Once again the weather has dominated the last few weeks with bees unable to fly freely to gather much needed winter stores. It’s been wet to the point saturation, windy and quite cold with it. We see too that it is not only our bees that are suffering but that beautiful bird the Barn Owl. They are dying in large numbers, for they can’t fly in wet weather, their feathers are not waterproof, they stay at home and the young in particular die due to starvation. I don’t think there is anyone I have spoken to recently that has not commented on the fact that our bees are also short of food. Those of us who went to the heather seem to have a reasonable amount of food in the brood boxes but the bees that stayed at home are desperate. Feeding should be complete by the time you are reading this so we just have to hope that our bees will now manage until spring. Do not be tempted to feed from now on for your bees will not be able to cap it and it will ferment in the combs and fermented stores are no use whatever to your bees. There’s still time (only just) to unite weak colonies, don’t mess about searching for queens, just bung one colony on top of another over a sheet of newspaper, they’ll sort themselves out and stand a much better chance of survival than being left as weak colonies.

I gather too that not many of you have managed to obtain a crop of heather honey and that’s a shame, for the weather during the heather season was not bad. I have to say, yet again, that this is due more to a failure on the part of the beekeeper to ensure that the hives that go to the moors have sufficient bees. Hives on the moors must be packed full of bees to the point of overcrowding and if the weather is reasonable your bees will gather a respectable crop. I have managed to obtain 21/2 supers from the three hives that went to the moors and the brood boxes are packed with honey and very heavy too.

My hives are now being treated with Formic Acid, the first time I have used it. When using formic acid it is necessary to change the mesh floor for a solid floor to prevent the acid fumes ‘falling’ through the mesh (the fumes are heavier than air), but I have put my solid floors under the mesh floors so that I can put paper inserts in place and monitor the mite drop. In the first 48 hours several hundred mites were destroyed in each colony it seems to be working well. We must wait and see what the longer effect will be. I am using formic acid as a change from Apistan/Bayvarol for though I do not have resistant mites I still feel it is time to try an alternative means of treatment.

The October issue of BBKA News carried an article on Chinese honey. The EU has lifted its restriction on it’s importation from China; this is confirmed in an article put out on the EU Website on the 16th of July. Part of the EU article reads:
"Exporters will have their products checked by the Chinese food safety authorities and each consignment will be certified as meeting the relevant EU food safety standards."
However, Italy is at least one EU country that is not happy with the decision and has issued the following notice on its Website:
"HONEY: PRODUCERS ALARMED, CHINESE HONEY BACK ON MARKET
Siena, Italy, Sept.10 - Italian honey producers met in Montalcino, Tuscany, to discuss the situation and launch an alarm: "Consumers beware, check the label on the honey you buy, and choose the one stating the origin". They suggest to do so in view of the massive, imminent marketing of Chinese honey in Italy. "The very honey that has been adulterated, and that was banned all over the world, including Europe, because it contained a toxic antibiotic (chloramfenicol), and now authorised again because a Chinese exporter just auto-certified his product. A careless decision by the EU, which goes to the detriment of consumers' health, and follows commercial interests. The new EU norms on labelling do help consumers: as of the 1st of August, labelling the origin is obligatory, hence it will be possible to tell one honey from another. An important, longed-for norm by the sector - said the president of Italian Honey Producers Association, Francesco Panella - but only certain products clearly show their origin. Industrial ones use the term 'honey mixture', not showing some information, but consumers should know that when it comes to 'honey mixture', Chinese honey might be included."
A second article reads:
"CHINESE HONEY
At a meeting in Montalcino, Tuscany on Sept 10 to 12, Italian Honey producers expressed their alarm at the EU decision to allow the importation of Chinese honey into Europe. Readers will know that Chinese honey imports to the EU were banned for a lengthy period of time after tests found that samples contained the toxic antibiotic chloramfenicol. The Italians believe that the EU has made a bad decision that goes to the detriment of human health, based on the fact that a Chinese exporter ‘auto certified’ his product. They add that now that the EU labelling laws have come into force, consumers are helped to tell one honey from another and should always look carefully at the label. Despite this gloomy assessment, Italian honey producers are reporting record production in both quantity and quality this year. (Italy has over 75000 beekeepers and over 1 million hives)."
Make sure your honey is properly labelled, clean and healthy, I feel we have little to fear from the possible re-introduction of Chinese honey into our supermarkets.

I have received the following good news from Rob Andrews:
"I hope to run another course at Nature's World on the Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May 2005 but will not have final details until nearer the date. I can take names and details for the time being and will contact folks in the new year."
Some folks have already expressed an interest but do let Rob know for he must have a definite interest before he considers starting the class.
He can be contacted by phone on 01642 781639 or by Email via this website.

Bill Wilkinson has managed our honey show very successfully for the last 10 years but has now decided that it is time to let someone else enjoy the glory. He has stated his intention of making the July 2005 honey show his last one. We are therefore looking for someone to take his place and it would obviously be very helpful to any new-comer to work with Bill during this last year. Bill has asked for this to happen so that the transfer may take place cleanly and efficiently. All we ask is for some-one to volunteer to take on the job. Please don’t be shy.

On the subject of shows, I feel that Cleveland BKA could do more to support the Stokesley Honey Show. I was again asked to judge the show this year and was very disappointed at the low number of exhibits only two people exhibited a total of 13 entries, a very low turnout indeed. The Stokesley show was at one time second only to the Cleveland show in this area with many exhibitors from all over the region, where have they gone to? It clearly needs your support.

Another reminder that Cleveland are this years hosts for the Visiting Lecturer Scheme. Our speaker is to be David Aston from Harrogate BKA and the talk will be on the 1st November in Stokesley Town Hall, (lots of free parking space). His subject will be 'Plants and Bees - their relationships'. Please do make a note of the date and please see what you can all do to help with the food on the night.

Now for a sad note with a happier ending.
Sal Mancina installed the observation hive at the Botanic Centre this summer, this is his story:-
The observation hive consists of a wooden frame with two sheets of safety glass, one either side. Between the glass panels there are two brood frames and one super frame, all stacked one above the other, and only one frame deep to give full visibility of the goings on inside the hive. We installed it on the Saturday, and by Wednesday morning when I called back to check, it had been vandalised. I was pretty crestfallen that this had happened and was ready to remove the hive, but that would have given the vandals satisfaction. The safety glass, which is composed of two sheets of glass with a plastic film sandwiched in between, had been hit with the end of a heavy metal rod, leaving a crater of about an inch diameter with cracks spreading from the point of impact - it looked like the sort of thing you see in American cops and robbers movies on car windscreens after the bullets start flying. The damage was in the glass around the middle of the lower brood frame, and luckily only one sheet of glass had been vandalised. The glass shards and some dead bees at the bottom of the hive revealed that the impact inside the hive had been quite severe. I was worried about public safety, but the plastic film seemed to be holding up, so I cleaned the powdered glass from the outside and applied some thick duct tape over the impact area. I checked for the queen and I was pleased to see her still busy laying, and then noticed that the bees were quickly clearing the mess inside, disposing of their dead sisters. I decided against opening the hive up, and to see what would happen. Checks throughout the period the hive was there showed that the small colony didn't seem to suffer any long term effects. I removed the hive from the Botanic centre towards the end of September, and I'm pleased to say it hadn't suffered any more damage, and despite the early trauma had done quite well over the period it was there. I have now dismantled the observation hive and united the colony with another one which had an old queen (which I removed before uniting). This strong united hive should be in a better position to over-winter, ready for next year. On dismantling the damaged glass I discovered the bees had propolised the damaged inside surface of the glass at the point of impact. It was quite smooth, with all glass shards removed and was quite safe to rub with a finger. They had also removed all the glass particles that had fallen inside the hive.
Surviving in the harsh environment of an unattended observation hive, and suffering at the hands of vandals shows how resilient bees really are.

An early reminder that the March 2005 meeting will be on Saturday morning the 19th at Lingfield Countryside Centre (not the Monday evening) and will be a microscopy session. More details later. Kindest regards to you all,

Kindest regards to you all,
Bryan Hateley