MAY
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Jobs in the Apiary for May
I believe that the month of April was one of the coldest and wettest I have known for some years; not very conducive to either the beekeepers or the bees. We have certainly had our share of April showers; thunder storms and hale, followed by rain and more rain then in-between a glimpse of something I vaguely remember called the sun! Let’s hope May brings better weather for all. Through all this though the colonies do seem to be thriving and expanding in the main with most colonies now more or less ready for the new O.S.R crop about to explode in the fields with the first consistent raise in temperature.
May is a very busy time for beekeepers. It’s the month when most colonies start their swarming procedures and beekeepers must be alert and on the ball with their weekly inspections. This will happen quickly when the weather breaks and temperatures rise, and this is due in the main to the confinement the bees have had to endure through all this bad weather.
Remember to write down what you see and do with each colony as you go through them into your annual bee journal. Failure to carry out inspections on a weekly basis from now on until the colonies have all been manipulated, (explanation to come) can result in the loss of your prime swarms, and this is something you don’t want to happen.
So what are we looking for when we carry out these weekly inspections, and what can we do to somewhat delay this often inevitable situation?
Asian Hornet
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The hornet, since its introduction to France in 2004, has now made its way into Belgium and Spain, we are told a single Queen arrived in France in a consignment of bonsai pots imported by a garden centre. We would like anyone living near garden centres, freight terminals, ports, fruit and veg importers, timber merchants or any facility that imports goods from the continent to help us monitor the situation. The Nbu and the Non-native species secretariat have produce guidance sheets and posters detailing how to trap and identify this threat to our colonies. The trap specified in the guidance notes has some special features which will allow non target species to escape if they are attracted to the bait, It will also exclude our native hornet, which is not aggressive and we have no wish to persecute it, so please follow the instructions carefully if you would like to help. PDF Downloads: Guidance Note Asian Hornet Trap ID Vespa velutina (Asian_Hornet) There is information available about the Asian hornet on Beebase if anyone needs to know more. Dhonn Atkinson Seasonal Bee Inspector The Food and Environment Research Agency Association nucs
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27 NEW NUC BOXES 27 new nuc boxes ready for the new beekeeping season, the nucs will be used to house the bees for the new beekeepers who are in the last few weeks of the winter beekeeping course.
A big thank you to association members Paul Winder and Ian Dwyer for their hard work, we would also like to thank Arnold Lavers for supplying the timber at half price. Bradford BKA Calendar 2011 - 2012 | |
Monthly Meetings in Black Extra Events in Blue |
HELP THE HONEY BEE
Spring Convention 2012
This being my third year of beekeeping I decided that for the first time, I would attend the BBKA Spring Convention this year and see and hear some... Read more...bee shaped wax moulds?
Hi guys Looking for a bee-shaped mould for my beeswax - amy ideas? looking for a smallish one, 3inches or so thanks Lou| FROM THE RBI |
Most of you reading this newsletter will have access to e-mail and the internet so I wanted to let you know of two new ways that you can keep up to date with information from the National Bee Unit and any problems with notifiable bee diseases in your area. |
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