Author: greenbees2019

Time to be thinking about entering something for the Dorset County Show. It is not just honey. There are other bee products you can enter. The full schedule is attached. 

All Dorset Beekeepers Association members are invited to enter their honey and hive products in the Dorset County Show.  A printed copy and entry form is available on request from  richard@wykeregis19.plus.com

An entry form is available here.

    All entries must  to be staged by 8.15am or on Friday by arrangement.  Entries may be collected after 6.00 pm Saturday or any time Sunday by arrangement. Plenty of help and advice is available.  Just ask.

The image above shows a case for the Frame of Comb for Extraction  class.  We have a couple of these cases (national and and commercial) available to borrow for the show. (Frame of honey not included.)

Seems like ages since I was able to tell you about competitions but there are two coming up - one out of County and one in County.

Somerset County Show
The Somerset County Show is to be held in Vivary Park, Taunton TA1 3SX on 5th and 6th August under the umbrella of the Taunton Flower Show. I have attached the Somerset County Honey Show Schedule 2022 just here. I am assured that members of the Dorset BKA are welcome to submit entries.

Dorset County Show
The Dorset County Show is to be held in Dorchester on the 3rd and 4th September at the County Showground in Dorchester. The Honey Show Schedule is not yet available but in the meantime you can check out the programme here.

With the temperatures comfortable and plenty of flowers in bloom this is the time for swarms.

Have you got a swarm?

This is what swarm looks like. There are probably lots of bees flying round as well. Do not worry – they are not likely to sting you. They are just protecting their queen and looking for a new home.

Does it look like this? This is a honey bee. If they look like this then we are able to deal with them – in fact we would love to. If you are not certain then have a look at the BBKA bee identification page.

So what do you do now?

• Estimate how big it is – golf ball, cricket ball, football, bigger? (That way we know what we need.)
• Do you know the approximate postcode of the swarm location. (It just helps you find the nearest swarm collector.)
• Look on the BBKA website at the swarm map and find the nearest collector.
• Ring them and let them know what you have and where.
• Swarms do not hang around so the sooner we know the better we are able to help the bees.
• If you do not get an answer then try another collector.

So what do I do if I am called?

• First I will check that they are honey bees. We cannot help with wasps or bumble bees.
• I will ask you you how big the swarm is.
• I will ask you where it is. If you have “what3words” on your phone then that is best.
  • What3words is available as an app we should all have on our phone – identifies anywhere within 3 metres.
• I will put the things I need in the car and drive to the location.
• Once there I will assess the situation and if it is safe to do so I will collect the swarm.

So why bother to call me?

• I will remove the bees with a minimum of disruption.
• I will rehouse them with a beekeeper.
• You know they won’t set up home in your chimney, under the eaves or in a tree near you.
• You may even get a jar of honey later as sign of the bees and our appreciation.

Last year was very quiet on the Asian Hornet side. I was not called out at all and there were very few incidents nationally.

We have been wondering why this was the case and one possible answer was the fact that there was not a lot of tourist traffic across the Channel. This year could be very different.

We have already one confirmed sighting in Felixstowe area - again a sighting close to a port. As Dorset is close to several channel ports we should be especially alert.

Next week is a crucial week in this respect. The holiday season is getting under way and there are plenty of people crossing the Channel and by the end of the week it will be a lot warmer. Ideal conditions for the emerging Queens.

So what can you do?

• Remind yourself what we are looking for.
• It is not just the apiary - be aware on country walks, visits to garden centres, sitting in the garden.
• Check out the Asian Hornet information on Beebase.
• If you are a beekeeper have you done the Asian Hornet test on the BBKA site.

This year the AGM will be rather special. It will be the first time many of us have been able to meet up with other beekeepers for a very long time.

The AGM is an important date in our calendar and I do hope we see you there.

All the details are available on the AGM page.

In summary:

• Date: Sunday 20th March 2022
• Time: 2:00pm for refreshments
• Time: 2:30pm for the meeting
• Location: Sunninghall School Hall Dorchester DT1 1EB

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Can you tell what you are looking at above?

Come to the talk on Thursday 17th February at 19:30 at the Colliton Club in Dorchester we have a talk by Kevin Pope- Seasonal bee Inspector - on what he found last year. This is an event not to be missed if you want to know what we need to look for this year.

And if you are not sure what the photos are then you should definitely be at the talk.

And the wind? Thursday is the quiet before the storm - quite literally. If your hives are not strapped down then now is the time to do it. We are expecting winds of up to 70mph - the worst for many years.

If your hive is strapped together and blows over then on Saturday all you have to do is lift it back onto its stand and apologise to the bees!

And finally search on Google for "BeeInfo" - all one word. There I am building up a site of much that I know about bees. The URL is https://dorsetbka.com/BeeInfo/

There does seem to be a possibility that life is returning to normal and once again we can gather round the open hive and admire the work of our bees. Thus I have more confidence in adding some dates to the diary:

January

Tuesday 18th January BIBBA are doing a Webinar on Wax Production and replacing old comb. They also have on their site an interesting article on the reason we should not be importing bees. It is worth a read and gives you extra ammunition if you meet someone who wants to buy foreign bees so they can get going more quickly.

Saturday 22nd January Central Division of Somerset BKA are doing a talk to bring us up to speed on the Asian Hornet. Last year was quiet but only yesterday I received an alert about a suspect nest in the in Dorset. If you are interested in the Somerset talk then details are here. It is to be held at Oakhill Village Hall BA3 5AN.

February

17th - Thursday - Kevin Pope to give a talk at the Colliton Club on what he found as a Bee Inspector in 2021.

March

Nothing as yet but I am sure things will happen

April

8th, 9th and 10th is the Beekeeping Convention in Newport, Shropshire. Details are available on the BBKA website with a full programme to be published this month.

Other

If you are still wanting more lectures then the BBKA site has recordings of previous lectures. You can also find a lot of useful lectures on YouTube. National Honey Show has their own channel and my favourite must be the Norfolk Honey Company channel on You Tube. Another channel worth a look is "Inside the Hive TV". It is American based but is well produced and has much of interest to UK bee keepers.

BeeInfo - information about honey bees and beekeeping.

Many a time I have been determined to learn more about beekeeping over the winter period. Each year something gets in the way. Usual pressures - paint this room, get that shopping, prepare for Xmas, clear up after Xmas and so on.

This year I am making a more determined effort than usual. One route I am taking is to create a set of pages of notes . These will help me in preparation for taking the new BBKA modules. More importantly  I am hoping those same pages will make me a better beekeeper. Probably my bees are equally optimistic!

The pages are all to be found at dorsetbka.com/BeeInfo. Simple as that. I have used a similar layout to that on the main page but missed some of  the links on the right hand side.  At present there are not a huge number of pages on there but as I write more content then I can add more pages and I am optimistic that this will grow to be a useful resource for all.

 

BBKA Module Exams 2022
If you are considering taking a BBKA module exam in 2022 then do be certain to check the new syllabus. There are significant differences between the November 2021 exams and the exams for 2022.

Just as an example the 2021 syllabus for Module 1 Honey Bee Management Syllabus says the syllabus covers the use of wax foundation, ways of getting wax fully drawn.

The new syllabus specifies that the syllabus now covers materials employed to emulate foundation as well as the use of wax foundation. It also requires the candidate to also know of the works of J.Mehring, E.B.Weed and Captain J.E. Hetherington.

It helps that the changes are in bold on the 2022 syllabus and this makes it much easier to see the changes. Personally I find the new syllabus much more informative and I now know where to direct my studies.

That is just looking at wax in Module 1. There are a lot more changes than this and rather than list the changes I suggest anyone considering taking one of the modules looks at the new syllabus on the BBKA website.  More information on the exams can be found on the BBKA site

This is the time of year when there may be visitors to this site who have read about bees, possibly bought some honey at the local market, and now they are thinking "Shall I keep bees?"

Deciding to keep bees is not a decision to take lightly. It is not just puting a hive in the garden and taking off honey when ever you need it.  There is a lot more involved than that and it is a lot more rewarding.

If you are thinking of keeping bees then I have written a new page on this site which explains some of the points you have to consider such as where to keep the extra equipment.  

Anyone who knows beekeepers will know that every beekeeper has a different answer to the same question so there will be things on the page which others think are not important and there are things missed out. Read it and let me know what you think.