This is the last indoor meeting and the last Newsletter before the summer and many of you have already opened up your bees to determine how they have survived the recent winter. Most seem to have survived well, though I’ve had one or two reports of losses, I suspect there are many more that have not been mentioned. While we must concentrate our efforts on the surviving colonies, it’s as well to think a little about the ones that have failed. Every failure means less honey in the long run. It means that no small amount of effort is now required to increase our stock to make up for the loss. That means that if we are having to breed bees we are not making honey as, in general terms, we can have one or the other but not an abundance of both. One report was of "a massive colony, with several frames of brood, dying of starvation and it was not a pretty sight". Bees are being seen more and more flying in our mild winters and that causes them to consume food, i.e., their winter stores. So never mind what the books, the ‘alleged’ experts or the plain stick-in-the-muds say, on a mild January day when they are flying give your bees a feed of candy - if they don’t need it they will leave it alone, but if they do need it they will thank you, a few weeks later, with the kind of reward only they are capable of. There may then be no need to be breeding bees to make up for ‘winter losses’, instead you will be extracting honey as fast as they can fill the supers. Strong colonies that have not suffered a food shortage come through winter with many frames of brood. These are the bees that can take advantage of the (ever earlier) ubiquitous rape crop and April is the time when colonies are expanding rapidly. Nothing must restrict this. Take advantage of this expansion to get fresh brood combs drawn by removing crystallised food frames, along with old blackened tired brood frames and replacing them with clean, fresh foundation. Put your new foundation immediately next to the brood nest with a pollen/food frame next to that. Strong, expanding colonies may be able to cope with a frame of new foundation on both sides of the brood nest. As soon as the queen has laid up the new frame/s do the same again. Uncap excess honey in the brood box and the bees may move it up into the first super, especially if it has drawn comb in it, that then gives them even more room for brood. With a strong developing colony and early rape crops there is every reason for a super to be added at this time of the year. Add an extra super when the first is full of bees and if there is a particularly heavy flow put two supers on at once. In periods of heavy flow your bees will fill a super in a week. During the early part of the year the brood nest is still expanding, but there is little need to be examining (disturbing) the brood chamber until you see drones on the wing. Then and only then, are regular weekly brood nest inspections necessary. Be prepared for possible swarming, have brood boxes ready with brood frames made up and a plan of action clearly in your mind, or better still written down and understood. Check each frame of bees very carefully and if you find queen cells don’t panic, put your hive back together, (go and have a cup of tea), approach the job methodically using one of the methods I have previously shown you all.

Beginners will be able to learn how to cope better if they join Rob Andrew’s week-end class. It is called ‘Introduction To Beekeeping’ and is to be held the week end of May the 8th and 9th. The cost is £25-00 and it will be held at Natures World, Middlesbrough. Details can be obtained by contacting Rob on 01642 781639 or via CBKA.

The Castle Eden Walkway Visitor Centre is being re-furbished and the shop extended. I have been asked if I know anyone who is prepared to supply them with honey. If you have any to spare contact Stephanie Asker, phone 01740 630011 or email Stephanie.Asker@stockton.gov.uk. Note that the Walkway has been considerably extended and re-named, it’s now called ‘Wynyard Woodland Park’.

Last month I gave a talk to a ladies group in Yarm. Before they ask a speaker to talk to them one of their ladies always says a few words of introduction relative to the subject of the talk. I was so amazed at what was said before it was my turn to speak that I have reproduced it here. The ladies name was Dorothy and she told me "As you may have gathered we try to find some material relevant to the afternoons subject. I just did not have anything suitable so I thought I would try to write a poem. I’ve never done it before and probably won’t do it again", and this, folks, is it:

No One Told The Bee

No one told the bee
That he was far too round,
His length too short, his width too broad
To take off from the ground.

No one told the bee
His wings were far too small,
He’d need at least another four
For him to fly at all.

No one told the bee
The weight of all that fuzz
Meant take-off was a no-no,
He couldn’t give a buzz.

No one told the bee
And really I’m quite glad,
‘cos if bees could only crawl along
I think that would be sad.

No one told the bee
And so he flies away,
Just one of God’s small creatures
We watch on a summer’s day.

I think Dorothy should try writing more, don’t you ?

Much has been said recently about the new varroa mites that are immune to treatment with pyrethroids. We can help our bees overcome some of the effects of all varroa mites by giving them a frame in which to build DRONE comb which many of the mites will then migrate to. Fit a BROOD frame with a sheet of SUPER WORKER foundation. It will leave a gap of approximately 75mm below. Fix two bottom bars (shortened slightly) near the bottom of the sheet of foundation so as to leave about 10mm hanging through the bottom. Put this frame in the brood box one frame in from the end. The bees will draw the top part of the frame with worker comb BUT they will FILL the 75mm bottom part with Drone comb. The queen will lay drone eggs in the lower drone comb and as the cells are about to be sealed the varroa mites will move into them. Once the cells have all been sealed, cut them off and destroy them. Put the frame back in the brood box for the bees to repeat the exercise. Considerable numbers of mites are eliminated this way. If the capped drone comb is examined with an uncapping fork (not over the hive) you may well get a measure of just how many mites you are trapping and hence removing from your colony.

This must be my final reminder to you all that the Cleveland Honey Show is held as part of the Cleveland Show on July the 24th. Please do all you can to support it, we need many more entries. We also need people to volunteer to help on the day just to talk to the public about our glorious pastime. All we ask is for four or five people, not all at once, to give about two hours in the morning or afternoon. Contact Bill Wilkinson on 01642 701006 for details.

I have received the following from our Secretary:
"Re: Country Fairs and Garden shows. This year CBKA has been asked to attend some of the above events. The purpose is to show beekeeping as an art and a hobby; in some case there might be a possibility of selling products.
CBKA have no organised programme, equipment or volunteers to support these activities. We need a team of, say, three volunteers to organise such events for which equipment will be needed to be obtained and stored (and will probably have to be begged, borrowed or bought). For each event volunteers will be needed to man stalls. At the present time, CBKA have promised to attend a fair at Hartlepool on the 25th of April and Guisborough Priory Project on August the 19th.
We would be grateful for any artefacts and/or beekeeping equipment which members would be willing to lend; we are also trying to locate any CBKA equipment held by past members."

Those of you wishing to take the Basic Examination this year should return the entry form to me, with a cheque for £6 made out to BBKA, by the end of May. The exam is set for Friday the 23rd of July and the ‘practice night’ will be on the 16th. I will advise you all of the timing later. If you need any help or advice please be in touch.

I have a notice from York BKA of an ‘Auction of Bees and Equipment’ to be held on Saturday the 15th of May at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, Murton, York, commencing at 12.00am. Viewing starts at 11.00am. For further information contact:
Rob Coleman 01904 762532
or John Fuller 01757 638388
or Collin Hattee 01430 860972.
Ample free parking is available.

I once had an article describing how honeybees were shipped from Europe some 100’s of years ago, to Australia and later to America. I can’t now find it, can anyone help please?

I hope to see you all at our series of summer meetings, the Cleveland Show and the Richmond BKA Field Day at Foxglove Covert on the 5th of June.

Kindest regards to you all, have a super summer.

Bryan Hateley