April Roundup
April saw the last of the spring shows. The BBKA Spring Convention was a well organised and attended event as usual. A massive thank you to all our loyal customers and the organisers at Harper Adams University. I didn’t get a chance to take any photos during the event but here is just a small part of our stand after setup the day before.
We want to say a big congratulations to Jack Buttery and his girlfriend Chelsea on the birth of their little girl Evie. Jack has worked with his father Mark (our foreman) in the workshop for several years. They welcomed Evie into the world on March 1st at 29 weeks weighing only 3.9lbs. We are so pleased that Evie is now home and doing really well.
Thank you for all your orders. We are working seven days a week to get these out to you, just as quickly as we can.Our branches are now operating their Summer opening hours. The Stockbridge store is now open Saturdays from 9am to 4pm, Newburgh is open Saturdays between 9am and noon and here at Rand we are open on Saturdays 9am to 3pm. Our Windsor and Devon stores are open as normal.
Equiptment Focus
Due to a very busy month I have decided to repeat one of last year’s articles this month. I thought it was worth another read because we now have an interesting short video showing how this wax is produced.
A slightly different way of strengthening your wax…
Taylors originally called it ‘Rigid Wired’ and then latterly ‘Stronghold’ Foundation. We call it ‘Crimped’ but whatever it is called it is seen by many as one of the best ways of securing foundation in a frame and ensuring a flat drawn comb with little or no buckling.
By studying old EH Taylor catalogues we have found that the machinery for embedding the wire into the wax was made in about 1930. The workmanship and engineering skills in making the machine are quite exceptional but typical for that time in England. We have since improved and modified the original machine and it works as well now as it ever did, wiring three sheets of shallow or two sheets of deep foundation at once.
The finished wired sheets lay perfectly flat and are very easy to insert into the frames by bending the extended wire ends through 90 degrees so that they lay flat on the wedge recess of the frame.
Willie Robson of Chain Bridge Honey Farm in Berwick-upon-Tweed uses no other type, it is also used extensively throughout North America, being manufactured there by Dadants.
Crimped premier foundation is available in BS Deep, BS Shallow and 14”x12” sizes and costs the same as the premier diagonally wired foundation.
Ask Our Expert
Please email us at sales@thorne.co.uk if you have a question for our experts.
Our expert is busy with the bees this month – check back next month!
Beekeeping Blog
April 2019
This month has really been the start of the outdoor beekeeping activities, and for most beekeepers, the best time of the year. Everything starts to take off and so far the colonies have expanded rapidly (thanks in part to the beautiful Easter Bank Holidays) and therefore the workload has increased fairly rapidly.
Spring is a great time to change old combs for new ones so many of our hives have had a few frames of foundation put in. This also gives them a bit of extra room as we come up to swarm season, which can buy you a bit of time before they start to think about swarming.
This month we have done a small amount of Queen rearing. The Queen cells being drawn out are shown here. In the last couple of days, the first Queens have started to hatch and will be going into these mating nucs very shortly. Bees will be added to accompany the virgin queen and to prepare the cells for her to lay in once she has been mated.
Whilst doing our inspections, we also found these good examples of a supercedure cell and Queen cups. We left the bees to supercede that particular hive and the one with Queen cups has just gone onto a 'watch' list to keep a close eye on. The bees know best! It is important to look and understand what your bees are doing inside the hive so that you know how to deal with each individual situation.
Looking forward, there seems to be a cold snap heading our way so we are not going to do anything too radical. However, as soon as the weather picks up again, I am sure we'll have a fair bit of swarm control to do!
Disease Focus
Drone brood in worker cells
Large amounts of drone brood, particularly in worker cells, should indicate that all is not well. The beekeeper needs to act but it is important first to discover the reason behind the abundance of drone brood. There are two reasons why there may be drone brood in worker cells.
1. Drone laying queen
The colony may have a failing queen. This could be because she was not mated properly and the sperm has run out. If this is the case, there may be a lot of drone brood in worker cells, creating a bobbly texture. However, it should still be laid in a proper oval shaped brood pattern.
What to do – requeen.
2. Laying workers
In a queenless colony, female workers begin to develop functional ovaries. They can start laying eggs but they will only ever be unfertilised, leading to an abundance of drone brood. Several eggs may be laid in one cell, down the sides of the cell or on top of pollen. Like the drone laying queen, eggs laid in worker cells will cause a bobbly, uneven texture. However, laying workers will lay eggs in random worker cells, creating an erratic brood pattern.
What to do – unite with a strong, queen right colony OR shake out remaining bees and let them return to other hives. Caution: these workers are likely to be aggressive.
Bees for Development Update
Bees for Development’s biennial Bee Garden Party, hosted by Martha Kearney and Bill Turnbull, is taking place on June 12, and it is going to be an amazing event.
The Bee Art auction includes work by Antony Gormley and Gilbert & George, with contributions too from Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, and many other bee lovers. Mary Berry, celebrity chefs – it is going to be a fabulous, bee-filled evening – don’t miss your ticket!
Generously sponsored by Tregothnan and Fortnum & Mason.
National Honey Show News
The younger generation are the future, for beekeeping as well as all else, and we love to encourage the next generation to take part in all our beekeeping events. It would be great to see more youngsters at, and taking part in, The National Honey Show.
The National Honey Show is held at the end of October, which for many areas, is half term week. We usually have some activities for children and this year will there will be quizzes plus some drawing and colouring activities on stands throughout the whole show, with our main day for children’s activities on the Saturday. There will be a dedicated area with candle rolling (‘big’ kids are allowed, too) and other activities on offer for your children and maybe grandchildren to enjoy.
You may be aware the International Centre for Young Beekeepers organises a meeting: The International Meeting of Young Beekeepers (IMYB). This is an annual meeting for young people interested in beekeeping. The event started in 2010 as an initiative from the Czech Republic and has become the largest international meeting for young beekeepers worldwide. It is designed for participants aged 12 to 17 who compare knowledge and skills, establish new friendships and find more about other countries and cultures during the four day meeting. There will be opportunities to find out more, and talk to some of the young beekeepers who have attended to meeting(s) during this year’s National Honey Show.
As well as the usual National Honey Show leaflet, we are producing a special leaflet highlighting activities on offer and detailing the variety of competitive entry classes for juniors. Do email us at publicity@honeyshow.co.uk if you would like copies of the usual leaflet, and/or the leaflet aimed at encouraging children. Don’t forget to let us know the number of leaflets you need and the address to send them to. If you know any beekeepers with contacts in schools, do request and take leaflets. We’d love to see more youngsters at the show, and entries in these classes.
Look forward to seeing you, and lots of enterprising young beekeepers, at this year’ show.
As always, we look forward to seeing you at the next National Honey Show Thursday 24th to Saturday 26th October 2019 at Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, Surrey KT10 9RT.
www.honeyshow.co.uk
Upcoming Events
Bees for Development Garden Party – 12th June
