October Roundup
As the leaves continue to fall and we find ourselves well into autumn it is a time for consolidation, and preparation for the winter ahead. Here, at Thornes, we do the same. Our virtual National Honey Show is over, and we turn our attention to continue building up stock ready for the remainder of the year, the winter sale and the start of the new season in 2021.
We have, of course, just started the four week lock down in England. Our branches in Windsor, Devon, Stockbridge and Rand will be operating as click and collect only until further notice and as government guidance dictates. Please order online or over the phone as usual and specify which branch you will be collecting from. We will contact you when the goods are ready to collect. Our Scotland branch continues to be open as usual and if this changes we will let you know.
We were delighted to support the virtual National Honey Show in late October, and Gill Smith, who chairs the Education Committee for the show and is part of the Executive Committee, has written a short piece below.
Taking the National Honey Show down a virtual route also allowed us to film a short video about Thornes, specifically who we are and what we do at our head office in Lincolnshire. We have wanted to do this for several years but this gave us the impetus we needed and we are very pleased with the result. A big thank you to Simon from Yellow Belly TV and Michael from Kurnia Aerial Photography for producing this for us. If you haven’t seen the video yet take a look below or here.
As Rebecca mentions above, it has been my privilege to be involved with the National Honey Show executive committee for at least a couple of decades. Initially taking over from Paul as a representative of the traders, I soon became Education Chairman. As the members of my committee are brilliant, the job requires very little input from me.
Covid changed everything in 2020, including the Show. As you will read elsewhere in this newsletter, it became Virtual. The organisation of this has been interesting and exciting but challenging. We learned a whole new techy language; for example a platform is not only found at a railway station. As I have been so closely involved, I have been able to see the enormous work that a few people have put into the Show this year.
Within this newsletter, I get the opportunity to name and thank them. Sue Carter has not only produced the usual schedule in record time but also a brilliant presentation of the competitive element of the Show. Val Rhenius is the publicity chairman and came up with the concept of the short videos of a few beekeepers involvement with the Show in past years. These were put up at intervals of a few days on Facebook and shared throughout the world. Val is also in charge of the traders and spent many hours, day and night, uploading information into the virtual trade hall and I am sure our fellow traders will appreciate all that time and effort. Fiona Mathison led the team from start to finish and, again, the hours she spent putting together briefing documents, liaising with the filming and virtual events companies, uploading information and dealing with a million and one queries and concerns. Finally, our committee Chairman, Bob Maurer, who organised the Opening and Closing, obtained most of the sponsorship, and generally kept everyone on track.
A big thanks to everyone’s input but, especially to Sue, Val, Fiona and Bob.
This is the 50th edition of our newsletter and we hope you find it an interesting read. Please do email rebecca@thorne.co.uk with any questions you may have, idea for articles or indeed any comments at all.
Christmas Candles?
During November and December we see the sales of our silicone candle moulds steadily increasing. Our silicone moulds are made by Brian, the manager of our Scottish branch in Newburgh, Fife. We have over 270 different designs and over 30 Christmas themed moulds. Using the silicone moulds is incredibly easy and with care they will last for many, many years and several hundred candles. Why not give them a try this year? You can browse our full range of silicone moulds here. We also have a demonstration video on YouTube.
Of course we have many other items ideal for Christmas gifts and if you are really stuck we also have Christmas themed gift vouchers!
10% off Oxybee throughout November and December
Have your bees got varroa? Not sure what to treat them with? Try Oxybee, the easy to use oxalic acid treatment from the highly reputable pharmaceutical company Véto-pharma. With many years of experience in developing cutting edge products and treatments for honey bees, Véto-pharma have developed Oxybee with the busy beekeeper in mind. It comes with just one pre-measured bottle of oxalic acid dihydrate and two sachets of sucrose, which when mixed together, is ready to be trickled onto the bees. It really could not be easier! Oxybee is most effective during broodless periods which makes it the ideal winter varroa treatment. The real advantage over other oxalic acid based treatments however, is that it will keep in the fridge for up to 12 months once made up. So, it can be used later on in the year if needed, meaning less waste. What’s not to like? Get 10% off Oxybee here today!
Ask the Expert…….
We recently posted photos of our Warre Hives on Facebook and Instagram. These are a stunning looking hive and we had many lovely comments. However, we also had several questions.
Hopefully the article below will answer these for you.
What exactly is a Warre Hive
Beekeeping in France in the late 19th Century was on the decline and a beekeeper called Abbe Emile Warre (1867-1951) was convinced that a more simple and economic way of beekeeping was possible.
After many trials with a variety of hives he designed his own, the Warré Hive (also known as the Ruche Populaire or ‘Peoples Hive’).
This hive is much like the Top Bar Hive in so far that it is used mainly in cases where the beekeeper wants to interfere as little as possible in the colony and leave the bees to do their own thing. The Warré hive uses just the top bar part of a frame, much like a top bar hive and these are spaced out equally in small boxes which are stacked one on top of the other. As the Warré hive does not cater for a queen excluder, it makes taking off honey fairly difficult, especially considering the comb is wild and unwired, which can become flimsy.
People choose this hive if they are intending to keep bees in a more natural style because it mimics the trunk of a tree, being tall and narrow. The bees can be left to their own devices up to a point and you can even choose to have observation panels in the sides of the boxes so you can see what is going on inside.
For this hive, it is recommended that you have at least two people to manage it. This is because when the hive is getting full of comb and bees, you will need to insert a new box and this needs to be placed on the bottom of the hive, not on the top. Therefore, it is easier to manage if one person can lift the existing boxes off and the other can quickly slip the new one onto the stand at the bottom.
As the hive will be tall and thin, you may find that you need to fasten it down, so it doesn’t blow over in the wind. This may be particularly relevant if your site is in a windy position. One way to do this is to attach eyelets to the roof and thread through some cord so it can be pegged down. Just be careful not to trip up!
Our Warré hives are made from home grown 1” cedar and really are a show piece for any apiary. The basic hive comes ready assembled and costs £258.16. The ideal Christmas present perhaps??
Equipment Focus……Classic Honey For Sale Signs
During 2020 it has been even more important to buy local. We have heard many reports this year about the increase in local honey sales, particularly doorstep sales. How do you catch that passerby’s eye and sell a jar of honey?
We have a wide range of Honey for Sale signs but I wanted to focus particularly on a range of signs that are proving popular because of their simplicity and bright colours. It would be difficult to miss this honey sign as you are walking by!
Made from weatherproof aluminum composite board the signs come in three colours, yellow, red and white. Measuring 315mm x 365mm x 3mm they simply say Honey For Sale within the outline of a traditional WBC hive. What makes these signs even better is that they are made right here, by Suzanne, on one of our CNC machines in our engineers at Rand.
The signs cost £13.40 and are available here. A nice Christmas present perhaps??
Beekeeping Blog
October 2020
As we transition into winter, this month we have been mostly occupied with settling the bees down for the cold months ahead. This involves making sure they have enough stores to get them through and also to protect the bees and hive contents against other wildlife, namely mice!
Mouseguards go on this time of year – we have seen lots of mice about in our daily lives and being situated in a rural location with lots of fields to go at, it is almost inevitable that there would be lots of little mice running around, looking for somewhere nice and warm to shelter. As cute as a little mouse is (I think they are anyway), they are unwelcome in an overwintering hive. They can create huge holes in the wax, because as well as finding a nice warm spot to shelter from the cold weather, they also like to nibble on wax and honey that the bees have been working hard to collect over the summer. We try not to put mouseguards on too early as they can knock pollen off the legs of foraging bees, so we wait until the weather gets cooler, which is normally in October.
As usual at this time of year, we give the bees fondant to eat. It is quite a big job transitioning from syrup feeding to fondant as with a lot of hives, all the feeders need taking off and moving elsewhere before being cleaned and boxed up ready for next year. We are getting more organised and better at doing this each year! We cut the fondant packaging on the underside, placed it over the hole in the crownboard and the bees are then free to come up and eat it if they want to. We have used a selection of fondants this winter, not just the plain white candy but also this one here which, as you can see, is slightly brown. This contains some pollen substitute which we used in the spring to give the colonies a boost, so we shall be able to see if it is any better or worse at sustaining the bees over the winter in comparison to the plain fondant. The bees seem to love it so far!
We are also busy behind the scenes planning for next year – these initial plans are bound to change as we talk and develop our ideas. Our main focus is to get our operation more fluid and easier to manage. We can but try!
Bees for Development Update
Honey Show fundraiser
Thornes donated a WBC hive for a Bees for Development raffle at the online National Honey Show in October. It proved to be very popular, and, together with prizes donated by other show traders, led to over £5,000 being raised - an amazing sum. This provides much needed funds to enable Bees for Development to support people who are experiencing extra hardship during this difficult time. The winner of the WBC, Mr Vartus, was understandably delighted, saying "I am super excited, especially as this hive looks absolutely stunning, it will be the jewel of my apiary!"
Please help save lives this Christmas
Bees for Development is running its annual fundraising event, The Big Give Christmas Challenge 1st to 8th December. If you are thinking of making a donation, this will be the best moment to do it: all donations will be doubled by our funding match partner Ethiopiaid with pledged donations.
With your support, Bees for Development will help many people gain an income and independence through bees and beekeeping in Ethiopia next year. This work really does change lives. http://www.beesfordevelopment.org
National Honey Show
Upcoming Events
Winter Sale 28th January 2021 at 00.01am
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