Newsletter September 2022
Dear beekeeper,
Thanks to
those who managed to get to the Leas in Kingsdown last month to a fabulous site;
on the cliffs, the Channel & France in front & a Spitfire circling
overhead. Thanks to Mr Peter Finch for his hospitality & to Terry &
Tony for demonstrating how they will apply oxalic acid when the time comes in
December, working as a team, very careful of the chemicals.
I am due to
count the varroa mite drop from my hives after their first Apiguard dose, they
have not had this particular treatment for a few years, always a good idea to
vary treatments. I am also feeding as well, some purchased fondant, followed by
home-made candy.
Candy
recipe. Can
be multiplied if more needed
I kg white sugar,
200ml water 1 teasp glycerine [on baking shelves in shops]
Boil for 3 mins, stir
& cool over cold water. As it starts to become opaque, pour quickly into
take-away containers, fills 3. Put lids on when cold. Remove lids when ready to
feed.
Invert over feed hole in
crownboard.
Ivy seems
quite late to flower in my area, bees love its pollen & nectar, but the resulting
honey, though delicious, sets quite hard in the combs, may be a removal problem
for the spring unless the bees consume it all! A
cautionary tale for you from the US
An Ohio
man who was stung at least 20,000 times by bees – and even ingested some of the
insects – during a mishap while cutting tree branches is expected to recover,
according to his family.
Austin Bellamy, 20, climbed high
into a lemon tree in Ripley, Ohio, last Friday to help trim it when he
mistakenly cut into a bees’ nest, his mother said “When he started cutting, the
bees came out, and he tried to anchor himself down, and he couldn’t … He was
hollering, ‘Help! Help me!’ Bellamy was unable to get down from the tree
because he was harnessed. Watchers were unable to climb the ladder since they
were also under attack by the bees.
Paramedics and the Ripley fire
department responded to the scene and cut Bellamy out of the tree. “He was just
covered in bees. It looked like he had a black blanket on his head down to his
neck, down to his arms.”
The fire department told his
mother that the bees were a hybrid of the western honeybee and east African
lowland honeybee that is considered much more defensive than other bee
varieties.
Emergency responders transported
Bellamy to the University of Cincinnati medical centre by helicopter where
doctors discovered that he had also ingested about 30 bees.
“They left stingers like an inch
long” his mother also told TV, adding
that he suffered kidney failure from the attack. On Wednesday evening, Bellamy
woke up from a medically induced coma and is expected to make a full recovery, but
still in the hospital with breathing problems. His oxygen keeps dropping but
much of the swelling has gone down.
Take care in the garden! Please…..
HONEY
JARS
Now at Unit 12, AB
Crush panel beaters, opposite the Shepherdswell turning on the A2 to
Five Oaks, Geddinge CT4 6RY. The procedure remains the same, order to me,
payment to Philip, collection on a Friday from 11 to 12, it is a
really busy site with vehicles, deliveries etc.
PRICES: 1lb jars, including lids, in boxes of 72 £23.50 12oz jars & lids remain at £29
for 72 8oz
round jars & lids are £34.50 for 128 8oz
hexagonal jars & lids are £34.50 for 108.
Spare lids available for all sizes.
Upcoming
Events
Sat September 24th DDBKA Meeting at
Eythorne apiary CT15 4AD 2:30
Sat September 24th Dover Urban Fete,
Pencester Gardens 10 - 4:30
Wed September 28th East Kent Ploughing
Match, Stoneheap Farm, Little Mongeham
CT14 0HS. The bee Associations of Dover, Thanet & Canterbury share a
pitch to inform local people about bees & sell honeys & bee-related
products. Bring your correctly labelled honey to be sold. A wonderful day out!
Sat October 22nd DDBKA Honey Show,
Shepherdswell Village Hall. Schedule included with this letter.
27 -29th October National Honey Show,
Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, Surrey. KT10 9AJ
I have a clash on September
24th, but have always supported the Dover Urban Fair.
HEARING
AIDS An
interesting chat at the jar depot, I wondered if anyone else had experienced
this. A beekeeper was being troubled by persistently defensive bees, yet when
he turned his hearing aids off & removed them, the bees reverted to their
peaceful former selves. Apparently, the devices give off a detectable sound,
aggravating to bees.
We don’t really need to hear them
on inspection, seeing is usually quite sufficient.
This month’s meeting
Saturday 24th September at the DDBKA
Eythorne apiary at 2:30 pm, at Eythorne Court
CT15 4AD. It is along
Shepherdswell Road, near Eythorne, travelling towards Shepherdswell, on the
left, near a black wooden building. We park in the next field; you will see
cars and a gate to enter. If you are a new member or visitor, please make
yourself known, we get busy!
Bear in mind that the site includes an apiary & we
urge you to take care in the vicinity of bees, bring your beesuit & wellies
if you have them, make sure you have informed us of allergies & sting
reactions if you are aware of them.
Jackie’s training theme
will be getting bees ready for winter, how to unite weak colonies plus
reminders about woodpecker protection, mouse guards and wasps & what to do
during winter, maybe another mention of the oxalic acid treatment.
Q & A
session also; 2 or 3 hives may be opened, particularly for beginners to have a
taste of inspection routines & to compare progress.
Tea [£1] and raffle as usual. Bring your own mugs!!!!
- Remember to change your
Library books
- Sorry to miss you this
month,
Maggie
