Newsletter September 2015

Dear Beekeeper

Thanks to Penny & Mary for providing the venue for the August meeting, the tidiest farmyard I have ever seen! Also to those who kindly supplied refreshments.

This week I repeated my record for collecting the latest swarm of the year, September 13th!

APIARY NEWS

At the apiary 2 colonies ended up with laying workers, which are only able to lay drones as they have never mated. One has been closed up, and the other [hive 5] has had a nuc introduced after the bees were shaken out. The bees are not enjoying this unseasonal chilly weather, the ivy crop is just beginning, but being washed off the flowers. If they cannot get out, they will be hungry & need feeding.

Anti varroa treatments should be over by now and the emphasis shifts to feeding colonies to prepare them for winter before the temperature drops below 15 degrees, they need to face winter with 35-40 pounds of stored honey.

It is easy to make your own sugar solutions to boost your hive stores, [2 pounds of white sugar dissolved in 1 pint of hot water or 1kg sugar to 625ml of water]. Keep feeding till they will not take more.
Branches of Farm Foods, have white cane sugar for 39p per kilo.

I hope all of you have received the schedule for the DDBKA Honey Show on October 24th. Chris hopes the number of entries will be as high as usual with the new format, so don’t let him down!
If you fill in your entry form, you will be able to hand it to him at the September meeting.

GOOD NEWS FROM KSRC [Kent Science Research centre]

As you know the Sittingbourne venue for beekeeping courses for improvers has closed.

Bob Smith is pleased to say that there will be courses on November evenings [10th, 17th, 24th, 1st Dec] at Tyland Barn, Maidstone for Key Skills; reading the colony, swarming, bee health and the last one to be for participants to choose. Use this link to book. www.ksrcbees.org.uk

TRAINING

Have you done the BBKA Honey Survey?

VERY quick to do & do it by 9th October, vouchers offered as incentives!

Click here for HONEY SURVEY

Dougal recommends a YouTube lecture by Professor Dave Goulson on bees [mostly bumbles, but very interesting] http://youtu.be/WDkpVWzFnK0

Dave Rawling recommends this TED talk - Anand Varma: A thrilling look at the first 21 days of a bee’s life
http://on.ted.com/t0ZN5 Lots to look at over the autumn season, stunning photography.

SOCIETY NOTICES

Ambrosia bee syrup at a bargain rate 

12.5kg containers of Ambrosia bee syrup are available from DDBKA at £12 per container collectable from Jill Rolfe, OR, if pre-ordered from Philip by email or phone, at the September meeting at Eythorne.
Syrup will be available from Wednesday 23rd onwards from Jill.
NB Contact Jill in the same way as arranging purchase of jars, see below.

JARS After demand from members, we now stock via Jill:
1lb jars - £18 for 72, 12oz jars - £23 for 72, 8oz jars - £27 for 128 [all round jars, lids included]. If you want to split the large boxes of 8oz jars with a friend, you’ll do it yourselves!

Contact Jill Rolfe 01304 830263 [evenings] Upton Wood Farm, Shepherdswell CT15 7LE

DIARY DATES HERE

Best wishes

Maggie

2015 Honey Show Schedule Is Out!!!

Remember, you can only win if you enter!!!

Hello All
Here is the 2015 Show schedule.
It is going out as an email attachment for the first time. We have so many members now that postage & printing were becoming onerous.
We have now entered the 21st century!


DOWNLOAD IT HERE

So, download it, read it, print it & enter as many categories as you like if you are a member or Associate of DDBKA or a member of another local BKA.
Pay special attention to the rules part & note that to enter you still have to send the entry form to Chris the Show Secretary plus a stamped addressed envelope for your stickers to attach to the entries.
Do all this by the 17th October - plenty of time.
Please have a go.

Honey for the confectionery classes does not have to be yours, you may not have any!

RegardsMaggie