Gwenynwyr Cymru The Welsh Beekeeper

www.wbka.com 

Rhif/No.182 

Hydref/Autumn 2013 

Gwenynwyr Cymru 

The Welsh Beekeeper

Welsh Beekeepers’ Association 

Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru 

Llywydd/President: 

David 

Culshaw 

9 Ash Grove, Llay, Wrexham, 

LL12 0UF 

Tel: 01978 854593. 

Email: president@wbka.com 

Chair pro tem 

Ysgrifennydd/ 

Secretary: 

Trysorydd/ 

Treasurer: 

Assistant Treasurer 

Jenny 

Shaw 

John Page 

Vincent 

Frostick 

Margaret 

Jones 

Tel: 01248 430811 

Email :depchair@wbka.com 

The Old Tannery, Pontsian, 

Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 

4UD 

Tel: 01545 590515 

E-mail:secretary@wbka.com 

Tel: 01766 831228 

Towerhill, Ffynnonddrain 

Carmarthen, SA33 6EE 

Tel: 01267231763 

E-mail: treasurer@wbka.com 

Golygyddion/Editor: Sue Closs 31 Llwynderw Drive, Swansea 

SA3 5AP 

Tel: 01792 429217 

Email: editor@wbka.com 

Is-olgyydd/Sub – 

editor (Erythglau 

Cymraeg) 

Membership 

Secretary: Individual 

Memberships &Subs 

Publicity Officer 

Dewi 

Morris 

Jones 

Ian 

Hubbuck 

Lilian 

Llewelyn 

Llwynderw,Bronant, 

Aberystwyth, SY23 4TG 

Tel: 01974 251264 

White Cottage, Manafon Road, 

Berriew, SY21 8BB. 

Tel:01686640205 

Email:subscriptions@wbka.com 

6 Meadow Rise, The Ridge, 

Derwen Fawr, Swansea SA2 8AF 

Tel:01792 207381 

E-mail: publicity@wbka.com 

The Welsh Beekeeper #182 2 

Autumn 2013

Contents/Cynnwys 

Editorial 4 

Chairman pro tem Message 6 

President’s message 8 

Congratulations to Wally Shaw 10 

An Update on Varroa Control Treatments - Wally Shaw 12 

BDI News 16 

Trafferthion a threialon Gwenynwraig newydd (pennod 3) - Lilian Llewelyn 18 

Bees in the Parc - John Verran 20 

Notes from a Grumpy Old beekeeper 22 

Royal Approval of the Pembrokeshire Beekeeping Centre - Paul Eades 24 

The Beebase approach to managing bee inspections - Frank Gellaty 26 

Book review - Nicola Oulton 29 

Welsh National Honey Show 30 

Exam Secretary’s report including March Exam Results - Dinah Sweet 31 

What has technology ever done for beekeeping? - Roger Boyle 32 

More than Honey 35 

Results of 2012-2013 Winter Losses Survey - Clive and Shân Hudson 38 

Archbishop becomes Patron of Bees Abroad 42 

Advertisement index 45 

Your Local Associations 46 

Pictures 

All pictures are copyright to the author of the article to which they refer, unless 

otherwise stated. 

Cover: SDBKS Bee Tent at Bridgend Show. 

Gwenynwyr Cymru #182 3 

Hydref 2013

Editorial 

It appears from the many contributions to the magazine, that this summer has been a 

very busy period for Welsh beekeepers, quite apart from the good fortune of a period 

of excellent weather which promises a better yield of honey this year. 

The Royal Welsh Show was visited by Prince Charles who met the team from the 

Pembrokeshire Beekeepers’ Association who have developed the Beekeeping Centre 

at Scolton Manor supported by the Prince’s Countryside Fund. 

The Action Plan for Pollinators in Wales was launched and it can be found with the 

draft implementation plan on the Welsh Assembly website - http://wales.gov.uk/ 

topics/environmentcountryside/consmanagement/conservationbiodiversity/ 

action-plan-for-pollinators/?lang=en 

The Association celebrates the honour awarded to our Technical Officer, Wally Shaw, 

in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Congratulations also to prize winners at the 

Welsh National Honey Show and to successful candidates in this year’s examinations. 

There are also many successes at local shows where honey and other products 

are exhibited and prizes awarded. Congratulations to all Associations for the hard 

work which helps to promote beekeeping and raise the standards of husbandry by 

encouraging healthy competition. 

With the development of new agents for controlling varroa, it is important that 

beekeepers are well informed on the advantages and disadvantages of the products 

as well as being appraised of the optimum conditions required for safe use and the 

timely article by Wally Shaw is welcome. 

The advent of more technology in beekeeping is discussed and the article on winter 

losses from Clive and Shân Hudson provides a practical demonstration of its use as 

well as provoking further debate on the causes of winter losses with differences being 

shown between the hives treated for varroa and those receiving no treatment. 

My thanks again go to the contributors who have provided such a great diversity of 

topics. It is very pleasing to receive articles from new writers as well as those more 

familiar authors. I apologise to those whose work has not found space but the articles 

will be considered for the next edition. 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

Chairperson pro tem Message: 

Jenny Shaw 

I must begin by regretfully informing you that Roy Norris resigned his position as 

Chairman of WBKA on 18 th July 2013 ‘with immediate effect’. His decision to resign 

came as a complete surprise to the Officers and Trustees of WBKA. This has meant 

that I now need to act up to the role of Chairperson to take the WBKA forward. I would 

ask everyone to support me as I ease myself into a role for which I thought I would 

have three years to prepare. 

On a happier note I would like to congratulate our Technical Officer, Wally Shaw on 

being awarded the OBE in the recent Queens’ Birthday Honours List. There is an article 

about Wally in this edition of the Welsh Beekeeper. He should receive his honour 

sometime before the end of January 2014 and the official photograph will appear in a 

later edition of this magazine – it is not everyday that he dresses up! 

At the 2013 Royal Welsh Show I was delighted to speak on behalf of WBKA at the 

launch of both the Welsh Assembly Governments’ Action Plan for Pollinators and Coed 

Cadw (Woodland Trust) Trees for Pollinators scheme. Details of the ‘Action Plan for 

Pollinators’ has been circulated to all WBKA Associations and the submission from 

WBKA to the consultation that led to it can be found on the WBKA website. The Trees 

for Pollinators is aimed to encourage landowners and farmers to plant trees and shrubs 

for pollinators. 

The plight of insect pollinators is to the forefront of the political agenda currently 

and the honeybee is the first one that most people think about. The WBKA is being 

consulted by many organizations e.g. Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Wildlife Trust, 

etc about projects that they would like our advice on and/or our involvement. All this 

interest has led to a high level of media coverage over the last few months. We will 

keep you informed of all this interest through our website. 

The WBKA stand at the Royal Welsh Show was busy throughout with a steady stream 

of visitors interested in beekeeping. I would like to thank both our publicity officer, 

Lilian Llewelyn and John Rees for the interesting and stimulating display that they put 

together. The provision of a range of hive types generated some interesting discussions 

with the visitors. Thank you also to the many helpers who ensured that the display 

was manned throughout the Show. The Royal Welsh Honey Show was well supported 

and it was good to see so many WBKA members willing to give up their time to act 

as stewards. As usual Fred Eckton’s liaison with the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society 

ensured that everything ran smoothly. 

Well at long last we have had good weather here on Anglesey for the main nectar flow. 

Where beekeepers have strong colonies they now have the best honey crop for several 

years. Currently the bees are very defensive indicating that the main flow has come to 

an end. I trust that our good fortune here on Ynys Môn is reflected in the area where 

you keep your bees. 

30 th July 2013 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

President’s Message: 

David Culshaw 

I have just returned from the Welsh National Honey Show 

which is held as part of The Royal Welsh Show at Llanelwedd. 

Considering the poor weather last year and the poor spring 

of this year, it was gratifying to see a good entry in most 

classes. There were record numbers attending the show, and 

many expressed an interest in beekeeping. 

Thanks to the volunteers who manned the W.B.K.A. stand, 

they did sterling work in keeping the W.B.K.A. in the public 

eye, and answering many queries from potential beekeepers. 

Anglesey was the Featured County at this year’s show, and 

Anglesey Beekeepers Association had a very informative 

stand for beekeepers old and new, and Wally and Jenny 

Shaw with other Anglesey volunteers on hand to answer any 

queries. 

Congratulations to competitors who received prizes. I was 

particularly interested in the entry that was awarded Best 

Exhibit in Show. This was a bottle of sweet mead entered 

by Mr Frank Brown, a member of South Clwyd Beekeepers 

Association. I think that if the Editor has space in this edition 

there will be results from the Show. 

I was pleased to be invited with Jenny Shaw to attend The 

Woodland Trust (Coed Cadw) stand for the launch of their 

Pollinator Packs which consist of 210 small native trees and 

shrubs, which are of benefit to pollinators, and of course our 

bees. These are available to land owners at a subsidised price. 

The launch was opened by Alun Davies, the Environment 

Minister, and Jenny Shaw explained the benefits to honey 

bees and other pollinators. 

I am sure many other beekeepers were delighted that Wally 

Shaw has been awarded an O.B.E., in the Queen’s Birthday 

honours list, for services to the National Bee Unit and 

beekeeping. 

I hope you have full supers (careful with your back). 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

Congratulations to 

Wally Shaw OBE 

Welsh beekeepers are delighted that one of 

their most prominent members has been 

awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday 

Honours. Wally Shaw, from Anglesey, was 

given the award for his work with the 

National Bee Unit and for his invaluable 

contributions to beekeeping in general over 

many years. 

Wally and his wife Jenny took up beekeeping 

in 1987 with the aim of providing better 

pollination for a newly established orchard of around 70 trees. Neither had 

previous experience of beekeeping and, as trained professional ecologists, 

they thought that beekeeping would not present much of a problem for 

them. They soon discovered the reality and realised that they desperately 

needed help and guidance and so became members of the Anglesey 

Beekeeping Association (ABKA). Although there was no formal teaching 

at the time, a nearby beekeeper provided some initial mentoring without 

which they may never have made it through the early stages. The couple 

of hives in the orchard soon became 4, then 6 but never more than 8! They 

now run about 50 hives in 7 apiaries and prepare some 30-40 nucs a year 

in order to make ABKA self-sufficient in locally adapted bees. 

Wally was ‘conscripted’ into the role of Local Association Secretary in the 

early 1990’s, a post he held for 20years. He is currently the Technical 

Officer for both his local Association and also for the Welsh BKA. For the 

past 10 years has been the Trade Stand Secretary of the Welsh Beekeepers’ 

Convention. In the mid-90’s he was nominated to represent Wales on the 

Bee Health Advisory Panel – an important link between the Associations 

and the National Bee Unit. He has remained in this role throughout the 

Healthy Bee Plan where he also serves as a member of the Science and 

Evidence Advisory Group. He has found the regular contact with scientists 

at NBU and the Bee Inspection Service both a stimulating and an enjoyable 

experience. 

Wally is frequently called upon to give lectures on various aspects of 

beekeeping throughout the Principality and also beyond Offa’s Dyke. 

He also contributes regularly to the Welsh Beekeeper, to Bee Craft and 

occasionally to BBKA News. 

The driving force behind his beekeeping has been twofold: firstly, an 

absolute fascination with bees and trying to understand the workings of the 

colony and secondly, applying to beekeeping of what is known scientifically 

about bees. 


Autumn 2013

We express our warmest congratulations to Wally on the well-deserved 

honour he has received. 

Gareth Davies 

The OBE citation reads ‘For services to the National Bee Unit and 

Beekeeping’. The award is in his given name of Martin Walter Shaw – Wally 

being a nickname that he acquired at university in the 1950’s. 

Wally has an enquiring mind and approaches all aspects of his life with the 

question - why? Beekeeping has led him to a fascination with social insects 

to the extent that a holiday in the Northern Territories of Australia almost 

turned into a ‘Termite Safari’! 

Wally is well known and respected in Beekeeping circles throughout the UK 

and is never slow to question anything that he considers to be incorrect, 

inaccurate or misleading. 

He was absolutely ‘gob smacked’ to receive notification of the award. He 

hesitated in his acceptance as he does not want the bestowing of the OBE 

to affect the way in which he is perceived in Beekeeping circles and beyond. 

He wishes to stand on the merit of his 

words and actions and not by any title. 

As an Officer of the British Empire he 

is entitled to a coat of arms (for a fee 

of course). It has been suggested that 

crossed hive tools and a bee rampant 

would be appropriate! 

Jenny Shaw 

“Gob smacked” 

National Bee Unit appreciation 

Wally has worked with and helped the National Bee Unit over many years. 

He was a member of the CSL bee health advisory panel, a group which 

discussed and advised the NBU on its work, the direction of the science, 

and production of the NBU advisory materials. He is continuing in this vein 

by currently working as a member of the Defra and Welsh Government’s 

Bee Health Advisory Panel, the group that guides and advises within the 

ten year healthy bees plan. Over the years his contributions to discussions, 

advice and insights as a scientist and experienced beekeeper have been 

very much appreciated and respected by the National Bee Unit. 

Mike Brown , Head of the National Bee Unit 


Hydref 2013

An Update on Varroa Control 

Treatments. 

Wally Shaw 

Introduction 

This article is a response to the introduction of a new approved varroacide called Mite- 

Away-Quick Strips (MAQS) which has just come onto the market. This product is rather 

different from anything we have had before and, although it promises to be a very useful 

addition to the armoury, its use is not completely straightforward. As Randy Oliver says 

about its use on his web-site (scientificbeekeeping.com), ‘the devil is in the detail’. The 

situation is made even more difficult by the fact that most of the ‘detail’ about how to 

use MAQS refers to its use in a very different climate regime to that in Britain (west 

coast North America) and in the context of somewhat different beekeeping practices 

(mostly double deep box Langstroth hives). Only time and experience will determine 

the role MAQS in Varroa control in Britain but one thing is sure, they are certainly not 

a re-incarnation of the pyrethroid strips that we all used in the early years of Varroa 

control. So the warning is, don’t just wham them on the hives without giving it any 

further thought. 

The safe and effective use of all varroacides (when and how) depends on a basic 

understanding of the Varroa mite itself; how it lives in a bee colony and particularly 

how it reproduces and the timing of this part of their life cycle. It also depends on 

understanding how the active ingredient of the varroacide is ‘delivered’ to the mite, so 

we will cover these two issues first. 

Life Cycle of the Varroa Mite 

All the mites you see in the hive are fertile females. They have already mated in the 

brood cell in which they were born and are up and ready to go (reproduce). When they 

are not in the brood cells they cling onto adult bees – usually tucked under a tergite 

(the chitinous plates that cover the abdomen of the bee). These are the so-called 

phoretic mites and are most commonly found on nurse bees where they are resting 

between breeding cycles (usually about 7 days but longer if the right age brood is not 

available) feeding off the haemolymph (blood) of their host. 

When a mite is ready to reproduce it hops off its host bee and enters a cell that 

contains a near-mature larva. In the case of worker larvae this occurs within the last 24 

hours prior to sealing but with drone larvae it can be as early as 48 hours. Initially the 

mite submerges itself (hides) in the brood food at the bottom of the cell and breathes 

through a sort of snorkel (the peristile). When the cell is sealed the mite emerges 

after about 4 hours and starts to feed on the haemolymph of the larva. Egg laying 

commences 60-70 hours later; the first egg produces a male and the remainder are 

female (4-5 of them). The male’s sole function is to mate with his sisters whilst still 

in the cell after which he dies. The mother mite and her offspring leave the cell when 

the young bee emerges. Female mites go through 3-4 breeding cycles in their lifetime 

after which they die. 

When choosing a cell in which to breed drone brood is preferred over worker brood 

in a ratio of about 10:1. The longer developmental period of the drone (14 days as 

opposed to 12 for a worker) – and possibly the more generous food source – means 

that reproduction is more successful in drone brood. On average the mother mite 

emerges from worker brood with 1.3 viable daughters but the success rate increases 


Autumn 2013

to 2.6 when she reproduces in drone brood. As a result, over a given period the growth 

of the mite population is about 4 times faster when reproducing in drone brood than 

it is for worker brood. This is why drone culling is such a successful method of limiting 

the growth of the mite population. 

When it comes to applying Varroa control treatments, the most important thing to 

understand is the relative amount of time that mites spend on a bee (phoretic mites) 

and in the brood (reproducing mites). Normally a mite spends 7 days on the bee 

compared with 13-16 days in the brood (including the pre-sealing period). If you 

include the new mites that will emerge with the brood, at any one time during the 

main season 80-85% of the total mite population are in the brood and only 

15-20% are phoretic. Of all the varroicides that have been used to-date, only formic 

acid (the active ingredient of MAQS) is able to penetrate the cappings of sealed brood 

and kill breeding mites and their offspring within the cell. All other treatments only 

kill phoretic mites, which is why they have to be resident in the hive and 

active for a period of 4-6 weeks – to kill mites as they emerge from the safety 

of the brood. 

Varroacide - Mode of Action 

This refers to the means (the route) by which the varroacide reaches the mite. There 

are two main routes:- 

1. Contact – either direct contact with the mite or indirect through its host (the 

bee), or 

2. Vapour – the mite receives a fatal dose from exposure to the within-hive 

atmosphere. 

There are currently no varroacides that are ingested directly by the mite or are systemic 

through feeding on the haemolymph of the bee. The contact route is inherently more 

reliable than vapour because the latter depends on temperature and the degree of 

ventilation to maintain a concentration that kills the mites but does not adversely 

affect the adult bees or brood. 

During the early (golden?) days of Varroa control the pyrethroid strips (‘Apistan’ and 

‘Bayvarol’) were mediated entirely by contact – the bees walked on the strips and this 

(presumably helped by grooming) was efficiently passed on to the phoretic mites. The 

strips continued to release their active ingredient for several weeks and a residency of 

6 weeks ensured that 99%+ of the mites were killed – job done and they were almost 

completely idiot-proof. The dosage safety margin between killing mites and killing 

bees with the pyrethroids was something like 1000:1 but we now know the extremely 

stable and fat-soluble pyrethroids tend to accumulate in bees-wax which may result 

in adverse, long-term effects. 

Oxalic acid is also entirely a contact varroacide but only remains active for a short 

period (probably just a few hours) and thus only kills mites that are currently on 

the bees. This is why oxalic acid should only be used on a colony that is entirely (or 

nearly) brood-free. It can have an adverse effect on adult bees but if used correctly 

damage is minimal. The fact that it can kill brood is irrelevant since there should be 

no brood to kill at the time it is applied. 

The thymol based varroacides (‘Apiguard’, ‘Apivarlife’ and ‘Thymovar’) all work by a 

mixture of vapour mediation and contact and it is impossible to apportion the two 

routes. When using ‘Apiguard’ it is a good sign if most or all of the thymol gel has been 

removed from the tray at the end of each 2 week treatment period. The bees carry the 

small chunks of gel through the hive rubbing against many other bees in the process 

and this is how the contact element is achieved. With all two dose treatments it is 


Hydref 2013

important that they are done consecutively so that all the emerging mites are exposed 

to a lethal dose. Contrary to popular perception the dosage safety margin for thymol is 

quite low (under 10:1) so it is possible to overdose with these products – so you must 

adhere to the manufacture’s instructions. 

Now we come to formic acid and this is an entirely vapour mediated treatment. Its 

big advantage over all the other treatments discussed so far is that, being a small 

molecule, it is capable of penetrating the cappings of sealed brood cells and killing 

the mites within. Its disadvantage is that there is a fairly narrow range of vapour 

concentration over which it works. If the concentration is too low it does not kill 

the mites in the cell and, because it has short residency, an insufficient number of 

phoretic mites will be exposed. At the other extreme, if the concentration of vapour is 

too high it can kill a lot of brood, some adult bees and the queen herself seems to be 

particularly vulnerable. Loss of brood is not too serious but losing the queen late in the 

season – with little hope of natural re-queening – would be something of a disaster. 

Mite-Away-Quick Strips 

Formic acid has been use in some countries for many years but has always been 

subject to the problems (too much or too little) as outlined above. MAQS is a new 

formulation in which formic acid can be used in a more controlled manner. The strips 

contain 95%w/w formic acid but its evaporation is modified by a starch substrate and 

the material (membrane) in which it is wrapped. So how should it be applied and, in 

particular, what hive configuration and what level of ventilation should be used? 

The instructions and guidance currently available with the product and on the web 

refer to North American conditions; hives, climatic conditions and bees (colony size). 

1. In terms of hive configuration, most instructions assume the use of a two box 

brood system (double Langstoth deep boxes) and suggest that it is also an 

advantage (a safety factor?) to also have a super in place during treatment. 

The standard treatment of 2 MAQS strips is placed on the top-bars between 

the two brood boxes. With a single brood box the strips are placed on top of 

that and the addition of 1 or 2 supers would seem to be essential. 

2. Adequate ventilation is clearly vital and the instructions are to ensure a fullwidth 

entrance (no entrance block). There are apparently two floor (bottom 

boards they call them) heights in common use in America; 3 / 8 

” and ¾”, the 

latter being equivalent to our old solid floors. The suggestion is that the 

deeper floor (with more ventilation) is safer but the formal trials only gave 

weak support to this idea. It is also suggested that with a 2 box configuration 

it is a good idea to initially set the upper box forward so as to give a second 

full-width entrance which should be closed again after the first 3 days of 

treatment. Not very much is said about open-mesh floors (screened floors as 

they call them) but the implication is that these should be used with the tray 

out. One trial showed that there was about a 5% loss of efficiency using an 

open-mesh floor with the tray out compared with a solid floor. This may seem 

insignificant but the difference between 90% and 95% kill means that there 

is double the number of surviving mites to found the ensuing population 

build-up. 

During the first few days after the treatment is applied one must apparently expect 

‘bearding’ on the front of the hive (bees that have come out to seek respite from the 

formic acid fumes) The addition of a super helps reduce bearding. Measurement of 

the concentration of formic acid in the hive atmosphere shows that it peaks during 

the first 48-72 hours and then declines quite rapidly. It is thought that most of the 

mites in the brood are killed during this comparatively short period. 


Autumn 2013

It is recommended not to open the hive just before treatment - a 3 days gap is 

suggested to let the bees settle down and ‘get their house in order’ before the ordeal. 

It is also recommended leaving the hives well alone for a few days after treatment and 

not to attempt to feed whilst the strips are in the hive. The membrane that held the gel 

will be shredded and removed by the bees and requires no action from the beekeeper. 

I find myself slightly puzzled by the recommendation for high levels of ventilation when 

using two MAQS per hive. Why does one strip with slightly less ventilation not work 

just as well? If it is simply the concentration of formic acid vapour that matters it ought 

to work. There may be some factor I have not taken into account so please do not act 

on this idea. 

Other Advantages of MAQS 

Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the whole treatment lasts only 7 days and then, 

if it has been done right, the hive returns to normal. Any loss of brood will quickly be 

made up by the queen being stimulated to lay hard. One of the potential snags with 

thymol based varroacides is that is that they remain on the hive for much longer (4 

weeks) and this does suppress brood production in some colonies and this can result 

in a shortage of ‘winter bees’. Because formic acid is so volatile (and is a natural 

constituent of honey anyway) MAQS can be used when there are super on the hive. 

However, I would see this as a measure to be used only in an emergency and not a 

regular practice. 

Safety, Storage and Shelf-life 

MAQS should only be handled wearing chemical resistant gloves and these should 

be removed and disposed of or washed to avoid getting formic acid on your skin 

and particularly your eyes. The product comes in a plastic box containing 20 strips 

(treatment for 10 hives). This must be kept in a cool, dark place and must be kept 

sealed at all times. Once the outer wrapping of a strip has been removed it must be 

used immediately. At the present time the shelf-life of the strips is only 12 months (so 

less by the time you get your hands on them) so they must all be used in the current 

year – you can’t use half this year and half next. Research is being undertaken to 

increase shelf-life in the future but that is the current situation. 

In Conclusion 

As it only became legally available this summer I have obviously not yet tried MAQS on 

my own hives. If you want to try MAQS this year, before there is any additional advice 

on its use under British conditions, I suggest you do it thoughtfully and without putting 

all your eggs in one basket. It may turn out that its use is easier and more reliable 

than the current information suggests - only time will show. Also be aware that next 

year another new varroacide (‘Hopguard’ – marketed by Vita (Europe)) will (hopefully) 

have received approval and be available to us. This product is thought to be extremely 

benign as far as the bees are concerned and has the additional attraction that it clearly 

has something to do with beer. 


Hydref 2013

BDI News 

Martin Smith, BDI President 

Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd (BDI) implements 

eReturn for its Member Associations 

Following requests from member associations, BDI has 

developed its new eReturn to enable treasurers to update BDI 

with their member information electronically. This will give 

local associations a number of benefits including: - 

• The ability to generate BDI receipts electronically and 

e-mail them to their members. 

• Allowing a standard spreadsheet that many associations 

store their membership records on to be uploaded 

automatically to the secure BDI system. 

• Allow assistant treasurers and other authorised branch 

officials access to the data. 

The system, information on which has been sent treasurers 

recently, is available to all member associations commencing 

with the BDI spring 2014 return. A series of introductory 

training sessions are planned over the next few months for 

treasurers to get involved in the system, which although it 

will give BDI more accurate and up to date information has 

primarily been set up to ease the workload and expense 

of member associations having to produce and post out 

handwritten receipts. 

BDI recognises that some treasurers do not have access to 

a computer or the internet and may wish to continue to use 

the existing system. This is not a problem, the use of this 


Autumn 2013

new system will be voluntary and the existing three part BDI 

Certificate of Insurance will continue to be available. 

If you are interested in knowing more about the system, 

you are invited to look at BDI’s new website www. 

beediseasesinsurance.co.uk for further information 

or to contact the eReturn team by e-mail on 

ereturn@beediseasesinsurance.co.uk 


Hydref 2013

Trafferthion a threialon Gwenynwraig 

newydd – pennod 3 

Lilian Llewelyn 

Wedi gaeaf o wersi theori a gwanwyn o wersi ymarferol yn y 

wenynfa rwy’n barod i ddechrau’m gyfra fel gwenynwraig .. mae gen 

i siwt, wellies a marigolds, mae gen i gwch a’r holl offer. I gyd sy 

angen nawr yw’r gwenyn ac mae sawl posibilrwydd. 

Mehefin 2011 - Mae’r tywydd yn hyfryd a gwenyn wedi symud i 

mewn i ffrâm ffenestr ‘stafell wely ni. Ffawd neu beth? Rwy’n symud 

y cwch gwenyn newydd gwag fel nad oes modd i’r gwenyn fethu’u 

cartref pump seren newydd wrth hedfan nôl a mlaen o’r tŷ. Rwy’n 

archebu dwy becyn o hud heidiau (swarm lure) oddiar Ebay, gan 

roi un yn y cwch a’r llall mewn bocs plastig yn y rhewgell ar gyfer y 

dyfodol. Ac yn eistedd nôl ac yn aros. Ac yn aros. Ac yn aros. Mae’r 

tywydd yn dwym, digon twym i ni gynnau’r barbeciw a’n chiminea 

newydd – sy’n cynhyrchu llawer o fwg, a dim gwres. Fod yn onest 

mae gymaint o fwg fel bod rhaid i ni guddio yn y tŷ am weddill y 

nos. Erbyn y bore nid yn unig ni sy wedi ffoi’r mwg – mae’r gwenyn 

wedi paco lan ac wedi hedfan bant. 

Dyma siawns yn dilyn gwers yn y wenynfa un bore Sul i weld un 

o’m cyd-ddechreuwyr o’r dosbarth nos yn gosod ei wenyn newyddgyrraedd 

yn eu cwch. Mae’r cwch wedi gosod yng nghanol adfeilion 

hen feudy ar waelod yr ardd. Mae digon o haul ac eto mae’n 

man cysgodlyd ac mae’n gyfleus i’r tŷ. Ryn ni’n sefyll yno yn yr 

heulwen a blodau’r ddraenen yn gorchuddio’r waliau gan glywed 

yn glir murmur y gwenyn yn aros yn awchus yn eu bocs cnewyllen 

polystyren, wedi teithio’r diwrnod cynt o ganolbarth Cymru. Mae 

John, ein athro dosbarth nos, wedi cynnig dod i gynorthwyo. A ni i 

gyd yn sefyll nôl .. yn ddigon pell nôl .. yn ei wylio. Mae’n syndod 

pa mor gyflym mae’r gwenyn yn llifo i mewn i’r cwch. Mae’n syndod 

hefyd i glywed o fewn dyddiau eu bod nhw wedi heidio – wedi 

hedfan bant, byth i’w gweld eto. 

A digon ryfedd ond dyna ffawd un arall brynodd gwenyn o’r un 

ffynhonell – o fewn diwrnodau y gwenyn wedi heidio ond, trwy lwc, 

y tro yma, heb heidio yn ddigon pell a roedd modd eu casglu a rhoi 

nôl yn y cwch. 

Colled i un ond ennill i rywun arall. A dyma’r ail bosibilrwydd - 

haid. Mae’n fwriad gan ein clwb, The West Glamorgan Beekeepers 

Association, i roi unrhyw heidiau sy’n cael eu casglu i ddechreuwyr. 

Yr unig broblem yw’r diffyg heidiau yn haf 2011. Wel, os nad oes 


Autumn 2013

modd i’r clwb roi un i fi bydd rhaid i mi chwilio am fy haid fy hun. 

‘Dwi dros fy hanner cant a byth wedi gweld haid ond nawr rwy’n 

cerdded y ci bob dydd gan edrych i fyny i’r coed ac i mewn i’r perthi. 

Rwy’n sicr fod heidiau yn cuddio ymhob man. I gyd sy angen yw 

edrych yn ddigon agos a byddaf siwr o ddod o hyd i un. Mae’n wyrth 

i mi beidio baglu neu golli’r ci. 

Stori yn yr Evening Post am fachgen yn cael ei bigo gan wenynen 

o haid mewn cae cyfagos yn Sgeti a’r ci a finnau a’r ferch (sy’n 

achwyn yn ddibaid) yn mynd allan am awr i gerdded rownd pob un 

cae posibl. Dim byd, tan i ni gyrraedd nôl i’r tŷ a’r ci yn cwympo i 

mewn i’r afon, reit ar ben nyth gwenyn sy wedi adeiladu ar lan yr 

afon. Ffawd siwr. Ond, cyn eu gasglu man a man checio’r we a na, 

hwrlibymiaid ydy nhw. Ond son am le twp i adeiladu nyth a wir, o 

fewn wythnosau, dyma glaw trwm yn dod a’r nyth yn cael ei golchi i 

ffwrdd. 

Ebost yn cyrraedd. Boi wedi cysylltu â’n clwb gwenyn gan ddweud 

iddo gael adwaith gwael i bigiadau a’i fod am werthu ei holl wenyn 

a’i gychod a phopeth. I mi fel dechreuwr mae’r gost tipyn bach yn 

uchel ond ‘dwi’n anfon ebost .. a ddim yn cael ateb. 

Ond mae’n ddigon o hwb i mi i ddechrau chwilio o ddifri am wenyn. 

Rwy’n awyddus i gael gwenyn lleol ac yn cael hyd i ddwy rif ffôn am 

bobl sy’n gwerthu gwenyn yn ardal Abertawe. Wedi peth drafod am 

y pris dyma fi’n cytuno prynu coloni. 

14 Mehefin 2011 – y diwrnod mawr – y gwenyn yn cyrraedd! Rydym 

yn cwrdd gyda’r hwyr a’r gwenyn yn cael eu cyflwyno i’w cartref 

newydd. Dyma’r tro cyntaf i mi gwrdd ag Ade Bowen, arolygydd 

gwenyn lleol i ni, a boi sydd mor addfwyn wrth drin gwenyn. Rwy’n 

amau os byddaf erioed mor ofalus a mor fedrus a thyner wrth eu 

trin. A dyma ni, erbyn wyth o’r goch mae’r gwenyn yn eu cwch a 

finnau yn wenynwraig go iawn o’r diwedd. 


Hydref 2013

Bees in the Parc 

John Verran 

Association Teams up with Parc Prison, Bridgend 

Prisoners in the Parc prison in Bridgend are getting the opportunity to learn 

the gentle craft of keeping bees whilst serving their time. 

G4S, the company that runs the prison service, have funded and organised 

this project to give new skills to the prisoners that they hope will continue 

to be of interest after they have been released. 

Bridgend BKA was approached by the manager of the horticultural division 

in the prison who convinced us that it was possible, but that as they 

couldn’t come to us for training we would have to go to them. 

All this was quite tricky to achieve as everything had to conform to the 

prison security regime and both people and kit had to be checked carefully. 

Despite the difficulties hives in flat packs were delivered and the prisoners 

trained to assemble them. There is plenty of manpower available so all the 

woodwork was completed rapidly and luckily two nice nucleus colonies were 

ready to furnish them with bees. 

During the fine weather in early summer the nucs were taken into the 

prison and positioned on two substantial stands that had been prepared 

for them. I was happy to be there and expected to make a little show of 

opening up the entrances and watching a cloud of bees pour out, my hoped 

for showmanship was dashed when the bees failed to cooperate. I pulled 

out the entrance blocks and nothing happened, eventually a bee or two 

emerged and in one case I poked my finger into the entrance to see if there 

was another blockage still stopping them. It wasn’t until half an hour later 

that there was plenty of activity as the bees did orientation flights. 

A couple of days later I was let back into the prison to show how to transfer 

the bees into their nice new hives and to give a small group of prisoners 

their first taste of beekeeping. 

G4S had not stinted on protective clothing. A warder and six prisoners 

were all dressed up in top of the range BBwear bee suits and a curious 

assortment of gloves, some approaching boxing glove thickness 

We all trooped off to the bees and I produced record cards and asked the 

lads if they wanted to just number the hives or give them names such as 

Ponty and Pooler or Oxford and Cambridge, straight back came their new 

names, ‘Guilty’ and ‘Innocent’. 

I took Guilty and demonstrated how to transfer from travel box to full hive 

and how to put on a feed. 


Autumn 2013

“Our goal at HMP Parc is 

to return our prisoners to 

society as better citizens 

than when they come in. 

We have a number of 

programmes in place 

to help our prisoners 

rebuild their lives 

and make a positive 

contribution to society 

and part of that is 

encouraging them to take 

care of the environment 

around them. 

Beekeeping at HMP Parc 

The prisoners took it in turns to move 

a frame each from ‘Innocent’ and took 

great interest in the eggs and brood and 

the stores of honey and pollen but also 

discovered the disadvantage of thick 

gloves. 

During the folowing ten days they checked 

to make sure the bees had plenty of syrup 

feed to ensure increase in the size of the 

colonies. 

They have already 

planted wild flower beds 

and we are delighted that 

Bridgend and District Bee 

Keeping Association 

- especially Sue 

and John Verran - has 

helped us to add two bee 

hives and is training our 

prisoners and staff in bee 

keeping. 

We look forward to 

our prisoners and the 

environment reaping the 

benefits of this initiative 

and of course, the honey!” 

Many thanks to Brigend Beekeepers Association 

- we look forward to reading about progress in 

this interesting project. 


Hydref 2013

Notes from a Grumpy Old Beekeeper 

It’s the end of July and the Liquid Gold has been pouring into the hives for nearly 

three weeks now, and the evening ‘humm’ is a joy to hear as the beehive factory is 

flat out. 

It’s been an interesting year to say the least; with the prolonged winter putting an 

enormous strain on all forms of wildlife and especially the farmers in North Wales who 

had a terrible time. It’s interesting too that beekeepers who keep larger numbers of 

hives had more severe losses, this has got to tell us something hasn’t it? You can 

push and shove and overfeed and over treat and mess and meddle and bring in new 

initiatives, but at the end of the day bees are wildlife in a box, and after six years of 

poor summers, poorly mated queens, and over zealous experts many a hive could no 

longer stand the strain and gave up. 

The phone calls in May were interesting ‘Where can I get a new queen’? ‘Where in 

Britain do you expect to find queen rearing going on in this weather’ I replied ‘Well 

I want a new queen now as then this hive will be more productive, the queen is 

producing too many drones’ I remembered as a child being told ‘I want never gets!’ 

There were queens to be had on the internet, where in the world they had come 

from I don’t know. I do know someone who bought five at £35 each but he lost 

three of them quite quickly. There were a lot of calls about ‘wonky’ colonies, only 

smallish patches of brood in the half broods, one lady had five such colonies, ‘Leave 

them alone’ I said, she did and they are on their second supers now. And another 

interesting general observation is that those who gave fewer treatments and only fed 

plain sugar had fewer losses. Are we perhaps demanding too much from our wildlife 

in a box!!! 

So many people anxious not to loose bees in a swarm quickly cut out queen cells 

without looking at them carefully first. Cutting out queen cells after they are sealed 

means the queen and the swarm has gone, realising their mistake, panic sets in 

‘Where can I get another queen?’ I was asked again and again. Here is the answer 

Buy them not too far out of their air, 

For change of air may put them in despair (Hartley 1954) 

In other words buy locally, there are several good queen breeders in Wales producing 

queens suitable for our climate and conditions. Ricky Wilson is our local man and 

everyone seems delighted with his efforts. Autumn is a good time to re-queen so that 

the bees go into the winter full of vigour. 

Let your ‘ beehive factory’ cool down, calm down, and slow down before rushing to 

snatch and grab off the honey. Greed has never paid. Although having said that some 

hives have brought in so much that to stop the hive becoming a high-rise castle is 

has been necessary to take off some of the supers. But does it really matter if you 

extract this month or next? It was a lovely day at the beginning of December many 

years ago, I piled the supers up on the lawn and was amazed, no bees, no clearer 

boards and not much set honey in the combs either, that was luck and very chancy. 

It has been lovely to see the bees so happy this year. I only hope it won’t be another 

six years before we see it again. 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

Royal approval of the 

Pembrokeshire Beekeeping Centre 

Paul Eades 

Royal approval of the work being undertaken by 

the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers’ Association was 

forthcoming at the Royal Welsh Show in July. 

The PBKA has been extending its operations for 

some time by developing the new ‘Pembrokeshire 

Beekeeping Centre’ at Scolton Manor, near 

Haverfordwest; a four phase project intended 

to be a centre of excellence for beekeeping in 

Pembrokeshire. 

The centre, when completed in 2014, will include 

two apiaries; one for training and public viewing, 

and a second for production and queen rearing. In the converted stable 

block is a catering standard honey processing facility for hygienically 

extracting and bottling association honey and an adjacent exhibition room, 

which includes monitors fed from live ’hive cameras’. Both rooms are 

linked via a large observation window, so the public can watch the honey 

processing as it actually happens, before buying some in the Scolton Manor 

shop. 

As the result of an invitation to a special 

reception held at the Royal Welsh Show, I 

was fortunate to meet HRH the Prince of 

Wales, for what turned out to be quite a 

lengthy discussion on the Pembrokeshire 

Beekeeping Centre and the plight of the 

honeybee! 

HRH is a very engaging man with a great 

sense of humour and he demonstrated a 

real interest in bees and the work the PBKA 

is involved in. He was very pleased when he 

heard what we had achieved so far with the grant of over £37,000 received 

from the Prince’s Countryside Fund. This was in addition to a previous grant 

from Environment Wales for over £9,000, 

which kick started the project in 2011. 

HRH was very well informed, genuinely 

interested to hear about the various 

problems pollinators had been contending 

with and concerned about how the bees 

were faring after the poor summer last 

year and the subsequent drawn out 

winter. I explained that there had been 

serious colony losses across the UK as 

a whole and a number of other risks 


Autumn 2013

threatening pollinators, but an extended spell of fine weather in July had 

certainly given Pembrokeshire beekeepers the opportunity to start building 

up their colonies once again. 

After walking the room to talk to some of the other delegates, HRH gave a 

speech to introduce the next round of funding from the Prince’s Countryside 

Fund and revealed that £564,000 was to be given in new grants, making a 

total of £3.3 million since the Fund was launched in 2010. 

At the end of his speech there was the usual flurry of flashing bulbs from 

the press cameramen and HRH made towards the exit, but just before he 

left the room he paused, turned to me once again, pointed a finger and said 

with mock severity, ‘Keep the bees going!’ 

‘We certainly will Sir’, I 

replied with a grin. 

We certainly will..!! 

Thanks are extended 

to HRH the Prince of 

Wales, and the Prince’s 

Countryside Fund for 

their kind invitation and 

generous support of the 

Pembrokeshire Beekeeping Centre. 

http://pbka.info/https://www.facebook.com/PembsBeekeepers 

Paul Eades 

Secretary and Apiary Manager 

Pembrokeshire Beekeepers’ Association 


Hydref 2013

The Beebase approach 

to managing bee inspections 

Frank Gellatly, RBI Wales 

Why is it, a beekeeper asked me the other day, I seem to be inspected 

every single year whilst other beekeepers haven’t seen an inspector in 

years? I am not sure he was asking me because he regarded himself 

as one of the privileged few, or the downright unlucky! But it did 

occur to me that beekeepers’ experience of our inspection work may 

feel like something of a lottery: how is it we decide who, when and 

how often we inspect an apiary - and, therefore, how often you see 

an inspector? 

Inspections are carried out with the dual aims of preventing the 

spread of European Foulbrood (EFB) and American Foulbrood (AFB), 

providing comprehensive advice on reducing recurrence of disease 

and for the purpose of detecting the arrival of Small Hive Beetle (SHB) 

and Tropilaelaps. The way in which we organise our inspection work 

has transformed In the past decade, when I became a Seasonal Bee 

Inspector in the early 2000s, we were each allocated a geographical 

area and issued with a list of local beekeepers. Our intention, which 

we generally achieved, was to get round every beekeeper at least 

once every three years, subject to any disease we might find along 

the way, which might then require us to focus attention on the area 

in which the disease had been found. Beekeeper numbers have risen 

since then, increasing the demands on our time and yet identifying 

and controlling disease remains the Inspectorate’s central objective. 

picture by kind permission of Clive Hudson 


Autumn 2013

The development of Beebase has enabled us to introduce, like other 

inspection agencies, a far more ‘risk assessed’ and proactive approach 

to the way in which we organise our inspection work. At the heart of 

it is a database that holds details of all registered beekeepers, their 

apiaries and colonies, along with their inspection records and disease 

history. It enables us to identify apiaries and areas at risk of disease 

and to focus our work on tackling disease and preventing it from 

spreading. The Random Apiary Survey which sampled nearly 5000 

apiaries in England and Wales during 2009 - 2011 has given us a clear 

picture of the pathogens and diseases present in our hives and, in 

the process, confirmed that the Beebase approach was scientifically 

robust. 

When we log onto our system and plan a week’s inspection work, 

Beebase prioritises the visits we need to do. It targets those apiaries 

and beekeepers with an experience of disease, and their neighbouring 

beekeepers who may then be at risk. It also reflects vulnerabilities 

in biosecurity - for example, when buying in bees. Unfortunately, we 

have seen situations in which nucs have been supplied from apiaries 

where disease has been present. It is always worth asking your 

nuc supplier about their disease history and the date of their last 

inspection. 

We are also keen to inspect new beekeepers’ bees, especially those 

bought in from elsewhere, and to give them some initial help and 

advice. We will encourage them to register on Beebase – and put paid 

to the myth that, just because they have joined their local beekeeping 

association, they are automatically on the official register. 

Not only is Beebase an invaluable resource to us as inspectors, we 

also hope it is a useful tool for beekeepers too. Using a secure and 

confidential log in, beekeepers can access and then maintain their 

own records, down to colony level, of their own beekeeping and 

inspection activities and track details on the health and productivity 

of their bees. There is also a raft of advice available on Beebase 

and the local Inspector’s contact details allowing you to get in touch 

directly in the event of any serious concerns you might have about 

the health of your bees. We will never mind visiting - even if it later 

turns out that there is nothing to worry about. It’s always better to 

be safe than sorry. 

Beebase is, of course, only as good as the information it holds. We 

would encourage all beekeepers to keep at least their basic contact 

and apiary details up to date so that, should the worst happen and 

notifiable pests or disease turns up close to you, we are able to 


Hydref 2013

identify the risk to your apiary and inspect as necessary. 

In the course of my time with the NBU, I have seen the devastating 

effect that EFB and AFB can have. Through Beebase and our inspection 

programme, we aim to catch and treat these diseases early before 

they spread through a beekeeper’s apiaries and subsequently to those 

of their neighbours. Once established in a beekeeper’s equipment, 

EFB and AFB can only be eliminated by hard work, determination and 

expense. Prevention is most certainly better than cure. 

To sign up to BeeBase either register online at www.nationalbeeunit. 

com or call the NBU office on 01904 462510. If you have lost your 

login details, simply request new ones on the website home page. For 

information on disease and pest identification please visit the ‘Bee 

pests, diseases & maps’ page and, for details on bee legislation and 

the code of practice for regulators, please see the ‘Bees & the Law’ 

section. 


Autumn 2013

Book Review 

The Observation Hive by Karl Showler, 

3rd Edition, published by Bee Books New and Old 

Nicola Oulton 

I have always wanted an observation hive and this 

year my wish came true on my birthday. With the 

Gower Show coming up, I thought I had better find 

out the best way to fill the hive. I borrowed a copy of 

‘The Observation Hive’ and just intended to look at 

the chapter on observation hives for honey shows. 

However on opening, what is a small book, I dived 

straight in at chapter one and read straight through 

to the end. Karl Showler wrote the book on request 

by Bee Books Old and New as despite peoples’ 

interest in observation hives there were no books 

written about them. 

The book starts by looking at the history of observation 

hives. In chapter one he descibes multicomb hives, 

which we think of as hives with Perspex roofs or glass 

sided hives. The second chapter is about observation 

hives that hold a range of single frames, commonly seen at shows and for education. I 

was amazed by the earliest photo of an observation hive from 1874 made from wood 

and straw with a glass front, not to mention the skeps with window cut into them. The 

drawings from Neighbours catalogue showing glass bell jars used on tiered skeps is 

something I would love to try. 

The third chapter looks at the construction of the hive paying particular attention to the 

spacing needed, the between-glass measurement and the bee space between frames. 

The next important feature is the length of time it will be used. He looks at a number 

of different observation hives in use. Chapter four looks at location indoors, outdoors, 

convenience for bees, beekeeper the work for which it is being used. Stocking and 

maintaining the hive is covered in chapter five. 

The chapter I was most interested in prior to opening the book was chapter six, just 

two and a half pages long, concerning exhibiting and judging. What I realise now is that 

chapters three to six tell you all you need to know for this. 

This book was a fascinating read. I have reread it since entering the show and absorbed 

a bit more information. It has been written to put everything about observation hives 

in one book. Whether you are just interested in the history or you want to set up an 

observation hive for yourself or others, this book is a must. 


Hydref 2013

SIOE FÊL GENEDLAETHOL CYMRU 

WELSH NATIONAL HONEY SHOW 

ENILLWYR GWOBRAU ARBENNIG 2013 

WINNERS OF SPECIAL PRIZES 2013 

SP1 The Crawshay Challenge Trophy – awarded to the winner of class 1 – the commercial 

honey class of 12 containers of honey 

CARYS W. EDWARDS 

SP2 The Ceri and Jean Davies Cup – Winner of class 2 – commercial class of 12 jars of honey. 

DORIAN HARRIES 

SP3 The E J Tanner Perpetual Memorial Trophy – awarded to winner of class 19 – one cake of 

plain mould bees wax 400-500 grams in weight. 

N.P. & M.J. SHORT 

SP4 The Sir Evan Williams Trophy – winner of class 28 – the Association composite class. 

BRECON AND RADNOR 

SP5 The WBKA Challenge Trophy – winner of class 35 – the shop window display 

CARYS W. EDWARDS 

SP6 The Charles H Davies Challenge Trophy - for the highest number of points in the 

confectionary classes – classes 38-41. 

JOSIE DAVIES 

SP7 The George Faraday Davies Cup – for the highest number of points in the Young 

Beekeepers classes – classes 54-57. 

SEREN JENKINS 

SP8 The Warren Davies Trophy – awarded to the highest number of points in the closed mead 

and honey drinks classes 71-74. 

FRANK BROWN 

SP9 The H J Evans Perpetual Trophy, The E H Thorne (Beehive) Ltd Award of a £20 voucher 

and RWAS Silver Medal Diploma Card awarded to a member of an Association affiliated to the 

WBKA for gaining the highest number of points in the combined open and closed classes. 

STEVE GUEST 

SP10 The Gwyn and Mary Morgan Memorial Award – for the best exhibit in show 

FRANK BROWN 

SP11 The Howard Davies Memorial Award – awarded for the best comb in show. 

RHODRI POWELL 

SP12 The Gordon Heartshorn Memorial Prize – for the best exhibit in the Gift classes 

RHODRI POWELL 

SP13 The Henry Fergusson-Thomas Memorial Award to the exhibitor gaining the highest 

number of points in the open honey classes 5-13. 

DORIAN HARRIES 

SP14 RWAS Welsh Royal Crystal – awarded to the exhibitor gaining the highest number of 

points in the closed honey and mead classes – classes 58-74 

STEVE GUEST 

SP15 The E H Thorne (Beehive) Ltd Award: £10 voucher - awarded to the winner of class 51 – 

the honey class for novices. 

EMYR JENKIN 

SP16 The E H Thorne (Beehive) Ltd Award: prize winners in class 54 – the honey classes for 

Young Beekeepers. Equipment to the value of 1 st - £10; 2 nd - £8; 3 rd - £6. 

NO ENTRIES 

Congratulations to all the Winners and 

Thanks to Gareth Davies for the Information. 


Autumn 2013

Exam Secretary’s Report including 

March Exam Results 

Dinah Sweet 

The following candidates passed the March 2013 modules 

Module 3 

Annie Newsam - Pass 

Tim Radford - Credit 

Mike Lax - Credit 

Module 6 

Lynfa Davies - Distinction 

Greg Nutgens - Pass 

Andy Ryan - Pass 

Module 8 

Tim Radford - Pass 

Tim Radford has now passed all the modules but has yet to take the General 

Husbandry and Advanced Husbandry exams. 

All candidates received their results by e-mail on 20 th May 2013. A few 

people were unable to sit their modules due to the weather; deep snow in 

many parts of Wales. They will not have to pay again to sit the exams they 

missed. 

Modules 1,2,3,5 and 7 can be taken on 9 th November 2013 – applications in 

by 30/9/13 

All modules can be taken on March 22 nd 2014 – applications in by 10 th 

February 2014 


Hydref 2013

What has technology ever done 

for beekeeping? 

Roger Boyle 

Many beekeepers may have missed the wave of enthusiasm for very versatile, 

cheap, programmable electronics that is sweeping the country’s hobbyists 

and schools. The Raspberry Pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org/) is a £30 

computer of some power, and the Arduino chip (http://www.arduino.cc/) is a 

cheap micro controller that you can plug pretty much anything into. Both of 

these devices benefit from a bit ok know-how, but their potential is stunning. 

Many beekeepers are onto this: just a few examples are 

In-hive humidity and temperature monitoring: http://openenergymonitor. 

org/emon/node/102 

Bee counter: http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/diy-honey-bee-counterfor-your-homes-hive.html, 

or http://www.instructables.com/id/Honey-Bee- 

Counter/ 

Bee detector (for photography): http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/06/are-youreal-crafty-make-this-arduino-controlled-bee-detecting-macro-photo-rig/ 

Solar powered in-hive bee tracker: http://www.maxjusticz.com/honey-beetracking-box/ 

Full hive monitoring: http://www.mathewjenkinson.co.uk/tag/raspberry-pi/ 

There are some good general sites that talk about what can be done to help 

beekeepers: just one is http://hackerbee.com/. 

I’m ashamed to say that I use these devices but not [yet] in connection with 

my bees. Has anyone else? 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013


Autumn 2013

This film is to be 

released in cinemas on 

23rd August - having 

had a preview, I 

recommend seeing it 

for the fantastic photography 

and insight 

into the hive and the 

drama and violence 

reeked by man’s interference. 

DVD’s may be available. 

Sue 

A production by 

Thelma Film and Ormenis Film, zero one film, allegro film 

In co-production with 

SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen / SSR SRG, Bayerischer Rundfunk, ORF 

With the support of 

Office fédéral de la culture (DFI) Switzerland, Bundesamt fur Umwelt BAFU, Aargauer 

Kuratorium, george foundation, Fonds culturel SUISSIMAGE, G + B, Schwyzer-Winiker 

Stiftung, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Zurcher Filmstiftung, Fonds REGIO Films with the Loterie 

Romande and the Canton of Jura, Succès Cinéma, Succès Passage Antenne and Frenetic Films 

SYNOPSIS 

Over the past fifteen years, numerous colonies of bees have been decimated throughout the world. The 

causes of this disaster haven’t yet been established. Depending on the regions of the world concerned, 

between 50% and 90% of the bees have disappeared. 

This epidemic, of colossal violence and breadth, is spreading from beehive to beehive all over the planet. 

Everywhere, the same scenario is repeated: billions of bees leave their hives, never to return. No bodies 

are found in the immediate surroundings. No visible predators. In a few months, the bees have thus 

literally been vanishing in the US, where the latest estimates are that a total of 1.5 million (out of 2.4 

million total beehives) have disappeared in 27 states. In Germany, according to the national beekeepers 

association, one fourth of the colonies have been decimated, with losses reaching up to 80% in some 

farms. The same phenomenon has been observed in Switzerland, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Austria, 

Poland and England, where the syndrome has been baptized “the Mary Celeste Phenomenon”, after the 

name of the ship whose crew had vanished in 1872. 

Scientists have found a name for the phenomenon that matches its scale: “colony collapse disorder”. 

They have good reason to be worried: 80% of plant species need bees to be pollinated. Without them, 

no pollinization, hence practically no fruits or vegetables. Three thirds of the cultures that feed humanity 

depend on them. Apis mellifera (honey bee) appeared on Earth 60 million years before man and is as 

indispensible to the economy as it is to man’s survival. 

Should we incriminate pesticides and the medication used to combat them? Parasites such as varroa 

mites? New viruses? Travelling stress? The multiplication of electromagnetic waves disturbing the 

magnetite nanoparticles found in the bees’ abdomen? It seems that it is rather a combination of all these 

agents that has been destroying the bees’ immune defenses. 

Fifty years ago, Einstein had already insisted on the dependence relation that bound the pollen gatherers 

to mankind: “If bees were to disappear from the globe,” he had predicted, “mankind would only have four 

years left to live.” 


Hydref 2013


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

RESULTS OF 2012-2013 WINTER LOSSES SURVEY 

(November-April inclusive) 

Meirionnydd and Lleyn & Eifionydd Beekeepers’ Associations 

Clive & Shân Hudson 

Summary of data: 

53 participants keeping 251 colonies at 77 apiaries contributed information. 

88 colonies were lost, i.e. died out, (35.1%). 

8* participants used chemical Varroa treatments in 75 colonies, and had 31 

losses (41.3%). 

46* participants did not use any chemical treatments in 176 colonies, and 

had 57 losses (32.4%). 

*1 participant treated some colonies and not others. 

Notes and comments: 

A big thank you to members of Meirionnydd and Lleyn & Eifionydd 

Beekeepers’ Associations, and other local beekeepers, for participating in this 

survey. Particular thanks to Amanda Bristow for collecting information from 

Lleyn & Eifionydd BKA members. The data is collated and no individual names 

are used. 

At 35.1% the winter losses were much higher than the 7.6% losses of the 

2011-12 winter survey (see The Welsh Beekeeper No. 179 Winter 2012, 

pages 18-19). This last winter was harsher and ‘longer’ than the mild winter 

of 2011-12. 

It seems reasonable to conclude that the weather was a major factor 

contributing to colony losses. This assertion is supported by the useful 

comments that contributors gave to the survey. Participants offered a total of 

80 explanations for their colony losses, summarised as follows: 

29 mentioned the Spring cold spell, 21 cited poor queens, 13 suggested 

weak/small/dwindling colonies, 13 starvation, 2 mice damage, and 2 blown 

over. 

We hope it will be relevant to this survey to note the effect of the Spring 

cold spell on our own temperature monitored hive, shown on the graph. 

The green line at the top of the graph shows the cluster temperature in the 

centre of brood box. This had established itself at or near the brood rearing 


Autumn 2013

temperature of about 34°C by mid February. As the ambient temperature 

plummeted during early March (see the blue line on the graph) the colony 

could not sustain the brood temperature (green on graph) and it can be seen 

to drop over a period of nearly two weeks. When this colony was examined 

a few weeks later a circle of dead brood could be seen with a diameter of 

about 150mm, representing the breeding area reached before the cold 

spell. This hive did survive, having re-established a new brood area of about 

75mm diameter seen on that first examination. We saw the same circular 

pattern of dead brood on hives we were shown that did not survive (Realtime 

temperatures inside this monitored hive are available to view at http:// 

openenergymonitor.org/emon/beehive/v2). 

Further to the cold weather, with the exceptions of starvation, mice and 

storm damage, all the explanations for losses are anecdotal. These are, 

Graph of Hive Temperatures February-July 2013 showing a significant drop 

in the cluster temperature during March. 

however, the reasons offered by participants of this survey. One point of 

interest this year is not one participant mentioned Varroa as a cause of 

loss. However, Varroa and its associated pathogens could well have been 

a factor contributing to the loss of hives particularly those that were weak 

or dwindling. Diagnosing an accurate reason for the loss of such hives is 


Hydref 2013

difficult. Less concern for Varroa is also suggested by the high percentage 

of participants of this survey who have taken the individual decision not to 

use any chemical treatment, 85% i.e. 46 out of the total of 53 participants. 

Furthermore, the 41.3% losses sustained by participants treating, i.e. 31 

losses out of 75 colonies, were higher than those choosing not to treat who 

had a 32.4% loss, i.e. 57 losses out of 176 colonies. 

The majority of participants in this survey keep bees in National hives, 173 

out of the 251 total. The full detail of hives used and all the collated data from 

this survey is shown in the table. The table is divided into two, with the upper 

section showing the hives that were chemically treated for Varroa and the 

lower section the hives not treated for Varroa. Other than showing the wide 

variety of hives used it is difficult to draw clear conclusions comparing hive 

types because of the small numbers. 

Hives into Hives End of No. Hives % Loss 

Treated 

Winter Winter Lost 

National 58 34 24 41.4 

National 

4 3 1 25.0 

Brood-and ½ 

14 x12 13 7 6 46.2 

Total Treated 75 44 31 41.3 

Not Treated 

National 106 65 41 38.7 

National 

5 5 0 0.0 

Brood-and ½ 

14 x12 28 20 8 28.6 

16x10 17 15 11.8 

Warré 14 12 2 14.3 

WBC 5 2 3 60.0 

Dadant 1 0 1 100.0 

Total Not 

176 119 57 32.4 

Treated 

Overall Total 251 163 88 35.1 

Winter Losses Survey 2012-13: Table of Data 

The meaning of ‘not-treated’ is clear, i.e. no chemical treatment was used 

on a colony during the 2012 season or the winter of 2012-13. The meaning 

of ‘treated’ is less clear. Participants used a variety of different treatments as 

follows: thymol in Apiguard or crystals, Apistan, and/or oxalic acid. 

This survey is not rigorous scientific research. It is a survey to collate 

information from fellow local beekeepers to try and further our own 

knowledge about our bees and our own beekeeping, especially relating to 

‘winter losses’. 

Any member wishing to collect similar data is welcome to a copy of the form 

used. Please contact through our association website www.mbka.info 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

Archbishop becomes Patron of 

Bees Abroad 

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby 

has agreed to become a patron of Bees 

Abroad, the charity seeking to reduce 

poverty in developing countries worldwide 

through beekeeping. 

This is a particularly appropriate move as his 

official residence, Lambeth Palace, has its 

own bee colony producing honey and also 

wax for scented candles — and Justin Welby 

has a long association with helping to relieve 

poverty in developing countries. 

“I am delighted to lend my support to Bees 

Abroad by becoming a patron,” said the 

Archbishop. “Through its imaginative and wholly practical work, the charity 

promotes the skills of beekeeping in a way that empowers and educates the 

communities in which it operates. 

“In investing in people in some of the poorest and under-developed areas, 

Bees Abroad creates opportunities for this local enterprise to flourish at a 

sustainable and manageable level. 

“I am sure that those who are trained in beekeeping under Bees Abroad’s 

guidance and encouragement will find it an interesting and satisfying 

experience. I send my best wishes to all involved with the charity in whatever 

role.” 

Justin Welby’s first experiences of poverty in developing nations came during 

his gap year when he taught at a school near Mount Kenya. Then in his 

business career he made many visits to conflict-torn areas to use his 

financial, commercial and reconciliation skills. 

John Home, chairman of Bees Abroad said, “I am delighted that Justin Welby 

has agreed to become a patron. His awareness of the challenges that are 

faced in the developing countries and his understanding about how the work 


Autumn 2013

of Bees Abroad can help small communities improve their lives, is an asset 

to our organisation. He joins the team of our existing patrons whose support 

we much value in the work that we do using indigenous bees and techniques 

appropriate to the local environment”. 

Bees Abroad offers training and support in beekeeping including making hives 

and protective clothing from local materials, managing honeybees, collecting 

honey safely, and handling and storing it hygienically. 

Home-based production of honey and other saleable goods from the byproducts 

of beekeeping is introduced, together with marketing and business 

skills to ensure the sustainable generation of new income by poor rural 

communities in developing countries. 

Bees Abroad’s projects are normally self-sustaining after five years and 

no longer dependent on external finance and mentoring. It has projects 

which need funding and enquiries from community groups in Kenya, Uganda, 

Cameroon, Nepal, Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, 

Rwanda and Sierra Leone. 

For further information, please visit: www.beesabroad.org.uk or contact: 

John Home 01926 612322 Bees Abroad 

(Chairman) 

Veronica Brown 0117 230 0231 Bees Abroad 

(Administrator) 

Roger Ranson 0845 402 6527 BHR Communications 

19 July 2013 


Hydref 2013


Autumn 2013

The Welsh Beekeeper No. 182 Autumn2013 

www.wbka.com 

All copy should reach the Editor on or before the last 

day of January, April, July and October. 

Views expressed in ‘The Welsh Beekeeper’ are not necessarily 

held by the Editor or the Publishers, but remain the opinion of 

the author of the article. 

Edited, and compiled by Sue Closs. 

Proof read by Dewi Morris Jones 

Published by Welsh Beekeeper Association 

Printed by PensordT, Pontllanfraith, South Wales 

Advertiser 

Page 

Abelo 34 

Allard Daalder 19 

BB Wear 5 

Bee Basic Ltd 36 

Bee Books New & Old 28 

Bee Craft 7 

Beefeed [Peter & Marian Guthrie] 44 

Beehive Floor Mesh 32 

Beekeeping 21 

Beemat 33 

Bibba 45 

Caddon Hives 31 

C.Arden (Bookseller) 25 

C. Wynne Jones 37 

Honey Jar Labels 9 

IBRA [Journal Apicultural Research 43 

IBRA 37 

Maisemore Apiaries Ltd 47 

Melindwr Valley Bees 36 

Rawlings & Son (Bristol) Ltd 41 

Sherriff 28 

The Beekeepers Quarterly 17 

The Bee Shop 15 

The Scottish Beekeeper 43 

Thorne 23 

Great care is taken to 

ensure advertisements 

are correct but no 

liability is taken for 

errors or omissions. 


Hydref 2013

Local Association Representatives 

Association Secretary Telephone 

Aberystwyth 

Anglesey 

Brecknock & Radnor 

Bridgend & District 

Cardiff & Vale 

Carmarthen 

Conwy 

East Carmarthen 

Flint & District 

Gwenynwyr Cymraeg 

Ceredigion 

Lampeter & District 

Lleyn ac Eifionydd 

Meirionnydd 

Montgomeryshire 

Pembrokeshire 

South Clwyd 

Swansea 

Teifiside 

Ann Ovens 

Ian Gibbs 

Gillian Todd 

Sue Verran 

Annie Newsam 

Brian Jones 

Peter McFadden 

Linda Wallis 

Jill and Graham 

Wheeler 

W.I.Griffiths 

Gordon Lumby 

Amanda Bristow 

Sue Townsend 

Maggie Armstrong 

Paul Eades 

Carol Keys-Shaw 

Paul Lyons 

Donald Robertson- 

Adams 

01970 832359 

ann.ovens@btinternet.com 

01407 840314 

secretaryabka@gmail.com 

01874 610902 

gbtodd@btinternet.com 

01656 729699 

verran@btinternet.com 

02920 868756 annienewsam@ 

hotmail.co.uk 

01267 267318 

beegeejay2003@yahoo.co.uk 

01492 650851 

peter@honeyfair.freeserve.co.uk 

01558 650774 

secretary@ec-bka.com 

01745 560557 

mertyndowning@btinternet.com 

01970 623334 

wilmair@btinternet.com 

01570 480571 

g.lumby@btopenworld.com 

01286 831328 

amanda.bristow@egnitec.com 

01341 430262 

suetownsend@tesco.net 

01686 630447 

secretary@montybees.org.uk 

01437 899928 

secretarypbka@hotmail.com 

01490 460592 

c.keysshaw@btinternet.com 

05602 159235 

paullyons@btinternet.com 

07939 336076 

donald@theoldmill.fsnet.co.uk 

01792 232810 

West Glamorgan John Beynon 

jakbeynon@btinternet.com 


Autumn 2013


Hydref 2013

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