Dear Member,

I need to bring to your attention two changes to our regular meetings at the Friends Meeting House. Unfortunately David Bonner is not able to join us in September, and we have made a decision to move the December meeting to the first week in December to avoid meeting so close to Christmas when many people have commitments. Please check our Events Page for the dates of meetings and events.

Our July gathering at The Bell in Hillmorton was well attended and it was good to see so many of our newer beekeepers there. Unusually for a Wednesday evening the Pub was busy, so we ended up in two different places for the first part of the evening but discussions were lively. Tim Belk informed us about a heat treatment for varroa which meant not using chemicals. He cheekily informed me that I could find the details on “something called the World Wide Web”! Having looked at some of the information it is an interesting possibility for those of us who want to reduce the chemicals we use in our bee-keeping, but getting the application right will be critical, and it has not yet been fully scientifically validated. But an interesting development nevertheless.

Talking to David Bonner, our seasonal bee inspector, it seems that some of us have either not registered with BeeBase, the national register of hives run by the National Bee Unit, or failed to change the location of our apiaries on Beebase when we moved our bees. I was guilty of the latter until prompted by David. It is vitally important that the NBU is aware of the location of hives as if there is an outbreak of disease or a non native invasive species is found in an area, the bee inspectors can alert beekeepers and inspect their hives. This protects all beekeepers, so if you are aware of hives in a location that you think may not be registered please let David know, and please register your own hives.

We are coming up to Honey Show time. The County Show takes place at Stoneleigh at the end of the month and our own Rugby Show takes place the first Saturday in October. Please think about supporting these events by entering or coming along to view the entries. It is good to see the fruits of both bees and beekeepers labours and fun to try your hand at making candles or entering honey or photos, or even baking a honey cake.

Some of you who have used the Branch extractor know that it is not in good shape any more. We have decided to purchase a new one which should be available if any of you have not yet extracted your honey. Steve Martin is the keeper of the extractor, so contact him if you need to use it.

I have been alerted to the fact that several newer beekeepers have put frames together without nails. Apparently this is being put forward on a YouTube video. While frames do fit together tightly when new, once they are filled with honey or brood, they can be heavy and break apart when you lift them, so remember 11 nails in the right place will save a lot of mess and distress to the bees - and the beekeeper.

Please check our Events Page for the dates of meetings and events.

Regards,

Margaret Holdsworth