Dear Member,
Well as we come into the new year, I hope you all have a happy and successful beekeeping year in 2016!
Our Christmas social meeting in December went off well despite missing Steve Brown’s delicious smoked salmon, members excelled themselves in providing a wonderful spread of delicious food, ranging from home-made bread to scrummy chocolate fudge cake. Dave Bonner ran an enjoyable quiz, pitting 4 teams against one another.
The ‘Old Timers’ took the wooden spoon, proving that age and wisdom do not necessarily go together, while the ‘Tiny Team’ proved the adage that ‘good things come in small packages’, and won the day! Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable evening in a warm and friendly atmosphere, thanks to all who attended.
Those of you who have not heard Celia Davis talk are in for a treat at the January meeting. We are lucky to have someone of Celia’s calibre as a member of Warwickshire beekeepers. Apart from being a nationally renowned author of several beekeeping books, she is a warm and engaging speaker who always manages to make sometimes complicated things seem simple and straight-forward. Not something many people are adept at. Do come along if you can; no matter how often I hear her speak I always come away feeling I have learned something new.
Tips for the month:
The very warm December temperatures are presenting our bees with a challenge. Many are still flying and bringing in pollen, but this increased activity at a time when usually they would be clustering, means that they are using up more food supplies than normal.
So do check your hives by hefting and if they feel light, ensure that you provide the bees with fondant. A block of this placed In a plastic take-away tray and Inverted over the feed hole should help to eke out stores being used up. Then make sure you check weekly to see if they are using up the fondant arid replace as necessary. Ensure that you don’t use fondant supplied for confectionery use, as this has additives that will cause diarrhoea in bees which can lead to the spread of disease. Fondant can be bought from bee suppliers, or David Stott near Southern (address in WB) or you can make your own - recipes on the internet.
Another effect of the warm weather is that there has not been the opportunity for a broodless period in the hive. This means that the varroa have been continuing to breed. So even though you may have done a varroa treatment in the Autumn, varroa numbers will have continued to increase, so by Spring it Is possible that colonies will have been weakened. Our seasonal bee Inspector, David Bonner, suggests that you could use ApiLife Var or Apivar which are both approved varroa treatments to use when there is brood in the colony. Many members have successfully used Hlveclean in this way too, but this is not yet a veterinary approved treatment. Oxalic acid should not be used when there is brood in the colony, so unless we have a cold spell soon, it is not recommended.
Continue to read or study about these fascinating little creatures. The more you know the more you will enjoy your beekeeping and hopefully be rewarded by looking after strong healthy colonies and perhaps harvesting a good crop of Honey!
Think about using the wax you have accumulated during the year. It can be very rewarding to make and bum your own candles at Christmas time or when you give a dinner party. There is lots of advice on the internet or think of attending a workshop.
Margaret Holdsworth