January Roundup

The Winter Sale ended just a few days ago and we are working our way through the remaining orders as quickly as possible. If you do still have an order outstanding, thank you, and please be patient. We will get it to you just as soon as we can.

Many congratulations to Alan and his partner Leanne on the birth of their son Archie on the 4th January. Alan works in our Engineers Department – some of you may well have spoken to him about refurbishing your older extractors.

Equipment Focus………

Something a little different this month……4.9mm Small Cell Foundation

We are now pleased to be offering for sale 4.9mm foundation. This has come about, partly, because of a project being undertaken by Reading University. A short article is below.

The University of Reading has just started an exciting new research project examining the highly problematic issue of varroa mites and whether the use of small cell foundation (4.9 mm) can help. This is being carried out with volunteer beekeepers in the local area as well as in an apiary at the University. The study will evaluate the use of small cell foundation alongside regular-sized (5.4mm) foundation and compare the varroa loads during next spring and summer.

This is an interesting topic to research as beekeepers around the world have had success with the use of small cell foundation whereas many others have not. Some previous studies have also found that varroa counts increase in the short term when small cell foundation is first used. The new study will evaluate what happens once the bees have fully adjusted to small cell foundation and if there is a significant impact on varroa loads.

The 4.9mm foundation is available in all sizes of premier wax.

Ask our Expert...

Please email us at sales@thorne.co.uk if you have a question for our experts.

This month our expert shares their tips on Spring Cleaning!

It’s a good idea to try to get ahead before the bees do... While it’s cold and the propolis is hard it’s the best time to clean spare hive parts, and recycle your frames ready for the oncoming season.

Gather all the floors, brood boxes, supers, crown boards, queen excluders and roofs in a to-do pile. You will need a stool (this will take a while and you may as well be comfortable) a scraper hive tool, and a blowtorch (preferably piezo ignition) and an excluder cleaner may prove useful. This is certainly a job to complete outside!

Take a roof and place it top down on the ground in front of you, clean and scrape all the kit into the upturned roof, this will contain all the rubbish and stop you treading it around.

First scrape the inside surfaces of the item clean of brace comb and the worst of the propolis. Once you have removed the majority of the debris, you will find that when you now flame the inside surfaces of the kit, you will have a quicker job. You want to heat the item sufficiently to melt and boil off any remaining propolis and wax without setting alight the timber. Stop when the timber starts to change colour. The finished item will be clean dry to the touch and sterile (from a disease point of view). If you have plastic runners on your supers you may want to replace them with metal as they survive the heat of the blowtorch better. Make any repairs now!

To clean old frames: cut away all the wax foundation into a plastic sack, for recycling later. Scrape the worst of the propolis and brace comb from the sided, top and bottom bars of the frame. There is a frame cleaner which makes a tidy job of the side bar grooves (for British Standard frames and commercials). Once I have the majority of the debris removed I boil up the combs in a Burco or Koshstar wax melter. I put a cup of soda crystals, or Caustic soda into the cold water in the boiler, (WARNING if using Caustic soda ALWAYS add the soda to cold water!). Bring the boiler up to the boiling point then (wearing rubber gloves, eye protection and a mask) dunk the frames swirling them around in the hot water. The movement in the water is enough to dissolve and wash off any wax, propolis and remaining debris. This will basically sterilise your frames. It is a good idea to have a tub of fresh water to “rinse” the frames, especially if you have used Caustic soda.

Once the frames are dry they can be stored in your nice clean supers. I try to only re-wax my frames as close to the time I plan to use them, as the wax may become stale and distorted if stored too long. If the wax has a bloom then warm gently with a hairdryer to freshen up.

To re-wax a frame, I usually do them in pairs… remove the wedge (that holds the wax sheet in place) from two frames. Press the gimp pins back into the wedge with your hive tool, so the heads are proud. Swap the two wedges over so they are now twinned with a different frame. Take a sheet of foundation and slide it between the bottom bars up the groves until the large loops (if wired foundation) are up to the topbar. Bend the loops at right angles and press the wax sheet in up to the topbar. Now using a small hammer replace the wedge and hammer home the gimp pins. You will find in swopping over the wedges the gimp pins now go into fresh wood, and are less likely to fall out allowing the wax to drop.

There is something nice about plenty of clean kit at the start of the season… for the first inspections.

Bees for Development

Bees for Development request to support beekeepers affected by floods in Vietnam

Beekeepers in the very poor Province of Ha Tinh experienced terrible floods in October and November 2016. Livestock of all types were lost (bees, cows, pigs, hens) and people’s homes greatly damaged. Beehives were swept away. People in this Province know beekeeping well, and rely on this source of livelihood. If they can replace their bees and equipment by March, they can begin collecting and selling honey within a few months. They can divide colonies and replace their enterprise. Beekeeping can be one of the first enterprises that they can re-start quickly - and would welcome your help with this.

Please give what you can to this cause - every little helps. All funds will go directly to our partner organisation in Vietnam. You or your beekeeping group can donate here:

http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/give-a-donation/support-vietnam-beekeepers

Upcoming Events

February is one of our quieter months, as we complete the winter sale orders and build up stock for the forthcoming shows.

You can pre-order for collection at the shows from the 13th February.

• Bee Tradex, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire – 4th March
• Ulster Beekeepers Convention, Greenmount Campus, Antrim – 10th and 11th March
• Welsh Beekeepers Convention, Builth Wells – 25th March
• BBKA Spring Convention, Harper Adams University, Newport – 7th and 8th April

Finally, a small note from one of our customers – David Friend.

My Rotary Club in Millom, of which I am the current president, is developing a US$ 54,000 Global Grant project in Ethiopia which will train, equip and mentor 100 young people, 50 girls & 50 boys, in rural villages where no real employment prospects exist.

This help and ongoing support will lift them out of abject poverty, endow them with shareable skills for life and give the means to educate their future families enabling them to break out of the awful poverty cycle that pervades. This link takes you to our website where you can click on the bee for full details

http://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=250469&ClubID=1168&Mp=