September 2024 BIBBA Monthly
CONTENTS
- Winter Courses: Sustainable Bees & Queens
- Blenheim Palace Forest Bees
- BBJ Article - Observations
- Readers Response on Frame Spacing
- BBJ Article - Swarming
Missed our latest Live @ The Hive?
Head over to Live@theHive - September 4th, 2024 (youtube.com) to watch the recording. For more info and to sign up for WhatsApp alerts go to bibba.com/live-hive
Winter Courses: “Sustainability: Bees and Queens for Everyone”
Using low-cost, simple methods
There is growing concern amongst beekeepers of all abilities and experience regarding the impact of the importation of bees and queens. Possible risks include:-
- The introduction of pests (e.g. Small Hive Beetle and Tropilaelaps – both notifiable), diseases and pathogens.
- Aggression in subsequent generations.
- Unsuitability to our fickle climate, along with higher than expected winter losses.
- Genetic contamination of both managed and free-living honey bee populations.
See https://bibba.com/imports/ for more information.
All National BKA's have concerns, so discourage the importation of bees and queens.
There will be a series of one-day regional courses during the winter to help and encourage everyone from the small-scale beekeeper upwards (and BKAs) to produce bees and queens from locally adapted stock, using simple techniques at little or no cost.
Topics include:-
- Why raise your own local adapted queens?
- Addressing perceived problems in producing queens in the U.K.
- Overwintering bees and queens.
- Demystifying queen rearing for beekeepers.
- Simple queen rearing methods.
- Simple and efficient ways to produce nuclei.
- Methods for producing small and larger quantities of bees and queens.
- Benefits of teaching apiaries with a queen rearing facility.
- Queen rearing as a collective exercise.
- Producing bees and queens whilst still getting a good honey crop.
- Queen rearing and bee improvement as part of your beekeeping.
This BIBBA course is aimed at beekeepers of all abilities from beginners to the most experienced, as well as BKA officials, beekeeping teachers, apiary managers, etc. Each course will typically run from 10am to 4pm and, to keep costs down, please bring along your own lunch and refreshments. Booking must be made in advance as courses usually sell out before the day.
For further details and venues: bibba.com/sustainability-bees-and-queens-for-everyone
Blenheim Palace Forest Bees
Oxford hosted two symposia by Coloss scientists researching Treatment Free bees.
COLOSS, is an international network of 1967 honeybee researchers and stakeholders from 114 countries, originally formed in 2008 to address the issue of COLONY LOSSES (pests, diseases etc). Its research influences policy decisions by governments and national beekeeping associations. One sub-group, the Survivors Task Force, focuses on honeybee populations that have evolved tolerance to varroa, both managed stocks, and wild colonies and Oxfordshire has such bees. (Actually, they’re widespread in Britain, but it’s about proving it.)
This Task Force held a one and half days’ meeting in Worcester College, Oxford in 2023, followed by a one-day training course finding free living nests in Blenheim Forest. Members of our local Treatment Free group, OxNatBees attended both events.
The Worcester College meeting attendees were joined with a video link to those who could not physically attend, they were from Australia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Thailand. The meeting was chaired by Arrigo Moro and Raffaele Dall’Olio. Interestingly, it was explained to the meeting that the European Union has shifted away from breeding one superbee and is now very much focused on promoting the rearing of local queens adapted to an area.
The Blenheim Palace training session was focused on finding and monitoring wild bee nests. In the morning session Filipe Salbany described the work he has undertaken at the Blenheim Estate identifying numerous wild nests of honeybees in the surrounding woodland, which was established centuries ago. Some of the trees on the estate are thought to be amongst the oldest in the UK. The Queen (see picture) and King Oak are claimed to be 800 years old. Whilst at the event, participants were able to discuss beekeeping with others who came from various countries from around the World, i,e, Finland, Germany, Spain, France, South Africa, Australia, America and many from the UK. The main topic was Varroa Treatment Free beekeeping and how to achieve this.
Blenheim forest - beelining/ forest craft training
The day initially covered how to behave in the forest to avoid damaging it – avoid stepping on roots, and compressing soil near trees, walk outside the drip line of an individual tree’s canopy, what you could touch. People were split into smaller groups to visit sites in succession.
The theory of beelining was taught, but it was quite cold on the day so bees weren’t flying much. However, nests of bees in ancient trees were pointed out. By the time people were deep in the forest, they were quite moved by the calm, wild wood and the giant trees towering over them. It was quite an emotional experience.
It was a full day event where Filipe Salbany trained 50 people in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, Filipe also gave a demonstration of how to climb trees safely. It is vital to use the proper kit.
Steve Rogenstein a member of the Survivors Taskforce wrote the following after the event: -“ It's hard to believe that we congregated and explored Blenheim's ancient woodlands more than a month ago! My, how time flies. I've since returned there several times just by closing my eyes and re-imaging those magical trees, bees, landscape, and all of you! What a special day. It conjures a smile every time”.
If you know of any free-living honey bee nests or care for treatment-free colonies, please consider participating in Honey Bee Watch.
For more info: www.HoneyBeeWatch.com
To register and enter sites into the online mapping platform: app.HoneyBeeWatch.com
Feel free to pass these links along far and wide
My thanks to Paul Honigmann and Jon Darvil oxnatbees.wordpress.com/2023/04/10/coloss-visits-oxfordshire/ for their help and advice in compiling this article.
Terry Hitchman
BBJ Article - Observations 1991
Thanks to the BBKA for permission to reprint this article
Hidden away in historic antiquarian material there are reports written by a Spanish Ambassador who was sent to the southern parts of the continent to report upon the progress of colonisation. Travelling up into the mid-western states as we know it now, he wrote back to the King of Spain describing the conditions under which the Spaniards there were living. Writing in one report, 1670, he states that the bees which they had brought with them from Spain were of no use in those areas, the native bees were much more suitable. There is also a mention to the mixing (breeding) of the Spanish bees with the native bees; they were found to be vicious and at times unmanageable. I seem to have heard this before somewhere!
All this information is of no use whatever to the modern beekeeper, it's academic isn't it. Perhaps if we had had this information years ago we might have learned from their mistakes and would not be in the state we are today.
The Bee press of the 1925-1935 years hold many references to the breeding of bees in this country; there were many pleas for the setting up of a national breeding programme. Except for one scheme in Scotland, which was closed down because it was doing too well, nothing was ever started. Like the champion bull at the shows of those years which was eaten to celebrate the success of the breeder. But then again we as beekeepers used to kill off the bees in skeps every year. We still do in a way don't we? How many colonies die out every year because of our greed and neglect.
It is to our own shame that we hear that Danish beekeepers have set aside an island so that they can breed the Buckfast bee for distribution to their members. We should have done this after the war instead of allowing all sorts of rubbish into the country.
A few private individuals started to breed a strain but like so many other things, expenses, frustrations with governmental red tape soon took its toll. Sadly the BBKA never took steps to set up a breeding programme of its own. Even today BeeBreeding seems to be an ugly word, and a subject which only the very brave would ever ask to be included in the programme of many bee keeping associations. And yet, every beekeeper is aware of the need to raise our own strain of bee.
Enlightened beekeepers like Bro. Adam, Terry Theaker, Beo Cooper and Harrison Ashforth have shown us the way. In earlier days perhaps their words of wisdom would have been listened to and acted upon.
Perhaps the best resolution we could make for our craft for the 1990's is we'll do it NOW while there is still time; remembering of course that 'To every thing there is a time, and a time for every purpose under heaven'. A happy New Year to you all.
By Dougie
Response to readers enquiry - June 2024
Comb Spacing
I am responding to the readers query from John Wrigley in June 2024 BM regarding comb spacing, starting with the last line. As we are dealing with biology, I don’t think there is an answer, but I will give it a crack, based mainly on observation and giving it a bit of thought over several years. It was the topic of “Patterson’s Page” in Aug 2019 BBKA News. I have written a page about it on Dave Cushman’s website and in my book “Beekeeping: Challenge what you are told”, where I include photographs. I will briefly give details here.
We are often told the distance between combs in a natural nest is 35mm, with bee space at 1cm, but that’s not always my experience. Like a lot of “facts” in beekeeping, I suspect there is an element of “copy and paste” by those who have probably never measured the distance in a natural nest and have based it on Hoffman spacing, that has become more common in the UK than metal ends that were the most common spacing method when I started beekeeping. I have removed many free-living colonies and measured comb spacing where it’s possible without distorting the comb. I have found the distance between centres where there is worker brood is consistently 36-38mm, tending more towards 38mm. My guess is that the original spacing was decided by using the nearest standard measurement to what was seen in a natural nest or skep. British spacing was 1½ inches, that has been metricated to 38mm, American was 1⅜ inches, metricated to 35mm. Both obviously worked, so why change?
Hoffman frame sidebars are only 35mm in British and Langstroth frames, although the latter varies, depending on the country. Dadant are 38mm, the same as British and on page 21 of “Dadant System of Beekeeping” (1920), Charles Dadant gives the reason. Like John, I use castellated spacers throughout and have done so for the best part of 60 years because they suit me best, but that’s another topic.
I have measured the width of combs with sealed worker brood on both sides by pushing a cocktail stick through the comb and measuring it, and found the size to be 25-26mm. This means the bee space at 35mm is 9-10mm, but 12-13mm on 38mm centres. I believe the extra space is probably significant in modern beekeeping, because I have noticed that CBPV appears to be more of a problem in hives with Hoffman spacing, although this will need more experiments. I saw an article several years ago, that I believe was based on a paper that was presented to Apimondia, where the author claimed a lower level of varroa in colonies with wider spacing, presumably the thinking being that bees have more space to groom each other. John asks if the 3mm difference is important. Probably not, unless you are observing a colony a lot closer than most beekeepers do. On several occasions in the past, I have seen brood frames on wide metal ends, with apparently no problem for the bees. Interestingly, I find the space between honey cappings is less than brood, perhaps because there is far less activity once combs are sealed.
An interesting topic, without a proper answer, but based on human thinking, rather than why bees do it.
Roger Patterson
BBJ Article - Swarming 1991
Thanks to the BBKA for permission to reprint this article
In spite of all the discussion as to why bees swarm it should be obvious that they do so because it is their only means of increase. If they did not there would be the same number of colonies now as went into the ark, and there would never be any more.
I am ready to agree that most domesticated bees swarm because of congestion but that is generally the fault of the beekeeper. Ten combs are no use for a brood nest, neither is twenty for that matter. An abler scribe, whom I quote has put the matter succinctly:-
The bee is an industrious soul,
She has no use for birth control.
And that is why, at times like these
One meets so many sons of bees.
Written one would imagine, at the height of a flow
Give them plenty of room and they will swarm when they can afford to, which is how nature seems to have intended things to be, and how they would be if their alleged friends would not insist in trying to get a reputed pint out of a half pint pot. And it is the efforts of these friends that are responsible for the annual rush to the head of weird swarm-control methods.
By J. E. Pile
The opinions expressed in articles in BM are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Bibba Board.
While the editorial team considers all material received carefully before publishing, it does not disbar those who may have a perfectly good argument.
