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The fine weather this month has provided good conditions for treating our colonies against varroa, using thymol-based treatments such as Apiguard (other treatments are available). The warm weather also allows syrup used for feeding to be converted effectively into stores for use over winter - a task which I personally confess to leaving very late. Our face-to-face meetings are continuing on the 3rd Monday of the month, and the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust this month provided a fascinating account of their plans to introduce beavers at Willington (only a few, in a restricted area). The latest newsletter, with some important information about our use of the training apiary, and the honey show schedule are attached (in case you missed it last time). Do respond to the challenge of entering exhibits in the Honey Show on the 9-10 October. It is a fun event, and provides a great opportunity for the public to enjoy the results of our craft and learn more about it. And you may be pleasantly surprised! You'll find the entry form just below. Chris Ring 
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By now you'll probably have harvested your honey, so it's an ideal time to think about what to submit for exhibition in our Association Honey Show, which will take place from 9-10th October, at Cooper Square. You'll already have received a copy of this, but it's also attached below. Here you'll also find the latest newsletter, including a helpful reminder of the things we need to be doing for our bees in August, as well as an intriguing account by Sam Hampton of work being done locally to develop near native queens (Apis Mellifera Mellifera). and further information about the Honey Show from Suzanne King, who's bravely agreed to organise this. Chris Ring
From this month, we are resuming our programme of face-to-face meetings at the Henhurst and District Recreational Club, Henhurst Hill, Burton on Trent. Our AGM will take place there on the 26th July at 7.30 pm, and we would like to welcome as many members as possible there.
The arrival of better weather and the relaxation of restrictions promises a much happier summer for our bees and ourselves. Swarms should be anticipated (if they haven't already arrived - see below); so we should be considering suitable prevention, control (and recovery!) measures.  This one originated from a feral colony in a neighbouring church wall, with limited scope for prevention. With strong nectar flows (at least where my bees live), it's important to consider supering your colonies if they are running short of space.. The British Beekeepers Association has a useful guide to swarming for the public, including a map of where to find your local swarm collector (see www.bbka.org.uk/swarm ), and a handy guide to Bees in Buildings (attached). Our June newsletter is available below too.
The training apiary is now well-established, and is being put to good use. See the latest newsletter (below) for details Sam Hampton has also started a Queen-rearing group, and as you'll see from the newsletter, queens and a small number of nucleus colonies should become available in July - contact Sam (sam.hampton@btinternet.com) SOON if you are interested! Enjoy your beekeeping. Let's hope for some warmer weather soon - and do ensure your bees have enough stores- I've lost a colony to starvation in May before now. Chris Ring
Our latest talk on Asian Hornet - the French Experience is on Monday 19th April at 8pm Covering: Latest situation as at the end of 2020 – why some areas are heavily infested whilst others are not. Effect on French Beekeeping – is it all down to the Asian Hornet? The Asian Hornet – are you and your bees inviting it into your apiary? Predation of the honeybee - the hidden effects of predation. Opportunities for Nest Control: Spring trapping of foundress queens – the lesser of two evils? What the beekeeper can do and when to do it! Measures proven to relieve stress and protect the hive. To join please see us02web.zoom.us/j/88915605498?pwd=NjlSYWhpYUNBemI0ZXBEa2ErSzV3QT09#success March is upon us and with the arrival of (meteorological) spring, the days are lengthening, and are spring flowers such as snowdrop, and crocus, and hazel catkins are beginning to provide forage for our bees. But they still need access to their winter stores, and (where necessary) to fondant to supplement these. (Having been slightly greedy last summer, I am having to feed four out of five of my colonies with fondant. A lesson for this year!).
Our next talk on Tuesday March 8th, will be by Graham Royle, who has kept bees for 33 years, is a Master Beekeeper, and has acted as Regional Bee inspector for the North of England, and locally for for Cheshire, . Graham has a particular interest in queen rearing and stock improvement having had some terrible tempered bees in his early years. He has been heavily involved with the education of beekeepers at all levels. The talk is on next Monday - 8th March starting at 8.00 p.m. You can attend by following this link ---> Open Zoom Meeting . If you haven't used zoom before its a good idea to download Zoom to your PC or laptop in good time before the meeting - you don't need to open an account, just download the software. It should be really interesting. And see below the link to our latest - March - newsletter badbka_march_2021.pdf Reminder: The BBKA national Spring Convention will be held remotely on the 16 - 18 April. For full details, see https://www.bbka.org.uk/Pages/Category/about-spring-convention This is widely to considered to be an excellent event, and it's a great deal more accessible this year given its virtual form. On the 8th February we enjoyed a fascinating talk by Norman Carreck from the University of Sussex, who gave us on Forage for Bees. Norman illustrated how changes agricultural patterns have are affecting the availability of forage for bees and numerous other insects, including a range of research on this which has contributed to. He included some practical steps which we can take as citizens and gardeners, and responded to a range of questions and comments which provided a stimulating finale. February's newsletter can be found below, and previous issues can be found in the Archive to the right.
I hope you all had as good a Christmas as possible - given the current circumstances, and that 2021 proves a much better year for you - and a good one for your bees too. To get us off to a good start, Dave Coates and Sam Hampton have arranged three talks for us on Zoom, which look fascinating - see below for details. If you want to take part you'll need to install zoom on your PC / mobile / ipad. The link to each will be distributed to Members, but I'll include it here once available. All talks will begin at 8pm . Mon 11th Jan Bob Smith NDB Fun with Pollen Traps Bob will explain the nutritional importance of pollen, how it is collected, finding out what your bees have been foraging on. Before retiring Bob worked as an analytical Chemist and is now Chair of the Central Association of Beekeepers. Bob is an excellent and knowledgeable speaker who, because he lives in Kent, is only able to speak to us now because of the "Wonders of Zoom". we haven't had any talks on this subject, which is quite critical to bees, in recent times. You don't need to register, just make sure you have Zoom loaded on your PC/Laptop/iPad beforehand - you don't need to have a zoom account - just have it loaded - its free! and click on the link which follows: Join Our First Zoom Meeting Even if you're not enthusiastic about the subject - I'm sure it'll be an awful lot better than what's on the Telly Mon 8th Feb Norman Carreck NDB Planting for Bee Forage Norman was going to talk to us last year but got stuck in traffic and never made it to the meeting. Norman has worked at Rothamstead Research and more recently LASI Sussex University, Mon 8th March Graham Royle NDB The Mating Process - what happens and why Graham Royle has been to Burton before. He was for a long while the seasonal bee inspector for Cheshire. He started beekeeping in 1968 and currently manages 20 colonies in three apiaries. In March we also hope to hold our Annual General Meeting - details will be published once they've been finalised. Dear Fellow Members.
On behalf of the Training Apiary sub- committee- Dave, Sam. Bob, Hamish and myself-I cannot tell you how pleased we are, to be able report that work on the Training Apiary actually started today. After successfully obtaining Planning Permission and raising sufficient funds to get started, we were then faced with the wettest winter in living memory when the site became a quagmire. Then, when the site dried out along came Covid 19 and our contractor went into lockdown. Thankfully all that is behind us. The site has been mown, the hedge trimmed and Taberner Plant-our contractors- have made a an excellent start on constructing the access road to our compound. I don’t want to tempt fate, but it should not be too long now before we have a functioning Training Apiary. Richard Matkin |
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