November 2009 - BioBees

Off the CombNews from theTotnes & Kingsbridge BeekeepersNovember 2009Meetings: this month our branch has one big meeting on Sunday, November22nd from 2.00pm in Bogan House, Totnes. Secretary Adrian has written aboutthis on the next page. This will be an interesting, varied afternoon so your committeehope to see YOU there, (and attendance does not mean that you willdragged onto the committee). So do come along.Directions: Bogan House is in Totnes High Street, opposite the Civic Square,you may know it better as the home of the costume museum.Beecourse2 meets on November 11 at 7.00pm to consider queen rearing.Next month: is a quiet month while we celebrate Christmas.HONEY SHOW/CHALLENGE 2009PLEASE support your honey show.Entries over the past few years have declined to a level which puts intoquestion the future viability of this event.It is an opportunity for beekeepers both new and old to learn from theexpertise and advice given by the judge, Peter Donovan.This year the show is combined with the second part of Glyn Davies’ talk on"Eggs" This will be an interesting and informative afternoon.Refreshments will be provided.Looking aheadOn January 23 we have talk from a herbalist; put the date in your new diarynow.1

Adrian writesMeeting on November 22ndOur Honey Show and AGM are beingheld together this year on 22ndNovember at Bogan House inTotnes starting with judging of theHoney Show at2.0pm. Your HoneyShow exhibits must be staged atleast 5 minutes before judgingstarts, you should have received ashow schedule with last month's Offthe Comb [if you need another copycontact Adrian Kyte 01803 712 159or preferably by Emailadrian.kyte@btinternet.com ]. Afterthe Honey show there will be part 2of Glyn Davies’ presentation onBee Eggs, don't worry if you missedpart 1 last year as both parts arelargely self contained. There arecurrently no contentious issuesscheduled for discussion at theAGM so it should be fairly brief.We will be looking for new bloodto join the committee with 3 peoplestanding down. We need nominationsfor Assistant Apiary Manager[this would be good opportunity fora new beekeeper to gain valuableexperience with expert guidance onhand], Librarian and SecretaryHumble BoyFrom November 3 to 7th the DartingtonPlayers will be performingthis play in the Barn Theatre atDartington.There is a beekeeping connection,which is why it gets a mention here,Box Office 01803 847 070.2The annual dinnerIt has been our custom to have adinner in February, and we expectto so again in 2010. Your committeewould like suggestions as towhere we should meet. It needs tohave good food at reasonable pricesand able to cope with about 25 people.And fairly accessible sincesome of our members travel quite along way. Suggestions please to anyof the committee.Southdevonbees.orgThe web site has now been broughtup to date so you will find the recentissues of this newsletter there.What else should there be on thissite? What would you like to seethere? Your committee are lookingfor suggestions from you.BEEKEEPINGThe Devon magazine comes out 10times each year, and November isone of the months when the Editorhas a break. So no magazine thismonth.Off the CombCould you write something forthis Newsletter?

Feeders and feedingI think that this year I have donemore feeding than ever before, so itseems appropriate to look at thistopic, even though for most stocksfeeding is now finished for the timebeing.What to feedThe conventional wisdom has itthat in the autumn we feed strongsyrup, 2lb of sugar to 1 pint ofwater, i.e. about 62% sugar, this isfor the bees to evaporate down toabout 80% for storage and use laterin the winter.During the spring and summer wefeed weaker syrup, about 1lb to apint of water. This is for immediateconsumption to encourage thestock to build up.If it is necessary to help a colonyduring the winter months then feedfondant, either baker’s fondant orhome-made fondant.I almost always add thymol to thesyrup because this stops the growthof black mould in the syrup if thebees are slow to take it down.There is also a widespread beliefthat the thymol helps the bees toresist nosema, but there is no goodevidence for this.Since thymol does not dissolvereadily in water the procedure is tomake up a stock solution by dissolving20g of thymol crystals in100ml of surgical spirit. Then 2mlof this solution is added to every 4litres of syrup.Thymol can be bought from beesuppliers, or your local pharmacy.3For feeders we must be thankfulfor plastics, much cleaner and lessprone to leakage than the oldwooden ones. Most often I useMiller feeders these have an accessfor the bees from below througheither a hole or a slot. The beeshave to climb up through the holeand down to get to the syrup.When the bees are active they willtake down a large volume of syrupvery quickly, but if a cluster hasformed then they will not leave it.An alternative is the contact feederwhich may be as simple as a honeyjar with a few holes punched in thelid, but is usually a plastic tub witha piece of metal gauze in the lid.These are filled with syrup and invertedso bringing the holes, orgauze, close to the bees. When invertingthe feeder there is alwayssome leakage so this should bedone over a bucket or bowl.Temperature changes can be aproblem with this type of feedersince an increase may make the airabove the syrup expand thus forcingsyrup out through the holesonto the bees below.Many of the winter losses are dueto starvation, do make good use ofsyrup and feeders to ensure thatyour stocks have enough to seethem through to the spring.

For saleSurplus equipment, due to downsizing:National shallow frames (SN1) used but clean, per 10 frames £4.00National shallow foundation, thin, not wired (Thornes Premier) per 10 sheets £3.00Contact Brian Gant, details below.Needing help?Our branch has two Master Beekeepers and Ken holds the highest UK beekeepingqualification, the National Diploma in Beekeeping, so if you feel theneed of some instant advice then you can telephone with a good chance ofgetting through to one of us. If you need help then phone one of:Ken Basterfield NDB 01404 815885Brian Gant 01364 642233If you have a brood disease problem then phone our Regional Bee InspectorAdam Vevers 01364 653325or Seasonal Bee Inspector Clare Densley 01626 211684Branch contacts:Web site for news of meetings in south Devon, and many other matterssouthdevonbees.orgChairman: Jeremy Wells 01364 72180,ena@jeremywells.entadsl.comSecretary: Adrian Kyte, 01803 712159, adrian.kyte@btinternet.comTreasurer: John Harler 01364 642517, fire221@btinternet.comOff the Comb, and Education: Brian Gant 01364 642233,brian.gant@which.netApiary Manager Rod Saffery, 01803 782190, downtoearth30647@aol.comHEMBURY BEE SUPPLIESYour local agent for beekeeping equipment of all kinds, including varroatreatments, frames and foundation.Phone John Harler on 01364 642517 or mobile 07769 878476or e-mail to fire221@btinternet.com.Collections from 12 Hembury Park, Buckfast TQ11 0ESThe Totnes & Kingsbridge Beekeepers’ Association is a branch of the DevonBeekeepers’ Association which is a registered charity no. 2706754