SOMERSET BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION
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Members Blog

Out Now! County Honey Show schedule

31/5/2018

 
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The County Honey Show takes place on August 3 & 4 as part of Taunton Flower Show.
Although last year was rotten for many beekeepers in the county, we hope there will be an improving picture this season.   
Take a look at the schedule and see what you can enter. There are trophies, cups, prize cards and prize money at stake!  
​If you spend £10 or more on entries (you can combine honey show entries with other classes), the flower show will offer you a free one-day ticket.
Click to download a TFS schedule.


taunton_honey_show_2018.pdf
File Size: 374 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

SBKA at the Royal Bath & West Show

31/5/2018

 
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Somerset Beekeepers are out in force in the Bees & Honey feature at the Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallet.
From helping visitors to understand more about beekeeping  (& signing up new beekeepers), to publicising the Asian hornet threat, winning coveted prize cards, honey tasting,
lots of hands-on activities for children and lots more...call in & say hello!
The Show closes at 5pm on Saturday, June 2. 

New disease section to report EFB

31/5/2018

 
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EFB – severe infection and patchy brood pattern (example circled). Photo: The National Bee Unit
Unfortunately more incidences of EFB (European Foulbrood) are being reported here in Somerset and you may remember that last year we had  more than any other county.
To help us all recognise these notifiable diseases, and to be able to contact our local bee inspectors easily, we have created a new web page – find it in the Members’ section, Disease.
Over the coming months we will be adding more information and links to the Disease section. It is, of course, essential that all beekeepers are able to do more than just find the queen, brood and eggs when inspecting their colonies!  

Honey Bee Health Day in Wilts

31/5/2018

 
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Wiltshire BKA is sponsoring a Honey Bee Health Day on Saturday, September 1, which members of Somerset BKA are very welcome to attend, writes Richard Oliver,
Chairman and Education Officer Wiltshire BKA.

The venue is Bromham Social Centre, New Road, Bromham, near Chippenham, Wiltshire SN15 2 JB, which has ample parking. The provisional programme includes talks by Nigel Semmence, the NBU's lead on non-native species, on Asian Hornet and Small Hive Beetle plus an opportunity to observe frames with AFB and EFB. Details will be posted on the Wiltshire BKA website shortly.

There will be no entrance fee but it would be helpful nearer the time if we can advise WBKA how many of us they might expect. Please email:  [email protected]

Those attending should bring a packed lunch. Tea, coffee and squash will be available for a small charge. Attached to the Centre is The Owl should anyone require something more substantial though only 45 minutes has been set aside for lunch.

COLOSS Hive Losses Survey

16/5/2018

 
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Dear Members, please consider filling in the COLOSS hive loss survey - details below.
Dear Beekeeper.
In the last decade, elevated losses of western honey bee colonies have been observed, mainly in Europe and North America, but the underlying causes still remain unclear. In 2008, European and USA honey bee experts formed a network "COLOSS" realising that efforts by individual countries to identify the drivers of losses were unlikely to succeed, given the current consensus that causes are complex and can be different between regions and between the years. Now more than 1000 scientists are working together in this network in specific working groups.
The epidemiological working group have developed a standardised questionnaire to identify the underlying causal factors of losses and provide beekeepers sustainable management strategies.

We now invite you to fill in the questionnaire for 2018 which you will find below. This will enable us to compare your answers with other beekeepers. With your data we can estimate the relative risk of colony losses for beekeeper decisions such as Varroa treatment, migration of colonies and comb replacement. We also aim to identify differences in relative mortality risk between regions. This will enable follow up research projects in specific regions.
At your option your personal details may be recorded however we undertake not to disclose them to any third party to protect your privacy.
Finally your help is much appreciated. Please can I ask you to promote this survey and the questionnaire link through this open letter to as many English bee keepers as you are able to do so. Feel free to share the link by email, word of mouth, newsletters or social media and to your local bee keeping organisations. In doing so you will be making a contribution to tackling the problem of colony losses and ensuring that English data is represented as an equal partner in the COLOSS European community.
The survey link :  http://www.bee-survey.com/index.php/246176?lang=en
Thanking you
Dr Anthony Williams
COLOSS Survey Coordinator for England
De Montfort University
A Member of Leicester and Rutland Beekeepers Association and Rugby Beekeepers Association
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 0116 207 8468
Instructions for completing the survey   --  You may wish to print out  a copy of these instructions for reference  --
1.    Please read the questions carefully and answer as many as possible. Your cooperation is much appreciated.
2.    Only complete the electronic “Official COLOSS” questionnaire once.
3.    There are separate paper questionnaires from the National Bee Unit (NBU) in circulation and also pending a Winter loss survey from the British Bee Keepers Association (BBKA). Though there is some overlap between the three surveys please treats each survey separately. Each organisation’s questionnaire has been designed to meet different organisational purposes. At present efforts between the three organisations are uncoordinated it is hoped that in the future we will be able to coordinate our efforts.
4.    Please note that questions marked with * have to be completed.
5.    Excluding the informed consent question,  final comments box there are 31 questions. 
6.    The survey asks questions about your bee keeping practice over the last 12 months, in particular the number of colonies you have in production and have lost over the winter period. You may wish to consult your records before starting the survey.
7.    The questionnaire should be done in one sitting and should take about 15 minutes to complete.
8.    However if you wish to complete the survey in more than one sitting to check your answers for example, you can do so by providing a User ID and password. You will be emailed a link to complete the survey. Click on the greyed out words "Resume later" on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
9.    This questionnaire will be close on 5th June 2018.
10.The second page of the survey is an informed consent form, please select the checkboxes/statements that apply to you, finally on this page place your initials in the “Other” box at the bottom of the page to indicate your consent.
11.Finally on completing the survey you will have the option of printing out your survey responses for your records.
12.The survey is electronic form and there is no provision for a paper copy, however if you do not have online access or you are below the age of 18 you may find someone to complete the survey on your behalf.
13.If you have any questions about the survey then please contact Anthony Williams at the email address:  [email protected]
About COLOSS
COLOSS is a pan European network of researchers, beekeepers and government representatives that provides resources and opportunities to disseminate latest bee keeping research.
The mission of COLOSS is to improve the well-being of bees (in particular the western honey bee Apis mellifera) at a global level.
Our goals include:
• Advocating for bees, and their well-being, especially to government legislators and administrators
• Coordinating international research, including the development of standard research methods
• Disseminating knowledge and training related to improving the well-being of bees
• Promoting youth development and gender balance among those studying, or those actively involved in promoting, the well-being of bees
The survey team is made up of in excess of 30 countries, most of the European regions are involved in COLOSS monitoring. Each national co-ordinator runs a similar survey in their own country, using a standardised questionnaire. The national co-ordinators are a mix of university researchers and academics (in biology, zoology, veterinary science, statistics, computer science) and professional beekeeping advisers, all with an interest in honey bee well-being. Many are themselves beekeepers. More information about COLOSS can be found at www.coloss.org
Address: Institute of Bee Health University of Bern Schwarzenburgstrasse 161 3003 Bern Switzerland
Anthony Williams works at De Montfort University in the school of Computer Science and Informatics. He has been keeping honey bees for 8 years and is a member of two regional associations. He quietly looks after a small apiary in his spare time.  Anthony got involved in COLOSS at the beginning of the year and volunteered his services when he discovered that English hive survival data was no longer being collected and disseminated at a European level.

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  • Home
    • Devon Apicultural Research Group (DARG)
  • About
    • About the SBKA
    • History
    • SBKA Board of Trustees
    • Who's Who
    • Support Us
    • Donate to SBKA
  • Events
    • All Events
    • Beginners Courses
    • Advanced Courses
    • Apiary Meetings
    • Honey Shows
    • Lectures & Workshops
  • Members
    • Getting Started >
      • Joining SBKA
      • Introduction to Beekeeping
      • Beginners Courses
      • Life In a Honeybee Colony
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Beekeeping Suppliers
    • Education >
      • How To Guides
      • Video Guides
      • Courses and Qualifications
      • Examinations
    • Useful Links
    • Membership >
      • Benefits
      • Get Involved
      • Vacancies
      • County Membership
    • Members Area >
      • SBKA CIO Documents (Google Drive)
      • Members Yearbook
      • Members Blog
      • Former Charity AGM Info
      • Former Charity Council Meetings
      • Financial Info
      • Lecture recordings
      • Policies >
        • Safeguarding Policy
    • Pests & Diseases >
      • Asian hornet
      • Hygiene
      • Reporting Foulbrood
    • SBKA Newsletters
    • Beekeeping Suppliers
    • Research
  • Branches
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