For the first time in a long time we have a real winter to contend with; snow to clear from the pathways and road, vegetables firmly frozen in the ground, the lock on the garage door frozen and unusable, the central heating turned up a degree or so (and feet still cold) and today (Sunday 6th) pea soup fog and frost. It’s been a long time since we had this sort of weather for such a long period and the forecast is for more to come. I have not seen a bee flying for many days, though they are obviously active at some time for dead bees are being tossed out of each hive. There is about 50mm of snow on top of each hive today and what’s more it’s frozen solid. I shall make no attempt to move it, for I know that there is a considerable depth of insulation between the snow on the outside and the crown board inside. That’s why the snow stays on top, the insulation keeping the heat in the hive where the bees need it. To scrape the snow off the top would be very noisy and disturb the bees just at the time they should be left to maintain their winter cluster, and nothing would be gained by bees or beekeeper. The snow had drifted to a considerable depth on the one side but, as they are on such high stands, it had not blocked the entrances. I shall make no attempt to do anything with the hives until this snow has cleared completely and the temperature has risen to at least 10C (50F). Only then will I heft the hives to check the weight of food remaining and (if required) feed them with a block of candy. This is placed directly over the feed hole in the centre of the crown board, being about as close to the brood frames that you can get without having to disturb the bees. I find it is best done using a ‘plastic’ margarine type container with a 25mm hole cut in the underside. Fill the container with candy, cover it with cling film and place it over the feedhole in the crown board. Remove any gauze or other obstruction so that the bees have free access to the container. An extra empty super box will be required and another crown board and then the roof. Simply by removing the roof and the top crown board, the cling film enables you to see when, or if, the candy is being consumed, all without disturbing the bees in any way. Some people say "why feed bees at this time of the year"? I feel the answer is quite simple. We only have to look around at the fields of autumn sown rape to see that it is almost ready to burst into flower. The recent cold weather will have slowed it down a little but prior to then the mild autumn enabled it to grow at an amazing rate, and I have no doubts that we will see the first flowers in 6/7 weeks time. If our bees are to take advantage of it they must get off to an early and effective start. This can only be achieved if there are new young bees in the hive at the same time as large quantities of nectar are being brought home. All the ‘experts’ tell us that we must keep in front of our bees, and we all are experienced enough to know that opportunities once lost are invariably lost for ever. Our farmers will continue to grow rape and the weather (we are told) will continue to get milder, we must therefore react positively to these events to take full advantage of changing circumstances.

Well all that was ten days ago, it’s now the 16th and I must get finished ready for printing on the 18th. The weather has changed completely here, it’s now quite mild again, bees are flying freely, the birds are fighting over possession of the nest boxes and the spring bulbs are several centimetres high. The ground is very wet indeed, far too wet to do anything useful outside, but; did you all see the sun-rise today (Wednesday), probably the finest we have seen for many years. The days are clearly getting longer and the sun is noticeably warmer at mid-day now, so there’s no doubt that beekeeping time will be upon us very shortly.

Have any of you given any thought to making one or two nests for our bumblebees before it’s too late. I have four of them here. Two are small plant pots sunk into the ground upside down resting on a piece of slate. They are then partly filled with dry grass, just leave the hole in the bottom of the pot showing at ground level and hope a queen will find it in a few weeks time. The other two are simply small wooden boxes with a 20mm hole drilled in one side and again partly filled with dry grass. One is placed under the shed to keep it dry and the other lodged between the branches of a hedge. Queen bumblebees start to emerge from hibernation about the first week of March (depending on the weather) and immediately start looking for somewhere to build a nest. There is no guaranteeing where bumblebees will settle but if you can give them an opportunity to settle with you they will reward you with a display that only they are capable of during the summer months. Now is the time too to clean out the bird boxes too, ready for the new influx of birds this year. Just think how good it would be to be successful with your bees, bumblebees and birds in your garden this year.

What a super evening we had last December, lots of laughs and a great opportunity to get together and talk. In addition there was the wonderful array of culinary delights that we have come to expect from such competent cooks. What is more it’s the third time this year that people have been asked to provide food. We must all be thankful for the individual efforts and successes all so perfectly achieved.

I have been given an advance notice of an Auction Sale of Beekeeping Equipment. The details are:

Date; Sunday 28th April Venue; 8, Brown Cow Road, Barlow, Selby, North Yorkshire. Viewing; On the day from 10-00am. Registration, From 11-00am. Sale starts, Prompt at 1-00pm. All lots to be sold, no reserves. Refreshments provided. Details, Enquiries and Catalogues provided after 1st of March on application to; Mr. Robin Thomlinson, 35, King Edward Avenue, Allerton Bywater, Castleford. WF10 2HA Tel / Fax; 0113 286 5842

And while on the subject of dates, will you all please make a note of a correction to the date of the June meeting. That printed in the Programme is wrong, and should read Friday the 14th of June.

How many of you have noticed that in the December issue of BBKA News, there is a proposal to increase the capitation fee from £7-50 to £10-00 from October 2003, a massive 331/3 increase. We have also been warned that there is to be an increase in the YBKA capitation too, though I am not sure that we have been told what it is to be. How, I wonder, can such increases be justified in an organisation with such rapidly falling membership. It’s membership that counts and much more effort should be being made to get the beekeeping message across to the general public, for then and only then will the financial situation become more stable. I have been an Individual Member of BBKA for several years, but have resigned recently. Individual Members used to be called ‘Friends of BBKA’ and as such received a copy of BBKA News direct from Head Office and a copy of the BBKA Annual each year. It is difficult to believe that the cost of administering this was anything like the £10-00 per year membership. But with the recent increase to £12-00 they are clearly just taking Members for a ride; and as is now well known, for people who are not members of affiliated associations the increase has gone up to £28-00, an absolute insult as well as a scandal.

Once again I remind folks of the Beekeeper’s Beginners Class starting February the 21st. It will be held in the William Newton Adult Education Centre in Junction Road, Norton, starting at 7-00pm. The first five weeks will be indoors and concentrate on the theory of beekeeping. The class will run for a total of ten weeks, the remaining five weeks being held at Natures World (The Botanic Centre) where there will be live bees and, weather permitting, hives will be opened to examine the bees. The lecturer will be Rob. Andrews, one of our members who has successfully kept bees for very many years in this area. Try to get all your beekeeping friends to join with you. Further details can be obtained from Rob. by ‘phoning 01642 781639.

Kindest regards to you all,
Bryan Hateley