Dear Member,

We had a good turnout for our AGM. Thanks to all who attended and voted in the new committee. I have taken over the chair from Steve Brown who gave an entertaining and informative talk on what he had learned from his beekeeping mistakes, reminding us all of the lessons to be learnt from experience.

Fran, one of our newer beekeepers has kindly agreed to take over running the Honey Show in 2017, and Rowan is taking over the programme arrangements, while other members of the committee agreed to continue their valued contributions.

As the weather slowly starts to warm up it is tempting to look into colonies to see how they are doing. Of course it is up to you what you do, but if you can restrain yourself it is better not to disturb the colonies for a few weeks yet. Opening the hive is a bit like opening all your doors and windows - it takes quite a lot of energy to bring the temperatures up again, and remember if there is brood, as there should be now, the bees are having to keep the temperature around the brood at 35deg C - much warmer than we keep our homes. Consequently they are using a lot of energy, and therefore stores, to re-establish the required heat after a hive is opened. If you are tempted, make sure the outside temperature is at least 15 deg C (T-shirt weather).

This is also the time to hang up Asian Hornet traps near your hives. Living as we do in close proximity to DIRFT we are regarded as one of the vulnerable sites for non-native species to enter the country i.e. the Asian Hornet and the Small Hive Beetle. As responsible beekeepers this means we should all be keeping a watch for both these pests which will put our colonies at risk and also colonies in the rest of the country.

A group of us had some fun constructing Asian Hornet traps last month. The workshop was very ably led by Rowan Moore and most of us managed to construct a reasonable facsimile of the trap described in the National Bee Unit website. I am sure the hornets will not be deterred by some lopsided traps. If you have not yet attempted constructing a trap - do have a go, it is easier than it looks.

Early April is the time the BBKA always hold their annual convention at Harper Adams University. If you have never attended, do think about going, if only for one day if three days seems too much. Saturday is a good day to consider as there are interesting lectures and workshops as well as stands from the trade organizations. The more you learn about beekeeping the more rewarding you will find it. Do have a look on the BBKA website to see what is on offer. It is not the easiest website to navigate, but persevere!

The Convention, and of course the Bee Tradex, which took place on the 4th March are good opportunities to buy equipment you may need for the next season. Also it gives the opportunity to look at different equipment and consider what you may want in the future.

Do come to the next RBKA meeting and learn from Peter Spencer, a very experienced beekeeper, how to do an artificial swarm without finding a queen - a situation we have all faced.

Regards,

Margaret Holdsworth