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If
you are visiting because you are concerned about a swarm of honeybees,
please contact a member of our committee. You'll find us in the
committee page. Alternatively:
1. Stay away from the bee cluster. They wont harm you provided you leave them alone.
2. Phone your local council (They know beekeepers in the area who can help) 3. Do NOT destroy bee swarms. The planet needs bees.
Our Next meeting 15th July @ The Members BBQ 7:30pm
News Snippets
With increasing costs, RVBKA is moving towards communication by email. Send a blank email to Billy so that he can extract your address (you can link to him below)
Welcome to our most recent new members Brian, Richard, Bill, Sharon & Gerry.
Update on bee availability. Leo has now confirmed that club members who require nucs and are on his list should all be accomodated in the next couple of weeks. This has involved spectacular work by our Apiary Manager in building colonies and in the creation of new queens.
There are a number of members who have also developed surplus nucs, and who may be prepared to sell them to those in need. Please follow the link to Billy (below) who can put you in contact.
Beekeepers:
June means swarm alert Are you checking for queen cells weekly? Do you have some spare brood boxes ready? Have you memorised the artificial swarm method? Are you ready to collect a swarm if one arrives?
Check out the advice from the Mid Atlantic Apiculture Research & Extension Consortium (click on the link to dowload a pdf file) Swarm Control Advice
Upcoming events
RVBKA Annual Summer BBQ 15th July Full details will be sent to members. This year we are fortunate in having been given access to Walworth House gardens Admission to the BBQ will be £5 per person and members are welcome to bring friends or family.
25th Anniversary RVBKA Annual Honey Show will be held in association with the INIB Annual conference in Limavady November Details to follow If you are new to beekeeping, the honey show is a popular and exciting event when members of all abilities can demonstrate their skills in honey production and much else besides. You'll get an idea of the competition categories at the honey show page where last years' winners are listed.
Anyone interested in going to Gormanstown Monday 20th to Saturday 25th July, 2009 Check out the link to the federation of Irish Beekeepers website here (or on our links page) FIBA
June Meeting
The june meeting included a talk by Sam on the honey bee. This month he focused on the exocrine glands which are essential to the various activities of bees including the production of bee food derived from secretions of the hypopharyngeal gland and mandibular, thoracic and cranial salivary glands. The sting is also linked to an exocrine gland and most of you will be familiar with its effects. The nasonov glands on the dors al (top)side of the abdomen produce a feromone scent which is used to alert bees and to help with pinpointing colony activity, being unique to each colony. The production of wax is also controlled by secretions of the wax glands on the under (ventral) surface. Sam's lecture was well received and we are hopeful that he will continue the series for ordinary members and that a repeat of his preliminary beekeeping class will get underway later in the year for new members.
Leo then took the floor to demonstrate his preferred method of swarm control, the artificial swarm. Although it is complicated to explain it is simple in concept. Upon finding queen cells in a hive, Leo says this is the time to act. Breaking down cells may stall aswarm for a week, but wont prevent the instinct. Immediately move the hive (minus supers which were removed for the inspection) to the left hand side between two to six feet away from the original hive location. Then set up a new brood chamber on the site of the original hive. This should contain nothing other than foundation of frames. The next bit is the crutial part. Just go through the beehive and find your queen. It shouldnt be difficult since there is just one and only about fifty thousand other bees in there. Those who had marked their queen might find this a little easier, but in case you are feeling smug, remember that the marked queen may have been superceeded or the paint may have been licked off. My tip is to phone Leo, because unlike me he has a knack of finding the queen within a couple of minutes whether marked disguised or in hiding. When the queen has been located move her and the frame she is on into the new hive, ensuring that there are no queen cells on this frame. Sam suggests putting in a second frame and possibly a little food in case the June weather turns bad, but if its good, this shouldnt be necessary. Now close the hives up. Flying bees will emerge from the old hive and return to the new one because of its location (they return to their old location). They will think they have swarmed because there is no brood nor comb and their numbers are smaller and will go to work building comb. Non flying nurse bees will manage the brood in the old hive, and the new queen will emerge. On day 5 you need to move the old hive to the other side of the new one. This is to get the new flying bees to join their old comrades in the new 'swarm' hive. Dont delay this step otherwise the new queen may be flying and will go to the wrong place. Once the new queen has had time to fly, mate, mature and start laying (about three weeks) you now have to decide what you want to do from the possible options. If you dont want to increase your hive numbers, you can remove the old queen, then amalgamate the hives with a sheet of newspaper between. Or you could keep or sell a spare colony.
Need something about bees for a school project, or simply something to start you off Download this useful fact sheet from IBRA (International Bee research association) by clicking here honey bee factsheet
Pictured at their Annual Conference are Rev Margaret Johnston (UBKA President) presenting the UBKA Beekeeper of the year 2009 award to Dave Atherton in recognition of his contribution to beekeeping locally and nationally. Our Congratulations from RVBKA
Work on our clubhouse extension is now complete. You can follow progress courtesy Dave's photos on the photos page from the sidebar men
Website Change: The club photographs section has been revised to include indexing and a slideshow feature. If you havn't tried this section for a while you'll find it on the menu on the page left hand side
Old Meeting Notes now in the 2009 Archive page
RVBKA Winter Survey adopted by UBKA
Last year under the auspices of Rev Sam Miller, members of RVBKA conducted a survey of winter colony losses. You can find results and discussion on our science section (from the menu choices to the left) The association's plan to redo the survey this spring has now been adopted province wide by UBKA. Colony losses have been a preocupation for beekeepers with great concern about preventable causes dominating our discussions. The more widely beekeepers are involved in research on this and other topicsthe more likely we are to find solutions for our local issues.
This year UBKA and AFBI have jointly launched a survey which can be completed on line or by post. We would encourage all RVBKA members and others known to you, to complete and return the survey as soon as possible and before 1st May 2009. A copy can also be downloaded to complete and submit electronically from the AFBI website at
If additional paper copies are required either contact Mervyn Eddie or by email to info@afini.gov.uk
Top Tips for Spring
In June colonies may be tempted to swarm. You'll need to inspect carefully at weekly intervals looking for queen cells hidden in secret corners. You should remove any (and all) you find, then prepare yourself for setting up an artificial swarm a week later. Once they begin to build queen cells they seem to want to continue. Read all about Leo's recommended method of artifical swarm.
New link to check out
Cornwall Honey is a commercial site but contains some interesting educational material, particularily useful for new beekeepers http://www.cornwallhoney.co.uk/
Dave's guide to bee disease recognition is now to be found on its own page within the science section.
With thanks to Dylan Thomas who found this German website. We've no idea what he was actually looking for, but this is a real gem. A series of beautiful video clips depicting bees, without a load of advertising or distractions. Click on the video thumbnails- they even have english commentaries. You'll see that these are samples of longer films available to buy. Loads of interesting subjects for a variety of beekeeping levels.
Bored waiting for the spring? Try this little video
Bees are dying in droves. Why? Leading apiarist Dennis vanEngelsdorp
looks at the gentle, misunderstood creature's important place in nature
and the mystery behind its alarming disappearance. Dennis vanEngelsdorp is Acting State Apiarist for Pennsylvania's
Department of Agriculture, studying colony collapse disorder -- the
alarming, worldwide disappearance of worker bees
New to all this? If you are a new beekeeper and are finding it all a bit confusing, start with the British Beekeepers Association website beginners guide at http://www.britishbee.org.uk/getting_started.php
The Beekeepers Weather forecast.
To access the BBC weather centre 5 day forecast for this area, click on the weather icon. Or you could just assume it'll be wet and cold again, making it totally unsuitable for anything related to bees.
You may previously have followed the Beecraft website link on our links page. Beecraft have recently published their magazine on line. You can access the full Beecraft magazine November, December & January editions free as they are published by visiting their website. Its at www.bee-craft.com
Last year's front page content can still be found if you havn't quite finished it yet.
Its in the Archive 08 section.
To get in contact with Roe Valley Beekeepers about anything, just click on Billy. (He's an icon.)
We are affiliated to The Ulster Beekeepiers Association. Click on their icon to visit their website.
See also the other useful links on our links page
If you've admired our logo and wondered how it came about, the stained glass image is from a Canadian Stained glass company called Light Romance, onto which has been laid the RVBKA logo. Why not visit the Light Romance website ( click on their link below) to see the beautiful range of designs they have created In March '08 their Director wrote: Hi Alan. We will be honored if you use our stained glass honeybee on your website. I hope your bees are not suffering as ours have. Thanks for the look at your website. Very nice layout indeed! We are flattered, and happy to be a small part of it. Cheers, Larry @ Light Romance www.light-romance.on.ca
Disclaimer
The content of this website is intended to inform and entertain our beekeepers and visitors. Where appropriate its origin and copyright are identified and acknowledged. RVBKA officials have not necessarily seen website content prior to its publication. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Club officials, nor of RVBKA. External content into which this site links has been validated, but we are not responsible for its content.
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