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As February ends, we welcome in March, and the first signs of Spring. We have spotted a few bees about, dressed in their pollen pants. Here is a photo taken by our gardener at our Head Office in Lincolnshire.
Our Spring Sale is now live online and will run until midnight on Tuesday 8th March. Find our usual bargain prices on second quality hive parts, frames, and equipment. We will also be offering free UK delivery on orders over £100.
Once our Spring Sale has ended, we will be getting ready for our first show of the year. You will be able to start placing orders later this week for collection from the Welsh Convention. Don’t forget you will be able to exchange your wax at the show, so make sure you bring it along. The next show we will be attending after the Welsh Convention will be BBKA Spring Convention, we will not be attending BeeTradex.
Do you fancy working at Thornes? We are recruiting for a Shop Manager, to work in our busy Stockbridge branch, on Saturdays between April and September. Possibility to work an additional day per week and cover holidays. Please email rebecca@thorne.co.uk for more details.
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We have had a great visit from some of the team at BeeCraft this month. Make sure you keep an eye out for some features coming up in the magazine this year! BeeCraft are offering Thorne customers 25% off print subscriptions* with code THORNE3.
*BeeCraft subscription: 25% off one-year print subscription when paid via Direct Debit. New subscribers only. Offer valid until 30 June 2022.
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In Solidarity with beekeepers from Ukraine
A few words from Gill Smith
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In these frightening days, we are all thinking about the people of Ukraine. In the bee world, we particularly worry about the beekeepers living in that country.
Paul and I remember the Apimondia Conference in 2013, held in Kyiv. The people were so hospitable, kind, and welcoming and their enthusiasm for bees knew no bounds.
For several years before, a small group from Ukraine had visited the National Honey Show in Weybridge. They came by car, driving across Europe, and brought with them many entries for the Show. They went home with some prizes! They were keen to learn how the British organised a big beekeeping event and joined in, helping to steward in various capacities. In subsequent years, they visited again a couple of times. They even sponsored a class for 10 years.
I know that many of the beekeepers who either went to Kyiv in 2013 or met them at the Show will be thinking of them now. We certainly are and we wanted to do something to show our solidarity. There are several national appeals and lots of local groups collecting so we will be supporting those.
On Monday morning, our sewing department made two Ukrainian flags and they are now flying on the flag poles at our entrance.
We have also produced a tamper label in the colours printed with the words - In solidarity with the beekeepers from Ukraine. They can be collected from our shops, added to your online order, or collected at the Welsh and BBKA Conventions. All free of charge.
We pray that the aggressors will return home and allow the beekeepers and all the lovely Ukrainian people to return home and lives their lives in peace.
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Equipment Focus
Bailey Boards & Bailey Frame Change Method
The best way to get bees going in the spring is with a bailey comb change. This process should be done at least once every two years, to keep the bees on clean healthy comb.
As always, this manipulation is dependent on the weather. Towards the end of March, start of April (before drone production starts) is usual.
Put a fresh brood box with fresh frames and foundation on top of the existing brood box.
Help the bees by feeding with a 1:1 mix of sugar/water to encourage the wax workers. They can build comb on wet days. Only feed until the comb is drawn. You don’t want the bees storing sugar.
I have had eleven frames drawn, and the queen up in the second box in a week… sometimes it takes longer (2-3 weeks). I have had one hive do nothing for 3 weeks, only to catch up and pass the hives on either side of it within a week. Like children all hives are different.
Once the Queen has started the nest in the upper box it is time to introduce the Bailey Board.
Shut the bottom box entrance. Put the Bailey Board (Queen Excluder on the underside) on top of the bottom box. Put the top box back on ensuring the Queen is present in the top box. The bees returning to the now closed old entrance will move up and find the new entrance above.
The bottom box containing the old nest will hatch out in the next three weeks. If you have left this procedure a little later in the season, and there is drone brood present, you will have to let the drones out every few days, or you will get a lot of dead bees stuck in the Excluder (as the drones will not be able to get through the Queen Excluder).
Once all the old brood has hatched in the old nest, the bottom box and Bailey board can be removed. At this time add a cleaned Queen excluder, and a super or two to keep the workers busy!
This process is less draconian than a shook swarm but should only be done with healthy bees.
As well as the Bailey Board, we also sell an informative poster explaining the Bailey Frame Change method.
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Ask The Expert
Droning on and on…
Last winter (2020/2021) we observed a large loss of colonies. The colonies that have died out seem to fall into three groups: sizable colonies that have died out with lots of stores (usually ivy or rape honey, set so hard the bees can’t use it), small colonies too weak to survive, that probable should have been united to give a stronger stock (20/20 hind sight is a wonderful thing). The third group are colonies that appear to have dwindled away (sometimes the queen is still present, often she isn’t). This latter group are usually put down to poorly mated or failing queens.
During the last few years I have decided to increase the number of drones in my hives to improve mating (someone has got to). Various beekeepers advised against it… The general perceived wisdom is that drones cost the hive in honey, they contribute nothing and act as a vector for Varroa, the removal of them to trap Varroa is their only redeeming benefit.
If this is the case why do wild colonies contain between ten and twenty percent drone comb.
For the last two years, I have put one frame of drone comb into my 14”x12” Nationals as part of a Bailey comb change, ensuring the comb was spaced to allow the drone cells to be capped (the standard spacing of DN4 Hoffman frames only allows one bee space between frames, stopping the capping of drones).
I find a wide spacer on each of the adjacent frames does not disturb the spacing of the ordinary Hoffman spacing, but with an ordinary spacer on the drone comb between them, we introduce a double bee-space either side of the drone foundation. The drone comb was placed in the middle of the nest; it was the first comb drawn by the wax workers, and the first comb laid by the Queen.
Once the drones started to hatch I monitored the Varroa levels very carefully, there was no discernible increase. The temper of the two colonies I did this to was fine to start with, and if anything they have become even calmer and more laid back. There is a suggestion in the literature that an increase of drones in the colony reduces swarming… Both colonies I did this to last year produced no cells at all, and only an odd play cell the following year.
The books suggest that workers are genetically only 50% related to the Queen, and come pre-disposed to try and raise an egg from their cohort to a Queen Cell, having a 75% investment. The Queen is happier with lots of her drones around as they are all 100% snapshots of her DNA, a happy relaxed (less stressed) Queen should be in better pheromonal control of her colony. The increase in the number of drones from one in a hundred to 10 or 20% makes the activities of the workers futile and Queen cell production is reduced.
One observation from last year suggests that I should have moved the drone Comb to the side of the brood nest once the queen had stopped producing drones; as it was the workers filled the drone comb with honey splitting the nest into two. The Queen continued to lay in the 5 frames on the warm side of the hive, the other half of the nest hatched out, and was then filled with honey. I wondered if the queen would start to one side of the barrier in spring… I needn’t have worried first inspection in March (2021) showed the nest on 7 frames – 3 frames on either side of the drone frame, and the drone frame fully laid up with drones. This was mirrored in the second colony, and the Varroa numbers are still low and bees happy and healthy.
There may be something in the saying “A happy hive is a hive with drones”.
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Beekeeping Blog
February
What a stormy month February has been! Fingers crossed we are over the worst of the bad weather now because those high winds were really quite disruptive. The hives were all strapped down to prevent them from blowing apart and luckily, we had no mishaps which we are thankful for.
This month has also been a time of preparation. Frames are being made to replace old ones, plans are being drafted up on how to look after the bees this year, pollen patties have been sourced and put to one side for applying on a decent day and the cabin has been tidied up ready for the busy months ahead.
We are starting to see more and more flowers coming out for the bees to forage on, including this willow tree. We have lots of trees here at Thornes so it is nice to see some early flowering that the bees can take advantage on early in the season.
March is hopefully when things start to pick up a little bit, with warmer weather (maybe!) and the brood nest starting to expand. We will have to keep checking on food stores as any colonies that expand rapidly this early on, can succumb to starvation if not kept topped up with food. If the weather is warm enough, we might even be able to take a peek inside to see how the bees have overwintered and then assess where we start the season from.
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Book Review
‘The Modified Golden Hive [Einraumbeute]’ By David Heaf
Book Review by Mary Montaut
Published 2021 by Northern Bee Books
ISBN 978-1-914934-24-7
244 x 170 mm. Paperback. Pp37
£9.95 from Northernbeebooks.co.uk
The author, David Heaf, will probably be known to our readers as the author of ‘The Bee-friendly Beekeeper, A Sustainable Approach’, an excellent guide to beekeeping with the Warré Hive. I found it fascinating to read his new booklet (only 37 pages) about keeping bees in a long hive, in this case ‘the Modified Golden Hive’. In many ways, this horizontal hive is comparable with the Drayton Hive, which was reviewed in An Beachaire a while ago. Like the Drayton Hive, the Golden Hive is a doublewalled chamber, intended to stabilize the temperature for the colony in-side, and it uses frames which can be purchased. As David Heaf remarks en passant, the task of making frames from scratch calls for very accurate carpentry: this alone would deter many (if not most) ordinary beekeepers. However, the sensible idea of using available frames in long hives, as we usually do in vertical hives (National, Dadant, etc.) makes the Golden Hive design most attractive. The long, or horizontal, hive means that the beekeeper does not have to lift heavy boxes to inspect the colony. This often becomes more important to a beekeeper with age; a long hive is far kinder to one’s back!
The Modified Golden Hive is a frame hive system, whereby the bees draw their own comb in the ‘frame’ supplied by the beekeeper. The size of the frames can be chosen according to availability. The Layens Hive frames, for example, may not be readily purchased where you are, but you could use Dadant, or even deep Nationals in your model. In the booklet, David Heaf outlines the exact requirements for making it, explaining the reasons for the particular configurations. If you would like to try a more sustainable form of beekeeping, I think this would be an excellent starter hive, and if you took to the method, I think it would serve all your needs as a hobby beekeeper. David Heaf takes us through the development of the Golden Hive in Germany, mentioning for example that the original placement of the entry in the long side ‘created elongated brood nests and difficulty when harvesting honey’. The practical nous he brings to the subject gives one great confidence to try the method, and in this way to begin on the path to ‘sustainable’ beekeeping and more beefriendly practice. For example, he deals with the question of bridge comb, or distorted comb, built by the bees in a highly practical way: ‘According to Wirz and Poeplau, there needs to be at least some management of comb construction in the golden hive. They advise correcting irregularities with the hive tool, of even rotating wavy combs horizontally. This obviously requires several hive openings during the main nectar flow, but as access is then needed to only part of the combs, the top-bar cloth has to be rolled back only partly and the front quilt left in place on the brood nest.’
The German originators of the Golden Hive (mentioned above) called it by this lovely and evocative name because its proportions are based on the Golden Median, or Golden Mean, like Greek architecture. I was delighted to learn of this somewhat useless information, and indeed I found the entire booklet a pleasure to read.
- Review by Mary Montaut, Editor of The Irish Beekeeper (An Beachaire).
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Véto-pharma Blog
Pioneers in the fight against varroa: How a small French bee health company changed the odds for beekeepers
In the decades-long fight against Varroa destructor, only a few companies in Europe invested in finding a solution against this parasite. When varroa mites arrived in the 1970s, beekeepers were helpless at first, as there was no officially authorized solution to treat honey bee colonies against this invader. They had to be creative, use cattle or pet antiparasitic, or even plant insecticides. The problem was that these products were not designed or authorized for use in honey bee hives. They could be highly toxic to the bees and in addition leave high levels of residues in hive products such as honey or wax. With this increasingly problematic situation, a few companies started to research the development of products that would be safe for bees and beekeepers as well as consumers of hive products.
A glimpse of history: the first mite treatments
The first mite treatment being registered in the European market was a tau-fluvalinate based strip in the late 1980s. Highly effective at the beginning, it unfortunately started to show some resistance development after only a few years of use.(1) The relatively quick resistance development of mites towards tau-fluvalinate (and other pyrethroid molecules) is still problematic today. Even after 3 years of not exposing varroa mite populations to tau-fluvalinate, the percentage of resistant mites only decreases by factor 10, indicating a slow decline of the resistant mite population and thus only a small disadvantage associated with resistance development against pyrethroids in varroa. Based on these and other data, an efficient use of tau-fluvalinate in honey bee colonies can be recommended once every 4-6 years.(2)
A few years later (1995), Apivar® was first registered. This was when the commitment of Véto-pharma for honey bee health began. Apivar has been made in France from the very beginning, and more precisely in the center of France, where the Véto-pharma plant is located. It was the first amitraz-based treatment registered explicitly for the use in beehives, and a relief for many beekeepers. Amitraz was highly effective, very easy to use, with no temperature constraints, and did not show any signs of resistance. That was the beginning of a long story with the beekeepers of many countries. Apivar was first registered in France, and in the surrounding countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy), and then expanded to more distant countries (New Zealand, Canada, USA, Japan, and Middle Eastern countries).
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Apivar strips (amitraz-based) were the 2nd varroa mite vet medicine registered for use in beehives (first registration in France in 1995) © Véto-pharma
More recently, in the mid 2010s, Véto-pharma started a vast plan to register Apivar all over Europe, to make this treatment available to all European beekeepers. This project was not an easy feat, as it meant registering in 20 new countries simultaneously. For those who are not familiar with the process of registering a vet medicine, it means A LOT of paperwork, and a lot of financial investment. This regulatory aspect of the registration is a major step that is often forgotten.
But, with an engaged team and a strong confidence in the product, Véto-pharma reached the goal and received 20 new registrations in Europe in 2017 and 2018. Twenty new countries beneficiating from a new solution, based on a very effective molecule (amitraz), to reduce the mite pressure in their hives and their overall colony losses. Today, the Véto-pharma team is proud to help beekeepers treat more than 5 million hives, shared in more than 35 countries.
But Apivar® was not the only product developed by Véto-pharma to help the beekeepers. With the increasing threat of the varroa mite, it became clear that treating by the calendar only once a year without considering the mite infestation rate was not enough.
In 2016, the company developed a ready-to-use tool for varroa monitoring: Varroa EasyCheck. This practical tool allows for mite counts on phoretic mites by using three optional methods: Alcohol wash, sugar roll, or CO2 injection. Beekeepers were now able to get a quick and accurate estimate of their mite infestation, enabling them to act promptly, reduce the mite load in their colonies and increase their chances of survival.
In 2018, Véto-pharma welcomed a new product in its European product range: Oxybee®. Oxybee is an oxalic acid-based treatment, containing glycerol, sucrose and essential oils. This new treatment is suitable for organic beekeeping and offers an effective knock-down effect in brood-free colonies (either with a natural or artificial brood-break, mainly in winter). The specificity of Oxybee is its innovative formulation, retaining water in the solution for longer and thus keeping the active ingredient available in the colony (liquid droplets of solution lasting longer in the colony).(3) By allowing a better distribution of the active ingredient in the beehive, this formulation increases the efficacy of the treatment compared to a standard formulation of oxalic acid and sucrose. Building the future of varroa treatments.
How will varroa be treated in the future? There are few products currently available that combine a satisfactory level of effectiveness with limited user constraints (for beekeepers). But we are all aware of the urgent need to develop new active ingredients that will make it possible for varroa to be sustainably controlled, and for treatments to be rotated risk-free.
The varroa mites and infested bees are exposed to the molecules in a controlled environment, and their mortality is monitored to evaluate the effectiveness and toxicity of the active ingredients
© Véto-pharmaTo achieve this, Véto-pharma has invested in innovation for many years and has created the Véto-pharma experimental apiary five years ago (250 hives today), along with a bee laboratory. This laboratory houses one of the company’s major innovation projects: screening new active ingredients to fight varroa. For this purpose, the innovation team developed a unique screening method, which makes it possible to evaluate active ingredients and identify the ones that would be effective against varroa as well as safe for the colonies. Not an easy feat! Molecules effective against varroa, whether chemical or organic in origin, are often highly toxic for bees. This is particularly true for many essential oils, which only achieve optimal effectiveness at levels that are very harmful to bees.(4)
Over the past few years, 38 new molecules have been evaluated, and some of them showed promising results. These molecules are currently being re-evaluated and could lead, if they pass all the tests (efficacy, safety, residues), to the new treatments of tomorrow.
Finding the perfect partner in each country
For more than 25 years, Véto-pharma has been providing the French beekeepers with Apivar and other beekeeping products thanks to a valuable workforce of 80 employees very active from production to sales, and from regulatory to quality control and innovation.
But the French company wished also to provide the European beekeepers with its varroa treatments taking into account the local beekeeping traditions and hive management which are very different from one country to another.
This is why Véto-pharma decided to surround itself with trusted and reliable partners to ensure local distribution according to local regulation in force. By choosing one partner in each country, the company ensures optimal local access of beekeepers to Véto-pharma’s bee health products as well as country-specific customer support and awareness of beekeepers’ needs and hive management traditions.
Legal notices:
APIVAR® 500 mg Amitraz Bee-hive strips for honey bees. Indication(s) for use: Treatment of varroosis due to Varroa destructor sensitive to amitraz in honey bees. Contraindication(s): Do not use in case of known resistance to amitraz. Withdrawal period(s): Honey: zero days. Do not use during honey flow. Do not extract honey from the brood chamber. Do not harvest honey when the treatment is in place. Brood combs should be replaced with new foundation at last every three years. Do not recycle brood frames as honey frames. Read carefully the instructions on the product booklet label before use. Special precautions to be taken by the person administering the veterinary medicinal product to animal: This veterinary medicinal product contains amitraz which can lead to neurological side-effects in humans. Take particular care in case of concomitant treatment with monoamine oxidase inhibitors, hypotensive treatment or if you have diabetes. Amitraz may cause skin sensitization. Avoid contact with skin. In case of contact, wash thoroughly with soap and water. Avoid contact with eyes. In case of contact, rinse with plenty of water immediately. Usual beekeeping protective clothes including impervious gloves should be worn when handling the product. Do not eat, drink or smoke whilst handling the product. Keep children away during application of the product. Wash hands after use. Do not inhale or ingest. If side effects are noted, seek immediate medical assistance and show the label to the physician. v0917
OXYBEE powder and solution for 39,4 mg/ml bee-hive dispersion for honey bees. Composition: 1 ml of mixed bee-hive dispersion contains 39,4 mg of oxalic acid dehydrate. Indication(s) for use : For the treatment of varroosis (Varroa destructor) of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in brood free colonies. Withdrawal period(s) : Honey: zero days. Do not use during honey flow. Special precautions : This veterinary medicinal product is highly acidic and could have irritating and corrosive effects on the skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Personal protective equipment consisting of protective clothing, acid-proof gloves and safety glasses should be worn. Marketing authorisation holder: Dany Bienenwohl GmbH, Geyerspergerstr. 27, 80689 Munich, Germany. Distributed by: Veto-Pharma, 12-14 rue de la Croix Martre 91120 Palaiseau, France. V0119
Apivar and Oxybee are veterinary medicines. Please ask advice to your veterinarian, pharmacist or sanitary organization. In case of persistence of clinical signs, consult with your veterinarian. Read carefully the instructions on the product label before use.
1 Lodesani, M., M. Colombo, and M. Spreafico. "Ineffectiveness of Apistan® treatment against the mite Varroa jacobsoni Oud in several districts of Lombardy (Italy)." Apidologie 26.1 (1995): 67-72.
2 Milani, Norberto, and Giorgio Della Vedova. "Decline in the proportion of mites resistant to fluvalinate in a population of Varroa destructor not treated with pyrethroids." Apidologie 33.4 (2002): 417-422.
3 Milani, Norberto. "Activity of oxalic and citric acids on the mite Varroa destructor in laboratory assays." Apidologie 32.2 (2001): 127-138.
4e"Oral administration of essential oils and main components: Study on honey bee survival and Nosema ceranae development." Journal of Apicultural Research 56.5 (2017): 616-624.
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Bees for Development
Bees for Development has been invited to exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for a third consecutive occasion. The previous two Shows have resulted in bronze and silver awards. For this 2022 exhibit we will again raise life-changing awareness of issues of poverty and biodiversity, aiming for (if not expecting!) gold this time around.
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National Honey Show
YouTube Lecture Release:
Queen rearing is the subject of this month’s YouTube lecture release from the 2021 National Honey Show.
Kirsten Traynor, full time academic bee researcher, compares queen rearing techniques.
Do help to spread the word, share our Facebook post; and 'subscribe', at no cost, to our National Honey Show YouTube channel, to receive early alerts to our mid March lecture, and other interesting video releases.
National Honey Show seeks Digital Lead (voluntary post, as are all the committee)
An opportunity to help shape the digital future of one of the oldest and greatest honey shows. The post could be split between innovation and media posting depending on your interest and skill set.
As part of the team you will share the excitement of the build up to each year’s show.
For full details visit our website or contact Fiona gensec@honeyshow.co.uk
Look forward to seeing you all at Sandown Park for the 2022 National Honey Show, 27th to 29th October.
Please check you can log in to your account on our new website, prior to shopping the sale! If you have any problems, contact us at admin@thorne.co.uk.
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Upcoming Events
- 6th – 8th March – Thorne Spring Sale
- 26th March - Welsh Beekeepers' Association’s Annual Convention (Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru)
- 9th April – BBKA Spring Convention
- 12th & 13th August – Thornes of Scotland Sale Day
- 3rd September – Thornes of Windsor Sale Day
- 17th September – Thornes of Stockbridge Sale Day
- 24th September – Thornes of Devon Sale Day
- 8th October – Rand Sale and Open Day
- 27th - 29th October – The National Honey Show
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