January Roundup
The Winter Sale started with a bang and we hit the ground running with hundreds of orders being received and fulfilled. Thank you for your patience and we hope you are pleased with your bargains. We also have Apivar in stock, so why not try a different treatment this spring??
January also brought two new babies to Thornes!
Elsie Tomley was born on 31st December 2017 to Chris (pictured) and Polly. Chris has worked for us for 18 months and fitted straight into the despatch team. Some of you may have met him at last years Windsor Sale Day and he was here for the Rand Open Day.
Isla Rose Bishop was born on 23rd December to Charlie and Olivia. Charlie has only worked for us for six months but is getting on well in the workshop. Congratulations to you all.
Equipment Focus………
We know it is only just February and we are in the depths of winter.
But our bees are flying today and looking pretty active, early pollen is available from a few crocus and aconites.
So the queen could soon be laying steadily again!
And talking of queens.....there is nothing like being prepared. So why not try one of our very popular Rainbow mating hives.
Small and compact with three frames included, an integral feeder, cover and excluder. It is similar in size to the far more expensive Apidea but the Rainbow hive is far stronger as well as being very well insulated.
They come in many different colours and spare frames are available. Thousands are now in use all over Europe.
The Rainbow hive costs only £8.50.
Ask our Expert
What do your bees need??
Your bees are very self-sufficient; they only need four things, and will only collect five things…
The four things they need are water, propolis, nectar and pollen.
Water they use during the summer to cool the hive and during the spring to dissolve old granulated honey, to clean and free up comb into which the Queen can lay and to expand the nest.
Propolis is used to fill in cracks and crevices, and to line the inside of the cells prior to the Queen laying eggs. Propolis has antibiotic and anti-microbial properties and is used to clean and protect the nest.
Nectar is collected in vast amounts and evaporated down to generate the honey the colony runs on. Honey gives the bees the carbohydrate energy they need to live, fly and make wax. Wax workers consume large amounts of honey, cluster to generate heat, and literally sweat wax from their abdomens. This wax gives them the building material for the nest.
Finally pollen. The frame above has a wide strip of pollen, under the honey in the top corners, above the darker brood, giving target like appearance of rings to the nest. If the brood frames lack the pollen arc, or it’s not as thick as this one, I would suggest you give your bees a boost.
Brood food is given to the larvae prior to being capped and is made from Honey and Pollen. The Pollen gives the bees protein that they need for growing more bees. The availability of water and pollen is very important to the wellbeing of the colony in early spring. You may consider giving your bees a protein supplement, such as Apicandy Proteico or Feed Bee, all of these contain extra protein content and aid the spring build-up. A local water source will also aid your bees and reduce the early spring losses.
Oh yes – the fifth thing, this is usually a result of weakened colonies… Robbing! The weak will usually be exploited by the strong; in this case the stores (honey) will be stolen by the stronger colonies. Keeping all your colonies at more or less equal strengths, helps to alleviate this behaviour.
Beekeeping Blog
January saw an end to the Christmas and New Year festivities with many beekeepers realising that there is a lot of work to do before the beekeeping season really begins to take hold!
As soon as we were back at work, preparations for winter oxalic acid treatment were underway to rid our colonies of any Varroa mites that may still be lingering. We used the vapourisation technique which involves a vapouriser, Api-Bioxal oxalic crystals and a 12V battery. This technique turns the crystals from a solid state straight into vapour, bypassing the liquid state.
We treated our colonies during a broodless period, meaning that any remaining mites would be phoretic (on the bees). Bearing in mind oxalic acid does not kill mites inside sealed brood, these phoretic mites were therefore receptive to a vapourisation of oxalic acid.
The reason we used vapourisation is because it is a very effective, efficient and easy way to treat bees for varroa infestation, at 3 minutes on average per hive and a very high mite mortality rate. It does away with the need to open up the hive such as when the trickle method is used. We picked a calm, still day to carry out this treatment. This is very important as the vapours can be harmful if inhaled and full protective gear is required.
If you require any more information on how to carry out a vapourisation of your colonies, please send an email to Alexandra at sasha@thorne.co.uk who will be happy to elaborate or call one of our sales team on 01673 858555.
Bees for Development Update
At a glittering ceremony in Cardiff’s National Museum last week, First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones presented Bees for Development with the evening’s major Overall Impact Award - ‘Awarded for demonstrating an overall outstanding positive change to people’s lives in Wales or Africa’. Nicola Bradbear and the team are delighted to have this super endorsement as we begin our 25th year of work.
BfD Symposium at Reading University 28-29 March
We are planning a programme of special events: first off is a two-day Symposium at Reading University to reflect upon research in beekeeping and sustainable development. More details here
Cameroon
Bees for Development has been working for two years with Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW) on their apiculture programme in north west Cameroon. In January we developed a new tree nursery to raise indigenous trees, selected according to their usefulness for honey bees. This month CAMGEW are training new beekeepers on post-harvest handling of honey. Beekeepers will receive food-grade honey buckets, through their cooperatives. Our UK supporters’ donations together with part-funding from Hub Cymru Africa are funding this work. See a local-style hive being woven in Cameroon here
National Honey Show News
The National Honey Show will be taking a stand at Beetradex, Stoneleigh, on Saturday 3rd March. Come and talk to us about the show; collect leaflets and raffle tickets for distribution; and also chat to us if you’re interested in exhibiting your stunning honey, hive products, crafts; taking a trade stand; or any other aspect of the show.
Most of the 2017 lectures are now available to view https://www.youtube.com/user/nationalhoneyshow and lectures from previous years are still there, good for a catch up on gloomy winter evenings.
The National Honey Show, 25 to 27 October 2018, Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, KT10 9AJ www.honeyshow.co.uk. Unmissable. See you there.
Upcoming Events
Ordering begins for collection at the Spring shows – 5th February
Bee Tradex - 3rd March
Ulster Beekeepers Convention - 9th and 10th March
Welsh Beekeepers Convention - 24th March
BBKA Spring Convention (Trade Show) - 14th April
