Bromley
Bee News Monthly Update
Published by the Bromley Beekeepers |
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Welcome
to the March 2003 issue of Bromley News.
Beekeepers are now coming out of hibernation after a long winter (well some of us are). This week we have had a dry spell and some sunshine which has enabled me to get out in the garden and do some pruning and weeding for a change. Going by the lack of activity at the hive entrances the bees are not as advanced as in previous years. I don't feel any urgency to make the first inspections until the weather warms up a bit more. However I would recommend getting those supers on early, so the brood nest can expand with young bees rather than getting choked with honey and encouraging swarming. Branch members should have received a membership card from the British Beekeepers Association with BBKA News by direct mailing this month, if you haven't had yours contact Clive Watson ASAP. For interest I have scanned a 1954 Bromley branch membership card which you can view on the Internet version of this newsletter. Some of our longer serving members might recall with nostalgia the time when you could buy beekeeping equipment in Boots the Chemists. Barry
Mills has established contacts with Diablo Beekeepers in the USA.
Beekeepers are the same the world over, and we can only gain by these
cultural exchanges. The Lip Balm recipe and the Italian mite control
articles have been taken from the Diablo Bee January 2003 newsletter.
http://www.diablobees.org/
Italian
mite control Lip Balm Recipe 3 teaspoons
grated beeswax Melt the beeswax and vegetable oil together in a saucepan or double boiler, stirring constantly. When melted (this is very fast), remove from the heat and add the essential oil and honey. Mix well. Allow to harden, continuing to mix occasionally to ensure the oils and wax don't separate. Internet Improved
web version of this newsletter with pictures Apis-UK
The free Beekeeping web magazine and newsletter The
British Beekeepers Association have produced a new downloadable
leaflet "An Introduction to IPM Integrated Pest Management for
Beekeepers" (Manage bees with minimum medication) (or MMM) Download
from the URL: http://www.bbka.org.uk
Apiary News Yet another hazard looms on the horizon in the form of the Small Hive Beetle. This little pest burrows into the comb, decimates the brood and creates general mayhem within the hive. I gather it has not yet reached these shores but we all know what that means, it's on its way. Lionel handed me a little snippet at the last meeting that was reported in his Farmers Weekly that sounds interesting. A new fungus has been discovered which will aid our fight against our old enemy. The fungus can produce spores that can stick to the varroa mite. Preliminary results of a government funded study by Horticultural Research at Wellesbourne are seen as encouraging. Let us hope this turns into reality in the not too distant future. Did you see the report in last Saturday's Daily Mail that bees can now be trained to sniff out explosives in our never-ending fight against the terrorist? It appears that bees can be trained to detect many other substances as well, their sense of smell being far superior to that of the traditional dog. Last month's talk by James Morton was well received. It was made even more interesting by the question sheet he handed around. Some of the points on the sheet were not immediately obvious but it certainly makes one think. Five of the Mini Nucs are still surviving, if only we get a spell of warm weather they will be able to get down to a little brood rearing as the numbers within these little hive are getting precariously low. Our meeting on Tuesday the 18th will be a talk by Maurice Field on keeping bees healthy without medication. I wonder how that can be done?! Come along and find out and I can recommend the tea and biscuits. Now
is the time to get plenty of supers on. Never let the bees think they
are getting short of space and lets hope the supers are all full by
the end of the season. Peter
Springall Diary
Dates Sunday
2nd March 2003 11:45am For
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