necessary if you are going to make increase. You will have to feed them at least 8kg of sugar to get them to draw out your foundation. And this is best fed to them all in one go in the large rapid feeder. Just be prepared to avoid rushing out and buying everything at the last moment. When you leave everything to the last moment mistakes are made. And as the experienced know among you if a hive swarms and then casts, you can be left with so few bees that it may take you two years to get the colony back to being prosperous again! Any delay at swarming time can lead to disaster.)

    On April 3rd I will also show you what to do if your bees want to swarm and you cannot find the Queen. It’s not as good as the Pagden method above but it should work.
  1. If you have been keeping bees for several years you should have cleaned up all your spare brood boxes, floors, crown boards and roofs by now. You will have used a blowtorch to clean up any wooden equipment so as to ensure that no disease is spread to a new colony. If you use poly hives any spare equipment will have been cleaned with soda crystals and then a strong solution of bleach.
  1. If you are Helen you will already have built frames for any increase that you are going to make but you will not have added the foundation as you will be waiting for early April. This is so that the wax does not turn brittle.
  1. Now is the time where you could add some Neopoll above the crown board. If the weather keeps clement, the gathering of pollen will not be an issue. However if we have a long spell of wet weather, Neopoll can be a lifeline for your bees. It will certainly help them build up if they are a medium sized or strong colony. This will give you the best chance of gathering a spring honey crop.
  1. There is now time to put order into your bee shed and check that wax moth has not done too much damage. Do it now because once the season starts you will just run out of time.
  1. If you have a very small colony and are wringing your hands in despair, don’t. Bees are amazingly resilient and you will be surprised just how quickly they come back after a long winter. However some Neopoll might well help. But not too much! You don’t want it oozing all over the crown board and running down into the brood nest through the hole in the crown board.

    If you haven’t treated against varroa in the autumn and were not brave enough to sublimate in the winter, then you need to think carefully what you are going to do. It may not be a huge problem but you will probably need to use something like varroa Med or hive alive every time you inspect in spring. If things are really desperate then in mid to late April you could use something like Apiguard. Difficult of course  with a small unit because Apiguard will put the Queen off lay for about a month. Only you can make the judgement. And only you can put the inspection board in to see what the natural dead mite drop is.

Have a plan and if you haven’t a plan, make one. Order those bits of equipment now!

Malcolm Wilkie February 11th 2019

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Happy New Year one and all!
2018 ….. now but a distant memory was my first year as Chairman of the High Weald Beekeepers’ Association and I’m relieved to report that I have not presided over too many calamities…so far. Despite my initial reservations about accepting such a role amongst such an august body as our committee, I must say that it has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. How could it be otherwise with such an agreeable, committed and knowledgeable collection of individuals who selflessly give of their time and energy in support of bees, bee-keeping, and your association.
It was a case of ‘in at the deep end’, as shortly after our own AGM last year we were charged with hosting the SBKA (Sussex Beekeepers’ Association – of which we are a division) AGM at the end of March, providing talks and nourishment. You may recall that the weather was particularly foul last March and I was obliged to stand in for our speaker from Arnia who literally could not get here from Cumbria. I have had Arnia hive monitoring equipment for some years now, so the task was not too onerous. It was very much the 21st century theme we intended as another member of our association Edward Hutt gave a very good talk about Flow Hives as the folks from Australia couldn’t come either (….because of the weather?... maybe not), and Rosie and team despite the weather provided the most excellent catering. The HWBKA did very well and we were highly commended.
The Association goes from strength to strength with membership just shy of 200 now.
Finances are very strong with our current balance >£15k under Steve’s stewardship. This has been bolstered this year by a grant from Wealden DC ably negotiated by Debby Park. Consequently, dues will remain unchanged for 2019/20…. one of the lowest in the area. It is probably worth pointing out that very little of our income actually comes from membership dues, approximately £500 in fact. The dues go almost entirely to the BBKA and BDI. Most of our income is generated by our own activities, such as the training courses, honey and plant sales at various events, wax workshops etc. none of which would be possible without the dedication of the committee and other helpers. We are now trying to build a fighting fund to support future plans for a new permanent apiary.
The training programmes have been very successful again - courtesy of Malcolm providing 17 new beekeepers  as fresh blood. We have for the first time added to the website the glowing references we received from the participants which may be read here - https://hwbka.info/2018-beginners-course-testimonials/. We also held a Taster Day again which was a great success.
Popularity of apiary visits has been waning for many years now, but other social events such as BeeBanter still serve our community well, and there has been a full year of other activities too, organised by Rosie Riley.
The association apiary at Slab Castle is in rather splendid fettle courtesy of Keith and a new member Steve Davies who has put in a tremendous amount of work. However, we have shut down the Great Danegate site at Eridge due to the retirement of Norman Beresford the apiary manager
Various shows were attended such as the Honey Market at Heathfield School, the Crowborough Fair, Langton Green Fair, and Weald in the Field generating revenue for beekeepers and the Association, and more importantly generating interest in bees and beekeeping
The website continues to support our activities and membership well and is now maintained more conscientiously by our very conscientious secretary Peter Halford.
At the AGM last year, we acquired 3 new members on the committee, Sam Bowles who has served many times before on the committee and will be taking over the Apiarist magazine, Steve Davies who as mentioned above has been assisting Keith at the association apiary, and Helen Searle who will be assisting Rosie with events.
The challenge going forward will be to secure a more permanent apiary site where it is worth investing in permanent facilities such as a club house etc. – challenging. A plea for land was sent out far and wide earlier last year with limited success. 4 sites were visited – mostly deemed unsuitable on grounds of access, safety or lack of permanence. One private site is in abeyance
Our hopes are now pinned on the either the Uckfield or Crowborough SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space) courtesy of WDC again – and despite initial slow progress things are now looking more encouraging.

This may seem rather familiar to those who attended the AGM … apologies! but it is really for those who couldn’t.

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“Christmas is nearly here” - by Malcolm Wilkie

Christmas is nearly here and finally it is a quiet time in the apiary for the beekeeper. Autumn has been wet and like many of you I have wrapped my hives in a breathable roofing membrane. This keeps my wooden hives dry but lets out any moisture that the bees are producing.

Above is what Helen did for her bees at the end of October. You have to cut out a section so you don’t block up their entrance, of course. Keeping the bees dry really does make a difference as wet hives encourages fungal infections to grow on the bees and colonies will suffer. Even at this late stage this is something you could do on a dry day. I just fix the membrane on with drawing pins and crudely cut a section for the entrance.

If you have a WBC hive or a poly hive then this is not something you have to do (the outer skin of the WBC keeps the inner boxes dry and a poly hive sheds water, unlike wood which can retain moisture even if you have been careful and treated it with linseed oil).

All may be quiet with the bees (although these exceptionally mild temperatures are encouraging them out ) but there is still something you can do to help colonies. Bees often decide to take a brood break between mid-December and very early January. Because this is so this enables one to treat a colony with bad varroa with oxalic acid, either by the trickle method or by sublimating them. Please refer to my article last January if you are going to sublimate them, and make sure you have the right mask. By doing it now when there is no brood you will kill 96% of the mites. There is no real difference in efficacy between the two methods although if you are using the trickle method a Queen can only be treated once in her lifetime so write down in your records what you have done in case you are tempted to use this method again next year. With sublimation the number of times a Queen is treated does not seem to matter.

I have found boxes of bees that have been treated with either method have done really well and have romped away in the Spring. Keith would encourage you to monitor your natural dead mite drop for a week and then to go on bee base and use the varroa calculator as he does not like bees just being treated prophylactically. And he is absolutely right. Count the drop, do the calculation and then only treat if you need to.

If you decide on the trickle method it would be best to buy oxalic acid already mixed in to sugar syrup. Let the bee farmer get the correct concentration for you as otherwise you could kill your bees. The trickle method works because the bees pass the syrup containing the oxalic acid between themselves via trophallaxis. However some bees will get a higher dose as they will have come directly into contact with your syrup and so inevitably there will be some casualties. But for the greater good of the colony........

Finally an idea for a Christmas present. If you have been keeping bees for a year or two and have not read Bill Turnbull’s novel ‘The bad beekeepers club’ then you should ask to be given the novel for Christmas. It is hilarious. I suspect most of us will recognise aspects of our own beekeeping in what he recounts or even things we may have done ourselves. However on no account should it be given to the wife or husband of the beekeeper unless they have a good sense of humour!

Happy Christmas everyone and happy beekeeping.

Malcolm Wilkie 11th December 2018

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The National Honey Show, Sandown Park Race Course

Just a brief reminder to everybody that we have the National honey show coming up at the end of October. This is held at Sandown Park racecourse in the outskirts of London.

You can have a look at the program of lectures and the workshops that are offered on line. This year I am particularly interested in one of the lectures that Clarence Collison will be giving.  That is because he will be looking at factors affecting Queen quality. I think that some of us are beginning to have problems with Queens and I have seen two colonies this year where although there were a lot of bees and a new queen, the Queen never really started to lay eggs. I find this quite alarming and is the first time I have come across this.

The honey show is held over the course of three days. The best day to go is really Friday. However there are interesting lectures and workshops every day. If you are interested in doing a workshop it is absolutely fundamental that you book that on the 1st of September. If you don’t, you may find that it is booked out.

There are also sessions for beginners or people who have only been keeping bees for a couple of years. These are always interesting sessions and a Master beekeeper always takes these.

I will be taking up my honey to show, as well as other people’s honeys. If you are interested in doing that you can download an entry form and I could take that honey up for you on Thursday morning, 25th October. It costs £1 to enter and I would suggest entering class five because the judge gives a comment about every single honey in that class. If you are not going up, I will report back with any comments. This is a gift class and you do not get back your honey – so be warned.

N.B.No incipient granulation, please. If you get three jars of honey to me well beforehand I will titivate and enter two jars having stood them in my honey warming cabinet. I need three jars in order to ensure the best presentation of the two required jars.

Malcolm Wilkie 30th August 2018