Events

SOMERSET BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION ANNUAL LECTURE DAY 2008

Saturday February 16th.

Draycott New Memorial Hall, Draycott, Cheddar

PROGRAMME

9.00am. - Coffee

9.30am - Opening by the President of the SBKA, Gerald Fisher

9.35am - Examining Combs. What do They tell Us?by Clarence Collison M.S., Ph.D

10.40am - Doing Things Better by Celia Davis NDB

11.45 am - Coffee

12.noon - The Importance of Viruses by Norman Carreck

1.05pm - !st Lunch - followed at 1.50pm by Apiary Hygiene by Richard Ball

1.05pm - Apiary Hygiene by Richard Ball - followed by

2 nd Lunch at 1.50pm

2.35pm - Swarming – Are You Winning the Battle? by Clarence Collison

3.40pm - Tea

3.55pm - Up Close and Dangerous by Claire Waring

5.00pm - Close

Tickets – Ticket prices include all refreshments during the day. SBKA members £7, obtainable from Divisional Secretaries until Jan.4 th 2008.

Non-members - £15 – (Price includes contribution to lecturers’ expenses) - obtainable after Jan 1st 2008 from :-

Caroline Butter, Education Officer SBKA, The Old Manse Draycott, Cheddar, BS27 3SF 01934 742075

All cheques to made payable to SBKA please

Lecturers CVs for SBKA Lecture Day 200

Celia Davies NDB

We all know Celia Davies excellent articles over ten years in Bee Craft, which have culminated in the publication of her two acclaimed recent books – ‘The Honey Bee Inside Out’ (2004) and ‘The Honey Bee Around and about’ (2007). They were awarded, with Bee Craft, an Apimondia 2007 Gold Medal.

She has kept bees since 1980, up to 14 stocks for some of that time, now reduced to 5 or so.

Her academic beekeeping record includes the Robert Hammond Award for the BBKA Intermediate exam, the Wax Chandlers’ Prize for the Senior Beekeeping exam and the NDB in 1984.

Celia was a member of the BBKA Examinations Board for 6 years, tutors the BBKA Correspondence Course and runs annual beginners’ courses .

She is President of the Warwickshire BKA, having been their Secretary for 11 years.

A busy lecturer around the country for many years, she last spoke to us in 2004 on Swarm Control and Bees, Plants and the Environment.

Norman L. Carreck BSc, CBiol, MIBiol, FRES, NDB .

Norman Carreck has been keeping bees since the age of 15. He read Agricultural Science at Nottingham University and joined Rothamsted Research in 1987 as an agronomist working on nutrient uptake in cereal crops. Between 1991 and 2006 he was apiculturalist in the Plant and Invertebrate Ecology Division, with responsibility for maintaining about 80 colonies of honey bees. He was also fully involved in the two research groups, on pollination ecology with Prof. Ingrid Williams and Dr Juliet Osborne; and bee pathology with Brenda Ball. He obtained the National Diploma in Beekeeping in 1996, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society in 2004. He is a member of the Technical Committee of the British Beekeepers Association, a Committee Member of the Central Association of Bee-Keepers, Secretary of the Examinations Board for the National Diploma in Beekeeping, and Senior Editor of the Journal of Apicultural Research.

Claire Waring

Claire Waring has kept bees for 27 years since attending classes by George Somerville and Adrian Waring at Northampton college of agriculture. Jpoining her local association ahe was soon involved in the Newsletter production and programme organisation. She then worked for BIBBA, organising conferences and working on their publications. Similar work for BBKA led to her election to the Executive, working in P and P, on the Finance Committee and then as General Secretary.

She has edited Bee Craft since 1997during which time it has changed out of all recognition, becoming a world class publication. It has just won Gold Medals at Apimondia 2007 for a beekeeping journal, for its website, its loose-leaf Apiary Guides and the two books it has published with Celia Davies.

Claire was a founding Director of Bees Abroad and is involved in a variety of their projects, including organising beekeeping trips overseas.

Her is greatly interested in photography, was taught insect macro-photography by her husband, Adrian, Her wide travels enable her to indulge in travel and wild life photography.

She also runs her own company, Buzzwords Editorial, and is Secretary of the British Alpaca Society.

Clarence Collison

Clarence Collison is a Professor of Entomology and Head of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. Prior to assuming this position at Mississippi State University in March 1989, he was an extension entomologist at The Pennsylvania State University where he served as a beekeeping/pollination specialist and livestock entomologist. Clarence grew up on a dairy farm in southern Michigan where he became interested in entomology through 4-H. He first became interested in beekeeping when he took an apiculture class, as a junior at Michigan State University. His Bachelor of Science (Entomology, 1968), Master of Science (Entomology, 1973) and Ph.D. (Entomology, 1976) degrees were from Michigan State University. Both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees specialized in Apiculture; studying nectar secretion and factors affecting bee behavior and pollination of pickling cucumbers. He has taught apiculture at Michigan State University and The Pennsylvania State University. His areas of research emphasis have been concerned with the effects of insecticidal sprays on honey bee foraging, factors that regulate drone production in honey bee colonies, pollination of birdsfoot trefoil and the distribution of varroa mites within the colony. He served as the major professor of 8 graduate students while he was at Penn State. Over 400 refereed manuscripts, popular articles and Extension bulletins have been published, and over 600 presentations have been made at professional meetings, extension workshops and to various commodity organizations. He writes the monthly column "Do You Know?" for Bee Culture, conducts numerous workshops around the country and frequently judges honey shows. His book “What Do You Know? was published in 2003. He and his wife Sally live in Starkville, MS and have three sons; Craig (37), Keith (33) and Eric (29) and have seven grandchildren

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Wed. 23rd Apr. - SBKA Special Lecture, Hazlegrove School

Murray Reid

Requeening, an Alternative Approach'

Requeening Honey Bee Colonies without Dequeeening Using Protected Queen Cells.

The importance of young queen bees to a colony's performance is well-known with many commercial beekeepers saying they "would prefer to have a young queen of unknown stock to an old queen from a select line". This is especially so when parasites, such as Varroa and the miticides used to control them, affect colony performance. However, the time and cost to find and replace queen bees is considerable and using protected queen cells in queen right colonies is one way to achieve re-queening without finding the old queen.

This presentation will report on field trials carried out in a commercial outfit in the South Island of New Zealand. The beekeeper was operating 1,800 hives with only seasonable help for extracting. He operated the colonies in an extensive manner and was keen to find a way to re-queen with minimal input. Most New Zealand beekeepers still use a variation on the methods tested in these trials and these will be discussed.

Murray Reid
Murray worked for a commercial beekeeper operating 1,200 colonies for three seasons while completing undergraduate studies at Auckland University. He joined the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) as an Apiculture Officer in late 1969 and was then sent to the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada to complete an MSc in apiculture.

Murray heads a small tem of four, who make up the apiculture business unit within AsureQuality Limited. AsureQuality is a State Owned Enterprise (SOE), which is owned by the government but operates a limited liability company. AsureQuality has 1,700 staff in 120 locations and was formed when MAF restructured in 1998.

The apiculture unit provides biosecurity services under contract to MAF, such as surveying for exotic bee diseases, and responding to incursions of exotics or suspected exotics. The apiculture officers are qualified lead auditors and verify honey factories on behalf of the government's Food Safety Authority and also verify bee products and live bees for export. The unit manages an American foul brood disease control programme on behalf of the National Beekeepers' Association (NBA) and a varroa control and education programme in the South Island for the Varroa Agency Inc. Murray and his team carry out pollination hive audits for beekeeper and grower associations and manage a honey residue testing programme as part of market access requirements to the EU. The apiculture unit also undertakes contracts for various aid agencies mainly in the South Pacific. These later programmes can involve bee disease surveys, product development, marketing, sales and exporting through to whole industry development programmes.

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Below is a list of events where the Somerset Beekeepers' Association has a presence. Come along and find us, or better still join us. We're always keen to welcome new members.

Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallet. May 28th, 29th, 30th, & 31st. 2008

This major national show incorporates a 6000 sq.ft. marquee devoted to the craft of beekeeping, and a Bee Garden, where regular live demonstrations take place throughout the four days of the show. The marquee houses a Honey Show, where the cream of British honey can be viewed on display, and also presents the many facets of beekeeping. Microscopic examination, the ancient craft of Skep Making, turning candle sticks with a pole lathe, Candle Making, including the opportunity to make your own beeswax candle, a dedicated Children's Area, where the younger generation can learn about bees, and perhaps draw a picture. A great deal can be learned by watching bees behind glass, in Observation Hives, and there is an opportunity to taste various honeys, and make purchases from a large sales display. Trade stands provide a further opportunity to buy bee related products from both local suppliers, and from around the world, and representatives from Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire, and the British Beekeepers' Association will be on hand to answer any queries, and offer help and advice for those interested in taking up the craft .

Find out more at www.bathandwest.co.uk. or contact Gerald Fisher - at gerald@thefishers.eclipse.co.uk.

Taunton Flower Show - August 1st & 2nd. 2008

This prestigious annual event held at Vivary Park, Taunton incorporates the County Honey Show, and the Taunton Divisional Honey Show. A comprehensive beekeeping display includes an observation hive, live beekeeping demonstrations, honey sales and candle rolling. Experienced beekeepers will be on hand to answer any bee related questions.

Mid Somerset Show - August 17th. 2008

A beekeeping marquee forms a part of the Mid Somerset Show, where beekeeping displays and demonstrations can be seen. The show also stages an annual Honey Show, where the cream of local honey is on display. Shepton Mallet is the venue, and August 19th is the day.

National Amateur Gardening Show - September 5th, 6th, & 7th. 2008

Fast becoming one of the major gardening events in the country, the National Amateur Gardening Show has, since it's inception, been a strong supporter of beekeeping in the area. Not only is there a Somerset Beekeepers' Association stand, but there is also a bee garden, where regular demonstrations take place throughout the period of the show. The event takes place at the Royal Bath & West Showground at Shepton Mallet, and attracts crowds of over 35,000. Once again, experienced beekeepers will be on hand to help with any bee related queries.