Welcome to the March 2025 Newsletter from Rugby Beekeepers

I am currently on holiday in New Zealand and have made a small observation regarding the honeydew insect Ultracoelostoma Brittini, which is an important food source in black beech [Nothofagus solandri var. solandri] forests in the South Island of New Zealand. Two of the most prominent foragers of honeydew are bees [Apis Mellifera] and wasps [Vespula germanica and Vulgaris]. This is no different from honeydew found in the UK. It is so prevalent in places here that the entire air smells sweet. Sometimes for miles on end the gorgeous aroma of flowers and honey fills the air, except there are no flowers, it’s honeydew!
Cathy Moore

Well back here in the UK we are being spoiled by a short spell of beautiful weather. The twisted hazel in my garden must have had 300 honey bees enjoying the pollen today, it almost sounded like a swarm!

A big thankyou to the team that helped clean and tidy the Rugby apiary last week and to Paul and Annie Hutchinson who provided the beautiful honey cake which we enjoyed afterwards.

The BBKA Spring Convention is worth a visit for sales and lectures if you find time, it runs from 4-6 th April at Harper Adams University. You should have received an email about the event in the last few days.

Suggestions to consider in the apiary during March

• Only open a live hive if you really need to. Generally the weather is not warm enough and it takes a lot of energy for the bees to restore the temperature
• If bees are not flying on a sunny day you should check if they are alive. If you take a quick peek under the crownboard you should see bees moving around. If there is no sign of life in the hive you should close it up and seal the entrance until you find time to sort out the hive
• If bees have died it is always sad and upsetting – you should investigate the cause, is it starvation or disease? If disease is suspected you should clean all the equipment and use a blowlamp to torch everything (assuming it’s not plastic!)
• Consider preparing equipment ready for swarm season. We are now into March, with the warming weather colonies will be foraging for food and the queens will be laying. If conditions and a food supply continue to be good you may find colonies getting close to swarming sooner rather than later. Make sure you have frames and boxes ready made up ready to do splits
• Keep checking on stores, the hives are expanding quickly and stores can run low. Hefting rather than opening a hive is safer. Add fondant if in doubt by placing it over the crownboard
• Varroa, a floor insert will give you an idea of daily varroa drop. Refer to National Bee Unit for guidance if necessary.
• Maybe review hive notes from last year and plan your action points for this new season
• Consider rearing queens yourself, Dave Bonner will be giving a talk on Queen rearing this month at our RBKA monthly meeting Check your bee suits for gaps and repairs that may be needed – very important !
  Gail Plester

Next Meeting Our next monthly meeting will take place on the 5th of March. Dave Bonner will be giving a talk on queen raising, an important subject as we all need our queens to produce nice bees!