Combings The North Staffordshire Beekeepers association Magazine Autumn 2000 Issue EDITORIAL I have received the first magazines from Northern Bee Books under their BEES scheme (Bee Editors Exchange Scheme). I have included a sample of this material and given the necessary credit beneath each article. One spin off, which may be of benefit to all members, drawn to my attention by Tim Waye, is the possibility of obtaining ideas and speakers for our meetings in the future. It may be, however, a little late for use in the coming year. Following Bob Parsonage’s talk in September regarding Communal Feeding, my partner Phil and I had a go and constructed a feed stand. On inspecting hives at one apiary, after about three weeks of feeding, we have found that two or three weaker hives (made up from nucleus stocks with newly bred queens), have not competed for the syrup on the communal feeders. We have had to resort to putting individual feeders on these stocks, and hope this does not promote robbing. I would be pleased to receive a note of how you have got on with your feeding this year, for publication in the Christmas issue around mid-December. The lottery money we have received has already been put to good use, and the marquee has been seen at a few of the shows visited by our band of enthusiastic members. Our congratulations go to them for their efforts. (Why not make a special effort to help at one show, at least, next year, to promote beekeeping?). - Ed Chairman’s Chat When you receive this edition of Combings, your bees should have been fed with sugar syrup – treated with one of the anti-varroa chemicals – and most of all, closed the entrances down and protected from mice which seem very predominant this year. This has not been a very good season for honey gathering, but I hope as many of you as possible will enter the Honey Show on Saturday the 21st October, even if you have exhibits for one class. Please do bring them along and make our Honey Show a success. At the September meeting Bob Parsonage described his method of feeding his bees communally. I should like to hear from anyone who has tried his method out, and what success they have had with it. Bill Woodward Chairman Meeting and Show Reports Hanley Park 18th June It was a beautiful day, the Stoke Council had erected the Marquee’s, and plenty of exhibitors had turned up and displayed their wares. We had a good turnout of members, an observation hive, wax candle demonstration, construction of supers, foundation etc, honey sales and display of literature and schools material. The only things that were missing were the public. The event had not been publicised at all well, which after all the work that had gone into organising the event and displays, was a great shame. Ed. 14th July – Annual Barbecue I am not sure how many members and quests attended Oak Ridge, by kind invitation of Alan Silver, but as the weather was on the breezy side, the garages containing both the food and the booze were pretty full. Everyone mingled to partake of the excellently cooked meat (apart from the one burnt sausage that I had –sorry David I couldn’t resist it!). Barbara Mountford and all the ladies who helped prepare the food had excelled again as usual. If anyone went home hungry it was certainly their own fault. To add to the pleasure of this year’s event, we were treated to a view of all the equipment, which had been bought with the Millennium Grant, and put on display in Alan’s conservatory. Well done everyone who contributed to this smashing do! Ed. Saturday 15th July – Woore School Fete John Twigg represented our association at this event, due to it clashing with the Cheadle festival. Well done John! Cheadle Festival Report The event took place over the weekend of Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th July 2000, the weather forecast prior to the date was grim and we were apprehensive but the Festival organisers had invited us to attend and the Association had accepted which meant that we were committed. The Cheadle Festival has been successfully attend by the NSBKA on two previous occasions and reports on the event had been very favourable. These events are attended by your association for public relations reasons and the general public do show their interest by visiting our stand and if nothing else we do help to dispel many of the myths and erroneous information that the general public have about bees and beekeeping. This years Cheadle Festival took place on the day following the Association BarBQ at Alan Silvers which meant that we were all tired on the Saturday and just to add to the fun, we were using the new tent for the first time. With the help of Ron Clewes, the tent was eventually erected and equipped on the Friday afternoon in a mix of both windy and wet weather. The wind was so strong that when we left the site, the tent looked as if it was inflated like a balloon which was about to take-off and I wondered if it would be there the next morning even though it had been securely fastened down. Fortunately, the tent was still there when we appeared the next day and the weather turned-out to be excellent if not a little windy at times. Several members and their partners gave their time to staff the stand over the two days and the event could be judged to have been a success from the points of view of the new tent and the associations presentation and representation but my personal view is that this event is not fully exploited by the organisers of the festival which is to the detriment of the event and our association David Teasdale 29th July – Leek Show Early in the year we contacted Daniel Bayley. He organises the craft marquee at the Leek Agricultural Show. We were at the time making a list of shows for the season in readiness for the “Millennium” Grant application. When the day came Margaret Teasdale took the lead. We arrived on the morning of the show to find we had been allocated our usual place at one end of the marquee, (we are given this space so that our observation hive is by the door in case the tent gets too hot). Instead of the usual one trestle they had provided two, we soon found another and set out in an ‘L’ formation. One table was used for the candle display and the other two for honey sales and display purposes. The weather was kind to us, hot but with a couple of showers, which cooled the atmosphere in the marquee and brought the crowds in to shelter from the rain, and to buy our honey. The helpers were Annette Baxter, Barbara and Mike Edgerton, Phil and Audrey Hulme, Nick Mawby, Alan Silver, David and Margaret Teasdale and myself. Ron Clewes August Meeting What went wrong? Only eight members attended the August meeting and our Management should be asking why? Let us first think, which members did not come, and ask the question – why? The subject was scheduled at the right time of the year, just when we should have been monitoring and treating our bees, so we should have seen more interest from our members when we look at it from this point of view. I think that a lot of our members don’t look at the published program, in fact only this week a member complained to me that he didn’t know what was happening, he didn’t even know what he had done with his program. This is not the first time I have come across this. Please don’t just put your next program behind the clock and then forget about it. In early August some of our members will be extra busy extracting the years’ main honey crop, perhaps this accounted for a few of the absences. Perhaps the management should be doing more to get members interested in the meetings by saying more about what we should expect. The meeting in August is a case in point. Of the eight members who were there, five of them were familiar with the pattern of events at the Leek meetings and when they left the Apiary they went across the road to the West Street Club. They were most surprised to find that the other three had gone home, no knowing that the program was to continue with a discussion on the subject of monitoring for varroa and treating the bees. The programme card told us the meeting was at the J.M.Apiary and to see Combings, but Combings only told people how to get there, with hindsight I can see that more should have been published about what to expect. If members thought that a simple opening of hives was all that was on offer, no wonder they did not turn up. Ron Clewes (Organisers of meetings should submit copy well before the deadline if they require publicity in Combings – Ed.). Gratton Church Fair This event was held at Longsdon on 12th August and a Beekeeping display put on by Alan Silver and Ron Clewes. The whole day raised over £1200 for the Church. Well done!(This date clashed with the Manifold Valley Show and as no one else volunteered to run this, we had to cancel our attendance). Apedale Country Park On the 16th August a party of five, Ron Clewes, Alan Silver, David Teasdale, my wife Audrey and myself set out on an exhibition to Apedale Country Park. Working at altitude with no oxygen! We were engulfed by hundreds of children eager to know all about honey bees, candles and honey. The children were great, enjoying rolling candles, inspecting the observation hive, and asking all kinds of questions – “there’s the Queen but where is the King?” They all seemed to know much about the bees and as one little boy remarked “seen all that on the tele!” They had their photographs taken in bee suits by the observation hive, tasted the honey and rolled the candles. (The bee suits were part of the equipment purchased with the Millennium Grant - Ed.) They came in groups from all over the Newcastle area organised by the Newcastle Borough holiday activity playgroups. Other activities at the event were the Roman honeybee mosaic, Circus skills, Birds of prey and Punch and Judy. The weather was kind, and it proved to be an enjoyable morning for everybody. Certainly something to tell the Millennium Committee when we report back to them. Phil Hulme The Millennium Show Bob Parsonage has written to me with a report on the Cheshire Agricultural Show, which was held on the 20th and 21st June. The position of the marquee was changed this year to help draw more members of the public to a poorly used part of the showground, with good success. There were three observation hives, a candle making display, a floral display, Bee tent demonstrations and of course honey sales. All the stewards were provide with meals, prepared on the site, and we also contracted to feed the Wine stewards, who responded by helping with the washing up. The theme of the static display was “200 years and more of Beekeeping”. Bob has also asked me to make a special mention of two of our own North Staffs members who helped, together with all the Cheshire stewards, namely Alan Silver and Ron Clewes – well done! Ed. September meeting Bob Parsonage, came to speak to us on a variety of topics, all pertinent to the time of the year. He started by telling us about a late swarm, which came about through starvation. He took the swarm with a frame of uncapped honey, put this in to a nuc, and then united this with a queenless colony. Polish labels were next on his list, and we were reminded of the new regulations, which require special type labels to be put on the base of the tin. These warn about the content of turpentine. Please make sure you comply, these labels are available from leading bee product suppliers. Bob described a Thymol mixture with alcohol, which he adds to his sugar syrup for winter-feeding. He maintains that this will stop fermentation of the syrup within the stored combs. Whilst still on the subject of feeding he described his method of feeding outside of the hive. A 1lb bucket to each three hives is put on a specially made stand, which is place over long grass. The latter was to prevent fighting amongst bees from different hives that fall off the clusters around the inverted feeder mesh. The feeders are visited daily and adjusted so that they are all used up each day, so as to prevent too much sugar syrup going to the wasps. On the 14th of February each year, Bob uncaps a frame of honey in the super over the brood box to start the queen laying again. The brood nest is located by tapping the hive and listening for the location of the bees. For feeding light hives in the winter, he suggested that a new box of pliable fondant be used. This is packed into sealed plastic bags, and placed over the porter hole in the crown board, with a cut in the plastic bag about half the size of the hole. Ed. October meeting “Working with tigers” was the subject of the talk by Ken Hoare from Shropshire. He deviated from the title at first to talk about the benefits of using mesh floors. This provided maximum ventilation, and was also very useful in reducing the number of varroa mite, of which a figure approaching 60% fall to the floor.. The ventilation also prevented many other problems occurring in the hive, such as mould; spores from chalk brood and general debris build up. Ken then got on to his main topic and described a visit to Mexico where he worked for a couple of weeks with a young Mexican beekeeper. The bees kept by this Mexican were all of the African cross strain. Although these bees had set upon Ken on one occasion, in the main they were quite easy to deal with. Some of the slides showed them all, around the bees, dressed just in shorts and tee shirts. What was really an eye-opener was the way the honey was packed by the Honey Coop. The honey arrived at the Coop in dirty five-gallon plastic containers before finally being packed into 45-gallon drums that had only received a most cursory wash, before being shipped around the world, including some of our supermarkets. No wonder they can sell it so cheap, and we can be proud of our standards and superior product. Ed. Membership of the NSBKA We need more members -where have you heard that before? That statement happens to be true of not only our association but also many similar clubs, organisations, societies and associations, we are all faced with increasing competition for the leisure time of people and people are faced with the complex task of balancing all of the demands upon their time. Without trying to sound over-dramatic, unless new members are introduced to beekeeping, the future of beekeeping is under threat. We can moan and groan about this forever, but unless some practical actions are undertaken, it is simply “hot air” being expounded. We need to encourage more individuals into the craft of beekeeping and to build for the future of the craft. This can be achieved through various activities which range from dragging yourselves and a visitor to your association meetings (on the first Wednesdays of each month) or assisting to publicise the craft of beekeeping and building for the future because the future population is the future of beekeeping. To achieve this, your association will try to provide speakers for both schools and any other groups in order to inform them about the craft of beekeeping. If you are able to spread the word about beekeeping, please take the opportunity or if you know of any opportunity but are unable to help, please contact our Association Secretary. Speakers can be arranged providing that some notice is given - don’t loose any opportunity to publicise our Association or beekeeping. The final message is, don’t just think about the present, think about the future. It is in the general public and the schools where the future beekeepers will come from. Think about the other alternatives - what are they. Protect your assets (Part 1) One of the first tips which we received when we commenced beekeeping was from Ken Pickard who told us to “protect our wax”. At that time, there was so much advice and information being given to us and new words to absorb and try to understand that the significance of his words slightly floated over our heads. Whilst it is obvious now, what we did not understand or appreciate in those early days was that drawn comb has to be produced by the bees in a process which brings together a number of important factors i.e. it takes time, young bees, a nectar flow and warm weather to complete the task. Drawn comb cannot be instantly produced, it cannot be purchased from a supplier and it has “cost” in terms of honey and therefore money to produce, therefore take care of it Whilst there is more information and comments to follow in Combings, please take note of the following points: (1) Ensure your mouse guards have been fitted for the winter. (2) Ensure that you empty comb is protected from mice and wax moths (3) Ensure that your bees have enough stores for the winter. (4) Ensure that your colonies have been treated for Varroa (if required) (5) Place reduced hive entrances on the hive. Acting upon these might prevent disappointments or problems from occurring. Shrewsbury Flower Show For those members who have never attended the Shrewsbury Flower Show, it is an excellent day-out and this years Show did not fail to live-up to that comment. Within the Show there is an excellent Bees, Honey and Wine section which is a superb shop window into bee keeping for the general public. The section also includes a Honey Show which is of national status and attracts entries from many parts of the country. In this years show the organisers had introduced a novel new class which consisted of honey in a black jar. When I enquired about this, I was informed that the objective was to judges only the honey and no other elements. I appreciate that this prevents the judges from examining the cleanliness of the honey and I am sure that there are many other factors which beekeepers could object to but full marks to the ingenuity of the organisers, the new class certain caused a great deal of interest and entries. Over the years, on those times when I have attended the Shrewsbury Flower Show, I have noticed a decline in the number of entries to the Honey Show but this years show looked as if there had been some revitalisation and possibly a small increase in the number of entries and content of this section of the show. David Teasdale “TEAMWORK” Submitted by Ron Clewes There are four beekeepers named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. There was an important job to be done in the apiary and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done! (Are there any more like this out there? If so please send them in. – Ed). Hive Products for Show By Duncan Weaver ( Taken from the September edition of “Beekeeping” the journal of the Devon Beekeeper’s Association, courtesy of BEES). By the time this issue of BEEKEEPING is distributed, the beekeeping season will be all but over. Supers will have been removed, and only disease treatment and possibly feeding will need to be done before winter. Autumn is the traditional time for honey shows, so all the spare time released from beekeeping could well be utilised in the preparation of show exhibits. A few comments on this subject may encourage a few more beekeepers to enter at least their local show. Only very little effort is required over that which should be expended on preparing products for sale: just attend to a few fine (some will say finicky) details. Comb for extraction During extraction of the honey crop, watch out for that extra special comb. Beautifully drawn out with a flat surface on both sides, with all cells filled and capped except a few around the frame edges, with clean white cappings. Because show schedules usually specify “comb for extraction” it should be drawn out proud of the frame woodwork so that it can be uncapped with a single pass of the knife, and it should be on wired foundation. The cells should be either all worker or all drone. There should be no pollen – to check this shine a torch through; honey is transparent, pollen is opaque. When a frame is found approximating to this ideal it should be put in the freezer to prevent crystallisation and to kill off any braula or wax moth larvae which would spoil the cappings. To prevent physical damage to the comb while in the freezer, a simple wooden box can be made to hold one or two frames securely. A case will be required for showing the comb. This should be glazes on both sides and have a removable lid so the judge can remove the comb for examination. Suitable cases can be bought, or can be made by those with woodmaking skills. In addition to the items mentioned above, the judge will be looking for a clean frame, so scrape off all the accumulated propolis. He will also open one capped cell to sample the honey and check for granulation. Extracted honey Extracted honey can be presented as run, creamed or naturally granulated. For show purposes, run honey is divided by colour into light, medium and dark. It is important it is put into the correct class, so borrow some honey grading glasses. Put the honey against a white background in good daylight and compare with the glasses. One glass indicates the borderline between light and medium, the other between medium and dark. Extracted honey should be filtered free from wax and bits of bee straight from the extractor and stored in buckets. Its subsequent behaviour decides for which of the types of honey it can be used. If it granulates quickly with a fine grain it can be used for run creamed or granulated. If granulation is slow, in which case it will be with a coarse gritty grain, then it is only suitable for run honey. Run honey Preparation of run honey for show starts in exactly the same way that honeys for sale is produced. Liquefy the set honey by heating the buckets in a warming cabinet at 130°F for about 24 hours. Stir occasionally to even out the temperature, speed up the process and avoid overheating in localised hot spots. Remember, honey is spoiled by heating, and should never be heated above 140°F or there is a risk of caramelisation of the protein it contains. When completely clear, filter through the finest available nylon filter (200-micron mesh). The honey is then suitable of bottling for sale. However, it still contains pollen grains and minute particles of wax, which show up as bright specks when a torch is shone through. For show purposes these must be removed by further filtering. Kitchen paper is a suitable filtering material. Clean a jug – it must be spotless and hair free, so follow cleaning instructions for jars given below. Push the paper down into the mouth of the jug to form a conical filter and hold in place with an elastic band. Filtering takes forever at room temperature so do the filtering in the warming cabinet at 100 - 110°F. Only a few pounds are required for show so this is not too long a job. If already bottled honey run honey is to be used, first heat it to 130°F for an hour or so to remove incipient granulation and then fine filter it. If jars from different batches are used, make sure the filtered honey is well mixed to give a uniform colour. When sufficient honey has been filtered it should be bottled immediately, warm, into warm jars. This helps the few bubbles that occur during pouring to rise quickly to the surface, where they can be popped with a needle. Small bubbles tend to cluster and refuse to pop and should be removed, with a little honey, with a spoon. Bubbles can be minimised by pouring down the side of the jar with a minimum of drop. Make sure that the jars contain no less than a full pound of honey: electronic scales allow the weight of the jar to be cancelled; with old fashioned balance type scales put an empty jar on with the one pound weight. The judge will be looking for a clear bright honey with no sign of granulation or specks of dirt, dog hairs, bits of bee etc. There should be no scum or bubbles on the surface. He will check the water content (i.e. viscosity); so make sure you extract only sealed honey. Flavour and aroma are most important, but you have to rely on your bees to produce something the judge likes. The judge will also look at the jars and lids, so read the comments below on these, and he will check the weight. Creamed honey Creamed honey is a set honey, which has been subjected to physical treatment to break up its crystal structure so that it does not set rock hard, but has a consistency something like clotted cream. There is no special treatment for show: a batch of creamed honey is prepared and jars selected from it. A bucket of fine-grained set honey is heated at about 120°F and checked regularly. When about a third has liquefied it is removed from the heat. The unmelted mass is broken up with a wooden spoon and the whole is then “creamed” with a creaming paddle. This is a circular metal disc with an array of holes. It is fixed to the end of a metal rod with a handle. It is plunged up and down vigorously in the partly liquefied honey for five minutes or so. The honey is forced through the holes and this breaks the grain structure. The paddle should be kept below the surface to minimise the formation of bubbles. The creamed honey is then left for 24 hours for any bubbles to rise and is then bottled. At this stage it is liquid enough to pour from a tap, or alternatively it can be ladled in. After 24 hours or so remove bubbles that have risen to the surface; the surface will reform. Over the following few weeks the honey will stiffen up but never become hard. The judge will be testing flavour and aroma obviously. However, the texture and consistency are important in this class. The honey should be stiff enough not to move when the jar is tilted, but be easily spoonable. There should be no grittiness on the tongue. No bubbles or scum should be on the surface, and of course, no visible specks of dust etc. All set honeys are prone to fermentation and there clearly should be no hint of this. Naturally granulated honey Naturally granulated honey has bee bottled immediately after extraction and allowed to set in the jar. It has therefore to be known from previous years that it is likely to set with a fine grain. Nothing is certain because forage can change from year to year. Given that fine grain is likely, filter the honey from the extractor. Do not “super filter” it – the pollen grains are needed to initiate the granulation process. Bottle straight away and remove bubbles after 24 hours. Again there is no special treatment for show, just selection from a batch. A problem with granulated honey is the phenomenon of “frosting”. When it sets, honey shrinks. This can cause a very thin film of air to form between the walls of the jar and the honey. The film reflects light and so shiny patches appear round the jar. This has absolutely no harmful effect on the honey but just looks unpleasant. Fermentation is even more of a problem with this type of honey than with creamed and should be guarded against. It shows up by smell and also streaks of bubbles up the side of the jar, and a bubbly surface to the honey. The judge will be checking the same things as with creamed honey, except that the consistency will be hard. Previously set honey (i.e. in buckets) cannot be used for naturally granulated because the process of re-liquefying alters the granular structure so that it never sets to the hard state – it becomes “soft set”. Cut comb, chunk honey and sections The production of cut comb (and hence of chunk honey which contains cut comb) and sections require forward planning and appropriate management during the summer. It is too late for this year. Give thought to try to produce it next season. Jars and lids It goes without saying that jars and lids should be spotlessly clean. Wash jars in hot water and detergent, rinse well and dry upside down in a warm oven. Never dry the inside with a cloth; strands of cloth will certainly be left behind to show up later in the honey. Lids should be washed and dried. There should be no scratches, chips, and dents or other blemishes on either lid or jar. Most show schedules require two matched jars of honey. The honey must be the same in both, but it is also important that the jars match. Jars have manufacturers ‘logos and numbers on the bottom: make sure they are the same. Lids should be of the same design. Some have cardboard wads, others have flowed-in plastic seals. There are those with perfectly flat tops, others with a raised lip around the circumference. During transport to the show, lids on run honey in particular often become splashed with honey on the inside. It is a good idea to take along spare lids and replace any which are sticky. These details may seem over-fussy, but when two exhibits have honey of equal quality, it is these details of presentation, which will decide the final order. Wax for show The wax classes at shows usually include: a number of matching 1oz blocks; a single larger block, 8oz or 1lb; and candles. Wax blocks and candles for sale can be made from wax stained with propolis and pollen as obtained from old combs in a solar wax extractor. This is not good enough for show. Wax for show should be new and clean. Only use wax from cappings obtained during extraction. Drain the honey from the cappings by straining through muslin and dunk them in water in a bucket. Let them soak, drain off and repeat a couple of times. Mead enthusiasts will use the washings for mead production. It is important to melt down the cappings as soon as possible. If they are kept for any length of time, even after washing, they will develop a black mould. This is impossible to get rid of, and will give wax obtained from the cappings a dirty grey tinge. However once the cappings have been melted into a block, the mould will not occur and the wax can be kept until required. An old enamelled saucepan is ideal to melt cappings. Fill it about 1/3 full with soft water, and heat to about 175°F (never more than 195°F or the wax will be spoilt). Heating should be done on an electric ring, never over a naked flame. Wax vapour is very inflammable – that is why candles burn. Add the cappings and stir with a stick until they melt. Add more cappings until the pan is full. Have on one side some clean aluminium food trays. Put about ½” of hot (160 - 170°F), soft water in them. Pour in the molten wax and water mixture and allow to set. When cool remove the wax blocks. On the underside will be a layer of impurities, which should be scraped off. Keep the blocks in plastic bags until needed. (I do hope you find this article as stimulating as I did, and that it will give you the confidence to prepare your honey and enter our honey show on Saturday 21st October. – Good luck –Ed.) The Start of a new Bee Keeping Year The start of the season of Autumn marks the time when active beekeeping outdoors starts to reduce and other aspects of the craft take precedence, but it also marks the time when your Associations year comes to an end and it caused me to contemplate the activities which no one ever discusses but is vital to the continued existence of your beekeeping Association. This article was prompted when I recently listened to some Gilbert and Sulivan when the policeman sung that “ A policeman’s lot is not a happy one!” and I thought about it in the context of the officers of our association and reminded me that being an official of any association is not always a bundle of fun. It’s no fun and it is time consuming, hard work that the members of the team have to undertake: * Chasing people for their subscriptions and preparing accounts * Tracking down and arranging interesting guest speakers for the meetings * Dealing with the administration tasks of our association But it is rewarding If we (the members) participate in and enjoy the activities of our association and make them successful. Dave Teasdale Bleach and propolis If you have small items such as plastic ends or porter escapes etc., which are heavily propolised, put them in a small container and cover them with household bleach. Within a short period there will be no sign of propolis at all. Queen excluders can also be given the bleach treatment. Just lay some newspaper on the ground and cover them with polythene sheeting. Put the excluder on top and give it a good squirt of thick bleach. Leave for a few minutes and then scrub with a brush. Turn it over and do the other side. Be careful not to splash your clothes or eyes, and wear rubber gloves. When the excluder is clean give it a good wash down with water. Taken from ‘The Apiarist’, Harrogate and Ripon BKA’s Newsletter, February ’99, courtesy of B.E.E.S Borage – friend or foe Early summer 1999 I looked out of my bedroom window and there it was a sea of blue, but not linseed blue but more lavender or purple blue. It was one field away and as far as I could see to the left and right. I dashed down to the hives and the bees were already on it. A pale brown-fawn pollen tightly packed. The bees were only going one way: south to the carpet of blue. Borage! It came in thin and fast. Yes, thin! Five supers in three weeks. The bees increased the angle of the cells as they constructed them so the contents didn’t run out and for six weeks they flew over any other flowers causing the poorest blackberry harvest in years. They reduced the five supers down to three. Other beekeepers reported on this pale, thin to start with, crop they were almost three miles away from me. Then it suddenly stopped. Some beekeepers had been extracting by hand to keep up with the need for empty supers. The honey was clear and pale and it had still not set early in January but the customers loved it. Then there were the rumours that it was illegal to sell as the sucrose level was too high/it would ferment as the water content was too high/it wouldn’t sell, as it was too runny. Were they right? I didn’t know but it was selling well. Then a caller asked for three jars of honey, which I sold to him. He then said he was from Wiltshire Trading Standards and he was taking two jars for testing for added sugar. He wrote a receipt and said he would be in touch after the results of the test. That evening on the Internet the e-mails were all saying that the legal limit was 5% in borage honey. Two months went by and I thought I had better ask if it was going to be a fine, honey confiscated or would it be a prison sentence? Eventually the results arrived giving the following results: sucrose 8.3g/100g. moisture 15.5g/100g, 5-HMF 4.3mg/kg. And “the Honey Regulations 1976 require that the apparent sucrose content of honey which is not honeydew honey, any blend of honeydew honey and blossom honey, any acacia honey, any lavender honey or any banksia menziesii honey, to be not more than 5%. The sucrose content of this sample exceeds this maximum level and its cause should be further investigated”. There was also a Certificate of Analysis of the other results and the note “the sucrose content exceeds this maximum level. Isotopic analysis does not indicate the addition of C4 (cane or maize) plant sugar and it was concluded that the high sucrose content resulted from local feeding conditions. The sample must be regarded as satisfactory” So I can now sell my honey legally. Borage has woken up beekeeping in this area of Wiltshire. It’s a good crop but you need plenty of equipment and time to extract. Watch that water content or it will catch you out. And it is still selling well. Chris Rawlings Reproduced by Cornwall BKA August 2000 from Honey Bee Times, Journal of Wiltshire BKA. Courtesy of B.E.E.S. A Beekeepers joke (?) No.8 Three men are playing a round of golf; a priest, a psychologist, and a beekeeper. They got behind a very slow twosome, who, despite having a caddy, were taking all day to line up their shots and four-putting every green, and so on. By the 8th hole, the three men are complaining loudly about the slow play ahead. The priest says, “Holy Mary, I pray that they take some lessons before they play again. “The psychologist says, “I swear there are people who like to play golf slowly.” The beekeeper says, “I really didn’t expect to spend this much time playing a round of golf – I should be extracting honey.” By the 9th hole, they have had it with slow play, so the psychologist goes to their caddy and demands that they be allowed to play through. The caddy says O.K., but then explains that the two golfers are blind, that both are retired firemen who lost their eyesight saving people in a fire, and that is the reason for their slow play, and would they please not swear and complain so loudly. The priest is mortified; he says, “Here I am a man of the cloth and I’ve been swearing at the slow play of two blind men.” The psychologist is also mortified; he says, “Here I am a man trained to help others with their problems and I’ve been complaining about the slow play of two blind men.” The resourceful beekeeper ponders the situation – finally he goes back to the caddy and says, “Listen, next time couldn’t you get them to play at night? >From ‘Bee Talk’ Newsletter of The Blackburn and East Lancashire Branch of The Lancashire & North West BKA October 2000 courtesy of B.E.E.S. Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd In a letter to our secretary we have been advised that the premiums for 2001, and the terms of Insurance have been revised. Premiums are rising by 20% due to increased compensation rates and also increased claims. The important changes in the terms are as follows:- 1.A colony is any hive regardless of size, i.e. an Apidea box, a nucleus swarm or a colony with 4 supers. Each one should be insured as a hive. 2. If a claim is received and underinsurance is found THEN THAT CLAIM WILL BE INVALID. 3. If premiums are paid after 31st March in any one year, cover will not commence until 61 days later. (Increased from 40 days) 4. Our association treasurer acts as agent of BDI so you must declare the full amount of hives you are likely to own in any year, and pay the correct amount of premium to him. Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd In a letter to our secretary we have been advised that the premiums for 2001, and the terms of Insurance have been revised. Premiums are rising by 20% due to increased compensation rates and also increased claims. The important changes in the terms are as follows:- 1.A colony is any hive regardless of size, i.e. an Apidea box, a nucleus swarm or a colony with 4 supers. Each one should be insured as a hive. 2. If a claim is received and underinsurance is found THEN THAT CLAIM WILL BE INVALID. 3. If premiums are paid after 31st March in any one year, cover will not commence until 61 days later. (Increased from 40 days) 4. Our association treasurer acts as agent of BDI so you must declare the full amount of hives you are likely to own in any year, and pay the correct amount of premium to him. Cheshire Beekeepers Association A combined one day convention and Honey Show Sunday 22nd October Frodsham Community Centre 10.30am to 4.00pm This event is the day after our own Honey Show. Bob Parsonage tells me that any exhibits to our show can be entered and transported to the Cheshire Show. The cost of attending is £5.00 pre-booked (£6.50 on the day) for the Convention, and a meal (which must be pre-booked) 2 courses for £5.00. The programme includes a demonstration on “Microwave cooking with honey” by Ann Reney-Smith, in the morning; The Blakeman Memorial Lecture in the afternoon is “Genetically Modified Crops – pro’s and con’s” by Des DeSouza, Aventis Crop Science UK Ltd. The National Honey Show The National Honey Show Welcomes New Members: - In a letter to our Secretary, the National Honey Show, which this year is to be held on 16/17/18th November at Kensington Town Hall, is offering a free entrance ticket to all new members who have joined our association during 2000. If this applies to you, and you wish to attend, then let our secretary know and she will obtain a ticket for you. In addition, all first-time exhibitors and those who have not exhibited within the last ten years, will not be required to pay any entry fees for the first four classes in this year’s Show. ( Taken from a letter from H F Capener Hon General Secretary, The National Honey Show). Saturday 21st October 2000 _ AN INVITATION TO YOU!! You are cordially invited to bring yourself, your partner, your friend(s) or all three to your associations honey show where you can spend a very enjoyable afternoon. For the event to be a success, it needs at least two things to happen: (1) Entries to the Honey Show are required (2) Members and guests are needed to attend the Show. So what can you do about it? Answer to No 1: Submit an entry or better still entries into the show because without entries, there is no show. There are classes in the show which cater for all aspects of beekeeping for the whole of your family, all you have to do is make a small effort. Answer to No 2: What ever you had planned to do on the afternoon of Saturday 21st October, make a date in your diary (if you haven’t done it already) and to attend your associations’ Annual Honey Show - BE(E) THERE A copy of the Show Schedule and time table is enclosed for your action. This is your Honey Show organised for you. So come along, participate and make it a success. NEWHOUSE FARM NURSERIES Crowborough Road Lask Edge Nr. Leek Staffs Designers of creative Landscapes Gardens And Borders Buy plants for your Bee Garden Bargain Prices Shrubs Conifers Trees Cottage Garden Perennials Open 9am until Dusk Telephone 01782 514412