It’s not yet the first of the month but I am coming up to a very busy period of talks and shows and we're taking a few days holiday, so I am making an early start on the new seasons news. But what an end to the last season; if this is summer I feel we should we be changing from beekeeping and start keeping ducks? I have never known my garden be flooded so many times over such a long period. Several crops have suffered very badly and yet others have done very well. Onions and peas are a wash out while carrots, parsnips and all the soft fruit have done amazingly well. But what of the bees I hear you say; they too have not done at all well. I started the year by losing two of the five colonies that went into the winter. Once again I believe it to be the excessive amount of Ivy Honey the bees store each autumn. Two colonies died out amidst many frames of fermenting but solid stores, food they are unable to make use of early in the year. Hefting the hives in February shows them to be very heavy but how misleading that can be. Once I realised what was happening it was too late to save those two but at least I was able to check the other three in time to remove the winter stores and to feed them clean sugar syrup. What a difference it made for they never looked back after that. However the ‘fun’ didn’t end there, for this year I had made up my mind to breed queens from a colony that had performed extremely well over the last three years. The queens were raised using nucleus hives sitting over the top of the larger colonies, each nucleus having a wire mesh floor to benefit from the heat generated by the bees below. As I have pointed out to you before it is a very successful method of rearing a small number of queens, and I raised six over two large colonies. But, success in raising queens does not mean success in getting them mated, particularly if the weather turns foul just at the wrong time - and it did. Of the six, four mated successfully and two went on to become drone layers. There was time to breed more and I managed to stock two observation hives and to give two queens away and still send three colonies to the heather. They are still there so I have no idea how they have performed. I understand there has been a very mixed response on the heather, a lot depending just where you have managed to site our hives and perhaps too just how you managed to fill your hives with sufficient bees before going to the heather. I have no doubt that hives going to the heather must be packed to the gunwales with bees in order to get a satisfactory crop. It must be remembered that the moors are some considerable distance above sea level, that it is frequently very cold at night and early morning, that the bees do not get out of bed as quickly as they might in your back garden so the ‘working day’ may be considerably shorter, the period of flowering is also short some years, so in essence the more bees that go to the moors in any colony the better the chance of securing a honey crop. It is far better to take two colonies crammed with bees than four mediocre ones. A new young queen is also a big advantage for a tired queen who has worked herself to a frazzle for you during the summer will not be nearly so good on the heather as a young one. I will let you know next month how my heather season has gone.

Thanks must go to all the folks who both entered and helped at the Cleveland Show in July. It was good to see new folks taking part for the first time. There’s no doubt the public do enjoy seeing the bees and those long rows of exhibits of so many different colours and form. Our judge complimented us on having so many fine exhibits saying that several could win prizes at many of the major shows. Many of you will be extracting your heather honey any time now, do put some on one side so that you can enter it in next years show, we do need more entries. You also have nearly 12 months to practice getting a sample of beeswax ready for the show - do not leave it till the last minute for it does take time and may require several attempts to get it right.

The picture shows Honey Judge Ivor Flatman checking a jar of honey, with Bryan Hateley standing alongside.

Only two people entered for the Basic Examination this year but didn’t they do well. We must congratulate Unal Metti and Sal Mancina on their achievement. I feel sure they will be looking to further their success by taking even more of the BBKA modules on offer. Now is the time for more of you to be thinking of taking the Basic Examination next year, for we need to demonstrate our competence as an association member when talking to outsiders. I quote from the Chairman’s Letter in the August 2004 issue of BBKA News;
" Assessments and examinations are not for everyone but these days there is a danger that we could lose our public liability insurance cover if we act irresponsibly. We are happy to take driving tests to show our basic competence in driving; it also gives us reduced insurance premiums! I would ask you all to think about taking the BBKA Basic assessment to show to others that we understand the way to manage bees safely."
There’s nothing I can add to that, except to say please see me for a copy of any Syllabus.

The Spring Field Day hosted by Richmond BKA this year was a day to remember. The organisation was superb, the location idyllic, the programme second to none and hospitality magnificent. The contrast between being met at the gate by soldiers with machine guns and the men showing us round the site or ringing birds was quite profound, and didn’t they do well on the barbecue too. An excellent day thoroughly enjoyed by all - thank you Richmond Beekeepers and the Army.

Our own summer meetings were also interesting, if only as an example of what not to do. We simply can-not go away for days on end without first making doubly sure that out bees are not about to swarm, for we are sure to return to find all sorts of problems. In addition we must have clean foundation ready made up in frames waiting to be used during the swarming season, and the hive itself must have all the old grotty comb removed to give the queen maximum room to work well before mid-summer. It’s the only way to get a honey crop.

The following is taken from the April edition of Apis-UK:-
"Dear Editor, My name is Ian Armstrong and I am a community wildlife officer for Durham County Council of which I am responsible for the management of a number of local nature reserves, many of them large in extent in the east of the county. The principle aim of my role is the sustainable management of the nature reserves for wildlife conservation and the provision of accessible green space for people to enjoy. Over the past few years Durham County Council in conjunction with the Durham Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has undertaken much work for the restoration and establishment of magnesian limestone grassland of which County Durham has a considerable area of this habitat type. Many of the reserves have extensive species rich grasslands especially on the magnesian limestone escarpment and some are designated as sites of special scientific interest. The Durham Coastal Grasslands cover 186 hectares of land reverted from colliery spoil and intensive agriculture to flower/herb rich grassland. We also have considerable areas inland undergoing arable reversion to magnesian limestone grassland including old species rich meadows and this has resulted in many insects, especially bees being present and ever more abundant. I would like to take this opportunity to offer our land to any of your members in the Durham area to establish hives for the production of sustainable honey. This would meet our objectives towards sustainability and nature conservation and I am sure the hives would yield good quality honey. If you would like to discuss this or any other query you may have please contact me and would gladly address your call.
Regards, Ian Armstrong Community Wildlife Officer."

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. Please make a note of the date and please see what you can all do to help with the food on the night.

Next month will be our AGM. Please do turn up, we need your comments, help and advice on how to make Cleveland BKA more prominent in the area. At a recent exhibition in Hartlepool several people said they did not know CBKA existed, and that’s shame on us.

This years Rachel Lowther Lecture will take place on Sunday the 3rd of October. As before it will be held in Wall Village Hall near Hexham starting at 10-30am. This years speaker is to be James Morton from the Central Science Laboratory and his subject will be ‘Bees, Pests and Research at CSL.’ The cost will be £6-00 including the buffet lunch. Car sharing will be possible. Please let me know if you intend to go.

Kindest regards to you all,
Bryan Hateley