Welcome to the July 2025 Newsletter from Rugby Beekeepers

Message from our Chair I recently attended a bee health day at Stoneleigh, we are very fortunate to be so close to the national headquarters. The day was run by experienced staff who took pleasure in teaching. We were divided up into 3 groups each of these groups had the opportunity to have hands-on experience of many different diseased frames. It’s interesting to translate the many pictures we have all seen of EFB, AFB etc. to the appearance of the actual disease.

We were also part of a disease hive inspection, and I was reminded that without clearing each frame of all bees, how easy it is to miss an obvious abnormality. It seems silly to write that, but I realised my more recent inspections had not been that thorough. Easy to do. Should you see any of these day courses offered next year I truly recommend attending.

Meanwhile I would like to say if anybody does have a worry looking at their hives, please contact either your mentor or any of the more experienced beekeepers in the RBKA. Take photos and ask questions. If something does not look right, the bee inspectors will happily review your photos and come to check your hives if there is a suspicion of more worrying problems It's in everyone’s interest to contain diseases such as EFB and AFB and equally a great relief to have your hives checked and discover it is chalk brood, sac brood or a more common minor concern. Happy Beekeeping!
Cathy Moore

Firstly I would like to thank every member of the Branch that helped in any way support the summer events at Rugby , Dunchurch and Wolston, also other members who are supporting the smaller events that are still happening around the villages.

Educating the public is part of our role as a member of RBKA, whether it is explaining the cycle of honey bee life, pollination, production of honey or the Asian Hornet concern. Again, thank you all.

Cathy has forwarded to me rather disturbing news regarding UK reports of the Asian Hornet, for the latest information please access BeeBase. Most of the swarming instinct has passed but not all, still be mindful of strong hives needing a late split or a further split.

I have noticed in many of the hives I have seen during spring /early summer time an abundance of pollen. The pollen is amazing in its array of tones and solid colours, which makes me constantly question where they have been foraging, but the bees have filled many brood combs reducing laying space in the process!

Not every split has taken, speaking to members the early splits were less successful than the later. Some keepers have very little success in raising any queens at all. It will be interesting to speak to more members as the season progresses.

Last month I referred to the sadness of losing bees due to Chronic Bee paralysis virus in some of my hives and other beekeepers. However, the consensus of opinion based on a small number of hives is that those hives troubled with a mild form, now seem to be building up well, without signs of the Virus, those with a heavy Virus did not recover though sadly.

Things to consider during July

• Be mindful of the egg laying pattern when you are expecting the new queen to be laying – do you have a new queen settling into laying? or a worker laying. There are plenty of articles on line/BBKA to help differentiate between the two , and the action to take
• Observe your Bait hives if you have any
• Constantly have supers ready or brood boxes, to top -up hives and allow space for honey. Drawn out brood frames may come in very handy next year
• The brambles can get thick and dangerous around hives, for safety try to keep them cut back and controlled.
• Varroa mite count is a useful exercise for each hive – refer to the National Bee unit for guidance
• Check your hives for disease when you find time, as Cathy referred to above - if in doubt get advice. By knowing what is normal in the hive is so important, then you can easily identify when something looks odd or different
  Gail Plester