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The images shown above are not from the Channel Islands, not from Kent but from right here in Dorset. They show the Yellow Legged Hornet near a bait trap in the Osmington area.

I was fortunate enough to spend the afternoon with DEFRA inspecting traps and this is just some of what we saw. This is a worrying situation. These are either workers out looking for food or fertilised queens looking for somewhere to spend the winter.

If the nest is found and destroyed in the next few days we may be OK. If the nest is not found then we could have a serious problem. The gynes - future queens - in the nest will all go there separate ways to find somewhere to hibernate. Each of the hibernating queens could emerge in the spring and create a new nest then a new colony. A single nest could produce 350 gynes. Of those not all will be successfully fertilised and not all will survive the winter but one survival is too many.

As we did the inspection I was reminded that this is the same area that the Black Death arrived in the UK. Hopefully the Yellow Legged Hornet will not affect the bee population as Black Death affected humans.

It is up to us to keep on top of this problem. We must all be on the lookout for Yellow Legged Hornets from now until the weather gets cold and then again in the Spring as soon as it starts to warm up.

At the moment the situation is being handled by DEFRA and they do not require any further help. There is a risk that were more of us were to put out bait stations then the Yellow Legged Hornet would have so many choices it might not return to the one that DEFRA are using for "Track and Trace". They do not need any more eyes on the ground - we know it is there. If they do require any assistance then they will let me know and I will be in touch.

Two bits of news to let you know that are almost here:

Yellow Legged Hornet :Yes that is almost here - no I lie - it is here. In the last fortnight two Asian Hornets, whoops! I meant Yellow Legged Hornet, have been found in the Osmington Mills area. DEFRA are handling the sightings and have made it very clear that they do not require any help from local beekeepers apart from keeping eyes on traps and hives - something we do already I hope. I have not received an update for several days but I know that some of those involved in the sightings will be at the Convention on Saturday.

Convention: Yes the convention is almost upon us. It has taken a lot of setting up by Dorset Beekeepers and we are hoping for a good turn out on Saturday. Tickets have been selling steadily and personally I am looking forward to hearing from a variety of excellent speakers as well as meeting up with other beekeepers from across the county and beyond.
If you have not bought your ticket yet then there is still time. Just follow this link here.

When I wrote the title for this post I didn't realise how right I was.

A live Asian Hornet was captured in the Weymouth area.

It was captured on Sunday 28th September by a vigilant beekeeper whilst checking his hives. He used the App to notify DEFRA and they will be on site later today. Having done a preliminary sweep of the area we are hopeful that it is a solitary worker which came in on a cruise ship. Time will tell.

What we all need to do is check our traps and our hives regularly. One nest found and destroyed in the next couple of weeks means many queens not overwintering in Dorset.

Whilst you are checking your hives you could put straps round them. This weekend could be very windy - and if not this weekend then certainly there will be storms this autumn. If a cold wind blows your unstrapped hive over then the bees will be chilled and blown away.

If you have strapped your hives together and it is blown over then your bees may get a headache but you can lift them up and things are back to normal. You can get strap which are not rachet straps and they make no noise as you tighten them. Personally I use ratchet trap but I do make certain that the ratchet part I not touching the hive wall or roof as I tighten it.

On a separate issue time is running out for getting tickets for the Bee Convention to be held at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester on Saturday 11th October. Ticket are selling steadily and I suggest you get yours sooner rather than later - or not at all if you are too late. There is an excellent range of speakers and workshops. Personally I find one of the most enjoyable aspects of any such conference is meeting up with other beekeepers. Full details are here. You could take my word for it and  book. The URL for bookings is https://buytickets.at/northdorsetbka/1793471

Members rates can be reached by adding the discount code DBKAC2025 when making a booking.

This October, yes I know it seems a long time away, Dorset Beekeepers Association is hosting a Bee Convention in Dorchester.

When? Saturday 11th October

What time? All day - starting at 9:15 and finishing after tea and cakes at 4pm

Where? The Dorford Centre DT1 1RR in Dorchester - opposite Top Of Town carpark entrance.

Who will be there?

• Kevin Pope on his recent work in Thailand on Tropilaelaps.
• Ken Basterfield on honey marketing.
• Dan Basterfield on Apidea Queen Rearing
• Maggie North will run a workshop on making wax flowers
• Ron Briggs will discuss how to set up a "honey house".
• Steve riley will talk about varroa resistance.

What is the cost?

• For member of Dorset Beekeeepers - which includes all those who are members of any of our divisions - the cost is £5.00
• For others the cost is £10
• Tickets can be obtained from https://buytickets.at/northdorsetbka/1793471

More details of the event are given below:

Dorset Beekeepers Association Convention

Dorset Beekeepers Association invites you to their convention on 11^th October at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester.

There will be a full day of talks and demonstrations covering everything from wax flowers to Tropilaelaps research, Apidea queen rearing to varroa resistance in bees and much more.

Details of trade stands will be released nearer the date.

The price will be £5.00 for members of DBKA and £10.00 for non-members.

Booking and payment can be made using Ticket Tailor hosted by North Dorset Beekeepers Association. The URL for bookings is:

https://buytickets.at/northdorsetbka/1793471

Members rates can be reached by adding the discount code DBKAC2025 when making a booking.

Date: 11^th October

Venue: Dorford Centre, 2 Bridport Road, Dorchester, DT1 1RR.

Parking: Top O’ Town car park.

Agenda:

9.15 am Welcome

9.30 am Kevin Pope

Kevin will be talking about his visit to Thailand with Maggie Gill from PHIRA Science to study Tropilaelaps. If he has time he will also review the latest information on disease outbreaks in Dorset.

Kevin was a respected seasonal bee inspector for many years in our area. And still keeps 20 hives.

10.30 am Coffee. Time to browse the stands

11.00 am Ken Basterfield

Ken will be talking about marketing honey

Ken Basterfield NDB has been keeping bees for over 40 years, and in addition to running Blackberry Farm in East Devon, is an examiner for the BBKA and a member of the BBKA Husbandry & Education Committee.

11.45 am Break

12,00 pm Dan Basterfield

Dan will be talking about his book on Apidea queen rearing.

Queen raising is one of the most rewarding aspects of beekeeping, allowing beekeepers to propagate the desirable characteristics of their best colonies throughout their apiaries.

Father and son commercial beekeepers Ken and Dan Basterfield, both holders of the National Diploma in Beekeeping, have been using Apideas to raise their own queens for forty years.

12.45 pm Lunch

Bring your own or pop into town.

2.00 pm Two workshops will run at the same time, take your pick.

Maggie North will be demonstrating making wax flowers

Ron Briggs will be discussing setting up a honey house

3.00 pm Steve Riley will be talking about varroa resistance.

Many of us have been working towards our bees becoming resistant to varroa. Steve has published a book “The honey bee solution to varroa ”

Steve is the current Chair and Education Officer for Westerham Beekeepers. A group of like-minded beekeepers started a project in 2017 to select for Varroa resistant traits in honey bees, identified from research on long established, naturally resistant colonies and from their own data.

4.00pm Tea and Cake!

For several years we have warned of the threat of the Asian Hornet and so far little has come of it. A bit like the boy who cried wolf - but it is not.

Two years ago we had Asian Hornets on Portland. Due to prompt action we eliminated them before they could get a hold. It is that same prompt action we need now.

The Asian Hornet - or Yellow Legged Hornet or Yellow Legged Asian Hornet - will be at that stage in its life cycle where the fertilised queen (gyne) is establishing a primary nest and laying eggs. This is when she is at her most vulnerable. She is a single mother who has to look after her young and also go out to work and collect food.

This is the time when we should be setting monitoring stations and monitoring traps. If we can catch and kill one Yellow Legged Hornet then that will potentially save us from up to 350 fertilised queens being produced for next year.

So I urge you to get your traps and bait stations out there. Place sweet, carbohydrate lures in there and monitor them every day. For bait use any combination of beer, wine, fruit juice with some sugar. If you catch an Yellow Legged Hornet then pop it in the freezer. That way it is killed, preserved and in a suitable state for DEFRA to examine the DNA. Contact the local Asian Hornet Coordinator or report it on the App.

Why is it important for DEFRA to be informed? Well they may be able to identify the origins of hornet. Supposing we get two queens found in Dorset. If they are not related then it was just chance that gave us two. However if they were related then the chances are we have many more in the county that over wintered here.

The AGM was held earlier in March and there have been several changes as a result. Several of the principal officers have changed as can be seen from the box on the right.

One of the consequences of these changes is that we now expect to see a lot more activity on this web site. For the past year not a lot has happened here but it is planned to make big changes.

However those changes will not be happening immediately as I am away this week to Shropshire to the Bee Convention 2025. To those who have never been I draw your attention to the programme which contains many fascinating speakers. I was there last year and took part in a bee dissection class and then got really close up to the workings of bee when I took part in a session using a scanning electron microscope. Where else could you get such experience?

I have to say that bee anatomy is not my particular area of interest. Evolution has given us a bee which is well designed to cope with much that life throws at it - though it has yet to cope with Varroa. No, my interest is in the social organisation that takes place in the hive.

This spring I have been fortunate enough to be on a Bee Behaviour Course given by Lesley Gasson and hosted by Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers. This proved to be a very worthwhile course and has showed me with many avenues I wish to explore further.

Anyway that is enough for now - I have to pack.

The Dorset Beekeepers will be holding the AGM at 2pm on Saturday 22nd March at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester. For those who have not been to the Dorford Centre before it is almost in front of you as you cross the Bridport Road on the crossing from the Top Of Town carpark.

The business part of the meeting will be preceded by a talk on "Beekeeping in Poor Weather" by Geoff Blay. There will be tea and cakes supplied by North Dorset Beekeepers.

It should be an interesting afternoon and it is an excellent opportunity to meet up with other beekeepers.

Sitting here with the rain drumming on the window it is difficult to think ahead to an active beekeeping season - but that is what we must do.

The first event which you need to know about is the Asian Hornet Workshop to be held at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road in Dorchester. The event is on this Sunday the 18th February from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and includes:

• Update on the Asian Hornet situation in the County from Mark White
• Tea and Cakes
• Talk by Pollenize on using AI for Asian Hornet detection.
• There will be local and regional experts there with an opportunity for questions.

We were hoping to give out some Trappit but at the moment it is impossible to get hold of. There will be recipes for making your own.

I have received the following email from Amie

Hi, I am Amie a 3rd-year university student at Royal Holloway, University of London. I am writing to all Beekeeping associations within the UK to conduct a study for my final year undergraduate project. As I aim to survey beekeepers, I hope that you will be able to assist me.

My project aims to investigate Beekeeper practices within the UK and attitudes held towards wild bee species. I conducted a previous survey at the National Honey Show in October 2023 and now have a revised survey based on the responses from that.

The research project is a core component of my course and thus I would be extremely grateful if you could aid me. My survey takes about 4-5 minutes. 

 As it is on Google Forms, all answers are anonymous and no personal data is collected (including emails and phone numbers).

The link to the form is https://forms.gle/GrKqeJ5oGvCRLSez7 

or

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf_yzOu7rE-xLO7eJUAAYh1XSJ3d-QwPqBolAy7t6RvPeSyeg/viewform?usp=sf_link

This is an easy survey taking only a few minutes and does make you ask yourself why you keep bees. It is worth doing if it will aid research into attitudes of beekeepers to the environment.

And don't forget our upcoming AGM:

The AGM of the Dorset Beekeepers' Association will be held on Saturday 16th March at 2:30pm at the Colliton Club in Dorchester.

The AGM is open to all members of Dorset Beekeepers and that includes all those who are members of any of the Dorset Associations.

The AGM is your opportunity to take part in the direction which Dorset Beekeepers may take over the next year. There are also vacancies for for several roles on the Council.

This is your chance to make a change.