Dear Member,

Our Summer social went off well this year with old and new beekeepers sharing lovely food; the weather was kind - no rain, no extreme temperatures, and Rowan once again provided a bright cherry red marquee to give it a festive edge.

Many of you have had a visit from the seasonal bee inspector, David Bonner. I hope you had the opportunity to observe him at work, and to tap into his expertise, and that he did not find the dreaded EFB or AFB in any of your hives, or evidence of any other major problems.

I am delighted to report that 5 of our newer beekeepers undertook the Basic Assessment this year. This is a great achievement and many thanks to Sam Peckett who ran the study group encouraging the preparation for this assessment. If you have not yet done the Basic Assessment I would urge you to consider it for next year as a further learning opportunity.

Our monthly Apiary meetings have also been well attended this year, which hopefully indicates that newer beekeepers are keen to learn and improve their beekeeping skills and knowledge. My experience has certainly been that the more I learn, the more enjoyment I get, but also the more aware I become of how complex and interesting bees and beekeeping can be. Hopefully with more support newer beekeepers will be encouraged to keep trying to improve their practice and get through the first few difficult years without giving up!

At the beginning of August, together with Warwickshire Wildlife, a small group of Rugby branch stalwarts set up our marquee with exhibits and bees, next to Marks and Spencer at Elliot’s Field shopping site. This was a part requirement for the £1,000 grant that we applied for, and received, from Elliot’s Field. The event was surprisingly popular, with numbers of people stopping to find out more about bees, and a number of people expressing an interest in our next Beginners Beekeeping course in February.

I hope that some of you managed to extract some honey this year as with the months of sunshine and low rainfall the bees have been busy. If you have, do consider putting aside some of your best honey for our local Honey Show in October. This is a good opportunity to show off some of your beekeeping skills and join the fun of competing (gently) with some of your fellow beekeepers. You may even be tempted to enter the County Honey show on the 29th September 2018.

As we go into Winter with our bees, think about what they will need in Spring. Try to acquire plants now that meet the bees’ needs in Spring - pollen being the most essential. Even if the bees still have stored honey their pollen reserves will no longer be available as stored pollen does not remain viable throughout the winter, unlike honey, and the bees will need copious amounts for the new brood once the queen starts to lay in late January/February, and also to feed the queen to keep her laying. Plants like snowdrops, crocus, winter aconites, hellebores and mahonia are all good sources. In Spring the bees can’t fly long distances to collect pollen, so plants in the vicinity of the hives are valuable resources.

Regards

Margaret Holdsworth