East Lothian Beekeepers Association

 

Newsletter 131                                     December 2004

 

Dear All,

 

Varroa detected in East Lothian

As we feared, Varroa has not left us alone. Varroa has now been detected at Willowbrae and Brunstane. We expected spread to come from the western edge of the county, but it has also been found in hives at East Linton and at least one other site within the county. We should all now assume that Varroa could be present in our apiaries and test for it accordingly. That means, at the very least, taking a floor scraping in the spring and sending it to Susan Irvine, SASA, East Craigs, Edinburgh EH12 8NJ (marked Bee Diseases). A much more sensitive test is to place an Apistan strip in each hive for a few days and look for mite fall through a varroa floor, with samples sent to Susan for confirmation and recording purposes. She is also participating in a study of viruses in the mites, and would appreciate samples of 20-30 mites in a double envelope with the date, apiary location, number of hives and contact address on the outer envelope.

 

Varroa will be the subject of our first talk of the year which will be given by Graeme Sharpe from the Scottish Agriculture College at Auchincruive. This will be on January 13th in the Haddington Town House at 7.30pm. Although Graeme’s reputation as a speaker is very high, as an extra incentive everyone who attends will receive a strip of Apistan so that they can test their hives for Varroa.

 

Anyone who wants to brush up their knowledge on Varroa can consult our website (www.eastlothianbeekeepers.org.uk) which now includes a useful summary of Varroa treatment methods and resources as well as comprehensive descriptions of other bee diseases. Only two other local associations in Scotland have a presence on the web (Easter Ross www.sites. ecosse.net/erba  and Moray www.bees-trees.demon.co.uk) and we should be grateful to Mike Bain for his tremendous work.

 

Calendar

13th January     Haddington Town House 7.30pm

            Graeme Sharpe, Varroa

20th January Tyneside Tavern, Haddington, 7.30pm

            First Basic Beemaster Study Meeting (see below)

24th February   Haddington Town House 7.30pm

AGM and Mike Bain “DIY Hand Cream”

26th February Philipshaugh Estate, Selrkirk 2.30pm

            Auction of beekeeping equipment (see below)

17th March       Haddington Town House, 7.30pm

            Informal Honey Show with George Duncan, Dalmeny.

This will follow the same classes as the Gifford Show (see Newsletter 127) but with George giving feedback to the exhibitors as he goes through the entries. 

           

AGM

By rights, the first meeting of the year ought to be the AGM, but in order to give Graeme Sharpe a full evening I have delayed the AGM until February. Membership renewal forms will therefore not be sent out until after the AGM when we have assessed our finances (healthy Rosemary assures me).

 

Want to be a (Basic) Beemaster?

The first of the promised study evenings will be held at the Tyneside Tavern  in Haddington (beside the Poldrate Mill on the road to Gifford) at 7.30pm on Thursday 20th January where further dates and the choice of venue will be discussed. Mike Bain will be study leader. We will follow the syllabus for the Basic Beemaster Certificate, though sitting exams is optional.

 

Books

We have borrowed a box of books from the Moir library for circulation – I will bring them to meetings or contact me:

R. Coustoun                 Principles of Practical Beekeeping

A.R. Cumming & M. Logan      Beekeeping craft & hobby

A.L. Gregg                   Philosophy and practice of beekeeping

W.H. Hamilton The Art of Beekeeping

A.S.C. Deans               The Beekeepers encyclopedia

R.O.B. Manley Beekeeping in Britain

R.A. Morse                  The Complete Guide to Beekeeping

A.I. Root                      A.B.C. & X.Y.Z. of Beekeeping

L.E. Snelgrove  Queen rearing

R.E. Snodgrass Anatomy of the honey bee

H.J. Wadey                  The Bee  craftsman

E.B. Wedmore             A manual of Beekeeping

 

Association Secretaries’ meeting and S.B.A. Council

I attended these meetings in Perth at the beginning of November. We were asked what the SBA can do to improve its service to local associations. One of the topics was the partial overlap between SBA membership and that of local associations. Another topic was risk assessment and the kind of documentation that is necessary to comply with legislation. Fairly off-putting – this does sound like the sort of thing that the SBA could do on our behalf and then circulate. More immediately relevant were changes to honey labeling regulations. A summary is presented in the August edition of “The Scottish Beekeeper”, while the BBKA advice is reproduced on our website.

 

Small Ads

HIVES FOR  SALE – 4 hives with bees and about 8 without,

a mixture of  Nationals and Smiths, plus frames & kit etc. Contact Ian Sands: 01368 869665

 

AUCTION – Caddonfoot Beekeepers Association are organising an auction of beekeeping items belonging to the late Douglas Armstrong on Saturday 26th February 2005 at the Old Dairy, Philiphaugh Estate, Selkirk. National hives (12) + empty boxes and extracting equipment. Contact me for more details.

 

Thornes visit

I now have a small shopping list from members for our collective visit to Thornes early next year. Let me know if you have wax to exchange or items you would like to buy.

 

Donald  Smith (Secretary)

Garden Cottage

Clerkington

Haddington       EH41 4NJ       

01620 822441             gardencottage@ntlworld.com