%)4/$5#6-the course fee includes a beekeeping book recom-mended by lbka, a year’s membership of...
TRANSCRIPT
From our Chair LBKA News, January 2019The London Beekeepers' Association
LBKA NewsJanuary, 2019Happy New Year! It’s a quiet time of year in the bee-keeping world and a perfect time to study beekeeping.We’ve now announced our beekeeping courses (withtaster courses to be announced later). As stated in aprevious edition of LBKA News, you can also [email protected] if you’re interested in studyingfor BBKA exams. It’s also a perfect time to attendour Winter Lectures. We’re lucky that the first willbe by the excellent Dave Goulson on Wednesday 6thFebruary – see page 3.
Thanks to regular contributors Richard, Howard, Markand Eugene. In addition, we have a couple of piecesfrom Richard on oxalic acid sublimation on pages 11and 12.
From our Chair 1Announcements 2January’s Committee meeting 5Last month’s Monthly Meeting 5January in the Apiary 6Focus on Forage 7LBKA Apiaries 11Product Reviews: Oxalic Acid vaporisers 12Facebook (In)digest(ion) 13Members’ marketplace 14Upcoming events 14Quiz answers 15Committee 15
A big thank you to this month’s contributors: EugeneFahy, Richard Glassborow, Jon Harris, Geoff Hood,Martin Hudson, Howard Nichols and Mark Patter-son. Thanks as usual to Martin Hudson for proof-reading it. Would you like to join these esteemed con-tributors? If so, please contact me.
Happy beekeeping.
Aidan Slingsby, Editor, [email protected]
c�2019 London Beekeepers’ Association, http://lbka.org.uk/.
Registered Charity Number 1165736.
The content is owned by and the responsibility of the authors.
From our ChairRichard [email protected]
Happy New Year London beekeepers! May your beeslive long and prosper. May all your hives over-wintersuccessfully.
You will, I hope, be pleased to hear that planning forthe LBKA year ahead is nearing completion and youshould see dates and announcements of programmesstarting to appear in this News Letter and on the web-site.
Once again the content is inevitably more of the same:we are a bee club – how different can it get? As always,the core offer and benefits to members remain our main
Winter Jasmine. Photo: Aidan Slingsby.
1
Announcements LBKA News, January 2019
focus but every year we try to learn from experienceand improve the offer to our members. The test ofhow we are doing is how LBKA members think we aredoing.
That is not necessarily an easy thing to find out but,having long threatened another member survey, we aredetermined to start preparing another one now. Don’texpect anything dropping into your inbox imminently:a good survey takes a while to compile, a while to com-plete and quite a while to analyse all the data let alonerespond to it.
In the mean time, we have been reading the feedbacksome of you left in the online membership renewal page.This is a voluntary section of the renewal form so noteveryone will have completed it. As a result, pleasebe aware the sample is small, roughly 15% of currentmembership. Nevertheless, based on that sample, thefeedback is significantly positive and constructive andthe tone up beat. I am particularly pleased to see thatthe most recurring keywords included: friendly, welcom-ing, supportive, and learning/education. Several of theconstructive suggestions are already on our agenda soit is good to get confirmation of the demand; somewill be easier than others to incorporate but all will beconsidered.
As always, if you have ideas or comments to makeat any time, critical or supportive, don’t wait to beasked. You can contact me – [email protected] – orany committee member. The importance of feedbackcannot be over-stressed. Other channels include themonthly meetings and the monthly pub socials (whichrestart after the Christmas break, on January 29th).The pub socials are, almost by definition, very infor-mal and are proving a good opportunity to think aloud,explore half-baked ideas or exchange/share knowledgeand opinions and, of course, to listen. All levels of ex-perience are welcome – the more mixed the merrier. Ifyou haven’t joined one yet, I do recommend you try tocome along.
We are also involved in other activities that at firstglance may not seem to be associated with core bene-fits to members, what we might refer to as our outwardfacing activities: forage planting; school visits; publicevents, etc. Actually, I do think they are, or could/willbe of benefit to members but indirectly in terms of envi-ronment, and public understanding and support.
These activities are not the Association’s main motiva-tion but lurking somewhere in the shadows is the aware-ness that not all cities (in the world) allow beekeepingand we are seeing an increase in questions about prac-tice here. If, and I hope it never happens, there wereever a bad incident, or beekeeping just generally gotout of hand and/or became a nuisance, there could bepublic, media and political moves against its practicein London. We are not essential in a sense, like part ofthe food chain. But I think we can demonstrate respon-sible behaviour and valuable contributions in line with
The venue for our monthly meeting – the white door on theleft.
our charitable objects and these could argue in defenceof responsible urban beekeeping.
AnnouncementsThis is our official place for announcements. If youonly read one section of the newsletter, it should bethis one!
January Monthly MeetingThe next January Monthly Meeting will be on Sunday13th January, at 11:00, at the usual venue of FairleyHouse Junior School (220 Lambeth Rd, London, SE17JY). It will be on the subject of pests, diseases andbrood conditions. The meeting will cover a large crosssection of brood diseases and disorders which will besupplemented by slides and general information aboutthe identification of each situation. Given the preva-lence of brood disease in this last year, this is importantsubject matter.
February’s Monthly Meeting will be on Sunday 10thFebruary, and will be about European Foul Brood(EFB) and American Foul Brood (AFB). Both are no-tifiable (you’re legally obliged to report it if you see it)brood diseases. These were both rife in London lastyear. Amongst those affected were LBKA apiaries andLBKA members’ apiaries. Get important advice, hearfrom those who experienced it last year and help us doour bit to help keep it under control in future.
Monthly Tuesday Social: Natalie’s pubpickThis month’s Monthly Social will be on Tuesday 29thJanuary from 18:30 at The Mud Lark, MontagueClose, London Bridge, SE1 9DA. It’s a historic pubright on the Thames and easily accessible from the Cityor London Bridge. Non-alcoholic drinks are of courseavailable for anyone feeling abstemious after Christmas.And food.
2
Announcements LBKA News, January 2019
LBKA’s 2019 Training DatesAnnouncedMartin [email protected]
Our Introductory Training course dates have been con-firmed, and applications via the website are now wel-comed. They will be held on the first two weekendsin May and we have 30 places on each. A quarterof these places have already been snapped up, so actfast!
As in past years, the course will be held at St Paul’sChurch Hall (Rectory Grove, Clapham, SW4 0DX) closeto LBKA’s training apiary in Eden Community Garden,and will run from 9.30 am until 4.30 pm on each of thetwo days. Weather permitting, the course will includevisits to two local apiaries (bee suits provided), andwill provide an introductory grounding into the won-derful world of bees and beekeeping, covering: theorigin and evolution of the honeybee, the colony(a super-organism), bees, plants and forage, hiveparts and assembly, swarming, diseases, essentialequipment, the beekeepers’ year, mentoring, andgetting started.
The course fee includes a beekeeping book recom-mended by LBKA, a year’s membership of the Asso-ciation, and a season of mentoring at an experiencedbeekeeper’s hives. Every attempt is made to matchtrainees with a mentor in their geographical area, butsome travel will be necessary.
If you are new to beekeeping, and wish to explore fur-ther the highs and lows of beekeeping, sign up as soonas possible at http://www.lbka.org.uk/courses.html,because it is a very popular course, and places sell outquickly.
And for those more experienced, the course does notrun itself! Apart from those presenting these subjects,the hall needs to be set up at the start of the week-end and tidied away at the end. There is registration,providing refreshments and answering trainees’ ques-tions in the breaks between sessions. You don’t needexperience, but simply be willing to promote the Asso-ciation and your hobby to those keen to learn. It’sgreat fun. So if you would like to help run thesecourses in any capacity, make a note of these datesin your diary, and contact Martin as soon as possibleon [email protected], and I will give you a ’slot’ (ortwo!).
Can you help on our new course forschool teachers?Martin [email protected]
We are expecting to run a third training course on 6thand 7th April, also at St Paul’s Church Hall, specificallyfor teachers who wish to keep bees on school premises.
Details of this course are still being finalised, but helperswill also be needed for that weekend. Again, contactMartin at [email protected] if you can help on thatweekend. Thanks in advance.
Winter LecturesAfter a winter devoid of Winter Lectures, we are busyorganising some.
Winter Lecture: Dave Goulson: Savingour Wild Bees: 6th FebruaryWe’re delighted to announce that Dave Goulson –founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Pro-fessor of Biology at the University of Sussex – will giveone of our Winter Lectures entitled “Saving our WildBees”. This will be on Wednesday 6th February atRoots and Shoots (Walnut Tree Walk, Kennington,SE11 6DN). You’ll need to get a (free) ticket in ad-vance to attend. Note that tickets are limited andas such, only available to LBKA members at thisstage. We’ll open up to others in a couple of weekstime.
Members only for now, so book early as we will mayopen it up to the wider public in a couple of weekstime.
Winter Lecture: DorotheaGrosse-Kreul: Bee venom immunology:TBADorothea Grosse-Kreul is a Senior Specialist Nurse forClinical Immunology & Allergy at King’s College Hos-pital NHS Foundation Trust. For over 20 years, she hasspecialised in treating allergies from pollen to wasp andbee venom. In her clinics she treats many members ofthe public – including LBKA members! – who have de-veloped an allergic response to bee venom. In this win-ter lecture she will explain what causes allergies to beevenom and what is involved in their treatment.
We have not confirmed the date of this lecture yet– please look out for a follow-up email on thissoon.
Sustainable Queen RearingThe Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association(BIBBA) are running a series of Queen Rearing courses,to help beekeepers reduce their reliance on importedqueens. This will reduce the chances of spreading dis-ease and may result in local bees that are adapted betterto local conditions. Howard will be attending the onein Kent on 3rd February.
Also note that LBKA’s May Monthly Meeting will beon Queen Rearing, with Geoff Hood being one of thespeakers.
3
Announcements LBKA News, January 2019
From the BeeCraft Facebook page.
Want to sell cut comb in Brixton?
Jon Harris knows a shop owner in Brixton looking forcut comb to buy. If anyone has any for sale, [email protected].
Commendation for our bee leaflets
Our leaflets are popular and it was nice to see BeeCraftcalled them a “good initiative” and the resulting posi-tive comments on social media including one from MattSmith: “Nice to see a beekeeping related publication in-clude ‘other’ bee species, native solitary bees (and oth-ers) get a pretty good mention here, with even a nodto BWARS at the end. Nice”. Download our leafletsfor free at http://www.lbka.org.uk/leaflets.html, whichwere written by Mark Patterson.
We are glad that others appreciate our focus on otherpollinators as well as honey bees.
Old announcements fromDecember
Check our previous newsletters or [email protected] for more details.
Martin Hudson: We welcomed Martin Hudson ontothe committee, who’ll be overseeing LBKA’s externalevents and recruiting volunteers to help run them. Youcan contact Martin on [email protected].
LBKA’s education offerings: Those who registeredfor our microscopy course, the Module 3 learning groupand the 2019 Basic Assessment should have receivedemails acknowledging their interest. If not, please e-mail Howard on education@lbka,org.uk.
Old announcements fromNovember
New Committee: there is a new committee.
Membership renewals: If you haven’t renewed, pleasedo so with your personalised renewal link. If you don’thave your renewal link, please ask [email protected] resend it.
Thanks for your support this year and we hope thatyou wish to continue being a member of our associa-tion.
Register your hives: Please update your records by31st December to help the National Bee Unit get asense of the health of the UK’s honey bees.
Old announcements from October
Foul Brood: A very bad year for foul brood in London.See September’s newsletter for important informationand tips.
LBKA courses and tuition: Howard provided detailsof (a) a microscopy course for members to learn aboutthe pollen grain structure and anatomy of the honeybee; (b) instruction sessions for those looking to do theBBKA Basic Assessment; and (c) instruction sessionsfor those looking to do BBKA Module 3 in March 2019.See September’s newsletter and email [email protected] for more information.
LBKA Bee Banter: Join this WhatsApp group forgeneral bee chat for LBKA members. Join from themembership area of the LBKA website or email us sothat we add you.
Trees for Cities: Help lead bee-themed ecology work-shops for schools or community groups, either on a vol-untary or paid basis. Contact Jess Massucco, Com-munity, Education and Volunteer Manager at [email protected] or call 020 7820 4412.
Offer of apiary in W6: Benita Cruickshank in W6(Hammersmith/Ravenscourt Park) has a domestic gar-den in which she would like to offer space for a hive.Contact [email protected] if interested.
Do you have any announcements?
If you’ve any announcements for the next issue ofLBKA News, please send to Aidan at [email protected].
4
Last month’s Monthly Meeting LBKA News, January 2019
January’s CommitteemeetingHere, we keep you up to date with what the committeediscuss at our monthly committee meetings (and whatkeeps us awake at night). Let us know if you can helpor have any suggestions that might help.
Aidan [email protected]
January’s committee meeting had quite a packedagenda.
We first discussed LBKA’s budget. LBKA needs somenew equipment (including observation hive, props forschool talks, replacement gazebo for shows, extractors,apiary equipment). LBKA also made a surplus last year.The committee agreed on the principle put forward bythe treasurer for some of last year’s profit to be used toincrease spending on equipment that we need this year.We also approved ordering more of our leaflets (whichhad some recent positive comments on social media)and seeds.
Connected to this is the issue of sponsorship. Neal’sYard have sponsored some of our outreach activities,including our leaflets and the props we use in schools,amongst other things (thanks!). We are consideringasking sponsors to sponsor other items, including per-haps a new gazebo and stands for our stalls.
David has starting drafting a “volunteers’ policy” so thatLBKA volunteers know what to expect from helpingout. It is still in its initial stages.
The committee approved Martin’s rejigged programmefor the Introductory courses that we have just adver-tised, and we will be recruiting people to help deliverthe material.
We then discussed issues to go with our apiaries. OurHolland Park apiary is moving from the roof to an ad-jacent field and we are designing the new layout. Wethink there is perhaps potential for doing some wild-flower planting in the field in future. Also, Elliot isnegotiating the terms under which LBKA will have afifth apiary in Regents Park. Assuming negotiations gowell, Elliot will manage the site and is recruiting someLBKA members as beekeepers. We intend for it to bea training apiary – like our others – but, in future, itmay be possible for LBKA members to keep some beesthere too.
We were happy with feedback comments that LBKAmembers gave us when they rejoined, but will set up anew and more exhaustive members’ survey soon, to en-sure that we are focussing on the things that memberswant us to.
The committee agreed in principle to run some more
advanced practical training this coming year. This mayincluding queen rearing at some of our apiaries.
We are working on a new proposal to put to swarmcollectors about how we can ensure that swarms areproperly quarantined, given the prevalence of EFB andAFB last year. We will be collecting opinions fromour swarm collectors over the next months, so we canfinalise this before the swarming season starts.
Finally, Richard, Elliot and Martin will be representingLBKA at BBKA’s annual delegates’ meeting.
Last month’s MonthlyMeeting:What happened at our meeting last month. Jon Harrisran the annual Christmas quiz this year.
Jon HarrisLBKA member
The LBKA annual quiz was held on the 16th of De-cember on a damp grey day. However we still attracteda core of (thirteen) faithful quizzers and managed 3teams. After a hot drink and a catch up the quiz gotunderway. The quiz was a relaxed affair with a lot ofbanter and I hope, fun for all! After the winners wereannounced, people settled down for a chat and catchup before the before we all headed off to finish off ourChristmas shopping and checking on our bees.
Here is to next year’s quiz (which I have already startedto compile).
(I can’t remember the name of the team that wonsadly!)
QuestionsHere were the questions. Jon’s answers are on the backpage.
1. In which year was BBKA formed?2. How many species of bee are there in the world
(to the nearest thousand)?3. How many species of bee are there in the UK (to
the nearest ten)?4. Which two continents can you not find bees?5. How many times a second do a bee’s wing beat?6. Which country were the earliest pictures of bees
found?7. At which speed do bees fly?8. How many smell receptors do bees have?9. Which year did “Bee Movie” come out in UK?
10. Which year was B52 formed?11. Can bees see the colour red?
5
January in the Apiary LBKA News, January 2019
12. Which colours are most flowers pollinated by bees?13. How many bee stings can kill a human?14. How many micrograms of venom are there in a bee
sting?15. Fear of bees is called. . . ?16. Which UK city has the bee as its mascot?17. What colour is bee blood?18. Is a bee heart in the thorax or abdomen?19. How much honey was commercially produced in
2016?20. What is the average pH value of honey?21. What is the approximate number calories in 100g
honey?22. How much is a 420g jar of Tregothnan Manuka
honey?23. What does the vulture bee eat?24. How old was Brother Adam when he died?25. Which British actor played the main role in “The
Swarm”?26. Apart from tree sap, what else does the bee add
to propolis?27. How many times does a bee/egg/grub moult in its
cell?28. How many aluminium bars are there in the hive in
Kew?29. How many local associations are there in the UK?30. How many grams of honey does a bee need to fly
around the world?
January in theApiaryWhere we should be with our colonies at this time ofyear.
Howard [email protected]
January is a quiet time for beekeepers but an eye muststill be kept on the apiary. Make sure that the roofhas not been blown off by winds or that woodpeckershave not taken an interest in the hive. Check behindthe mouseguards for dead bees and remove if neces-sary.
The queen should now have started to lay again, albeitin a small way. Despite the unusually warm weathersome some queens have stopped laying. Others havenot.
Varroa strategyTreatment in autumn with Apiguard may not have beenenough to deal with the mite. Treatment with ApiBioxal in late December or early January is the standard
treatment for Varroa. It is quick to administer and isall done in less than 1 minute if bees are not flying. Asalways, it is essential to wear a veil when opening thecolony to treat. Do not take chances.
Food storesIf the colony went into the winter with 35 lbs. of storesthen feeding will not be necessary, even in this excep-tionally mild winter with the bees flying. If stores werelight a couple of months ago then it may be an entirelydifferent matter. We have had an exceptionally mildautumn and winter so far. If feeding is necessary thenonly candy or fondant should be used at this time ofyear. Sugar syrup should be avoided as it will excitethe bees and so disturb the cluster. The bees are alsounable to process syrup in winter and it is then liableto fermentation.
New equipmentThose who have purchased equipment during the win-ter sales can assemble frames, etc. It is surprising howquickly events can move when the bees get going inspring and ready assembled equipment keeps the bee-keeper ahead of any eventuality. Some suppliers dohave a post Christmas sale so it is still worth checkingout the websites.
Cleaning old equipmentBest time to do this is immediately after it is takenout of use in autumn. If not done at that time thenwinter is preferable to cleaning in the spring immedi-ately before re use. Attention to general cleanliness andmaintenance of old equipment is part of apiary hygienestrategy. Please do check for evidence of wax moth andplace frames in a cold place wherever possible.
Candles and honey recipesFor those who process beeswax then winter is theusual time of year for this activity. Honey foodstuffscan, of course, be prepared and eaten at any time ofyear.
LBKA eventsKeep in touch with others through the monthly meet-ings, social evenings and winter lectures.
EducationEducation and practical experience are the 2 routesthrough which beekeepers develop their skills. Educa-tion may arise from a variety of routes but Beecraft is asubstantial resource. If you do not currently subscribeto Beecraft then January is a good month to take outan annual subscription. Those who are also registered
6
Focus on Forage LBKA News, January 2019
Helenium, the best garden plant for attracting bees
Bellflower, the sole pollen source for Bell Flower Scissor Beeand Harebell Blunthorn Bee
with the BBKA will receive the monthly BBKA Newsby post.
Registration with BeebaseMost of our beekeeping members are registered on Bee-base. However, it is possible that a few newer membersmay not be. It is important that everyone is registeredin case a notifiable disease or pest is found in your lo-cation. The Bee Inspectors are dependent upon themknowing the location of all hives and apiaries. Pleasedo ensure you are registered.
Focus on ForageMark tells us what’s in flower at this time of year. Thisarticle is reprinted from last year.
Mark [email protected]
Oregano, the best butterfly plant. The awesome bee-attracting plant also supports other common and scarcespecies
Knapweed, one of the highest yielding nectar plants. Itscultivated cousin Montana is equally as good and has a verylong flowering period lasting all spring through to autumn.
Bee friendly gardening New Year’sresolutionsThis month’s forage blog takes a different direction.There’s not much to write about in terms of seasonalforage for bees in the depths of winter when little is inflower and our bees are dormant so for a change myblog takes a look at what we can do to make our gar-dens better environments for bees all year round goingforward into a new year.
Create Habitat for beesBees need places to forage and find pollen, nectar, wa-ter and propolis and this can be done by planting theright types of flowers for them and incorporating a smallwater feature into your garden where bees can gatherwater.
Another sort of habitat bees need is nesting habitatwhere they can raise their offspring. For Honey beesthis is a hive but for other bees this can be piles ofdecaying logs in which they excavate a nest burrow,
7
Focus on Forage LBKA News, January 2019
Cirsium (thistles) are the highest yielding UK native nectarplants and super-important bee forage. Here one is beingvisited by a male longhorn beetle Retpela maculata.
Golden rod Solidago, the only plant I’ve ever seen SharpTailed Bees frequent
a patch of sandy soil or clay bank for mining bees todig out a nest tunnel, or bundles of hollow plant stemsand cardboard tubes for the likes of mason and leafcut-ter bees. These nesting habitats can be convenientlycatered for in the form of the many pre-fabricated beenesting boxes available from garden centres and onlineshops or you can make your own see my guide how tomake homes for solitary bees here.
Other ideas you could try include making a nestingcylinder for ground nesting bees. You need to investin a sheet of perforated metal sheeting which you bringtogether at the ends and fasten together with nuts andbolts to form a cylinder. This is then filled with sandor free draining soil to provide a medium which beescan burrow into. This design allows bees to nest in thetop of the planter by burrowing downwards but theycan potentially also excavate lateral burrows enteringthrough the many perforated holes in the metal sheet.Try using soft and sharp sand, cactus compost or JohnInnes loam based soil with added sand. You can plantdrought-tolerant flowering plants in the top too to pro-vide cover as some bees prefer some vegetation covernear their nests whilst others prefer a more open as-pect.
Holly, the Male plants are coming into flower now and willcontinue through spring when the separate female trees alsobloom.
Lastly the final habitat that bees need is over winter-ing habitat. For bumble bees this is often a shallowhollow excavated in dry soil beneath tufts of grass orpiles of decaying vegetation, compost heaps or hollowplant stems for solitary bees. Try not cutting back allyour herbaceous perennials in autumn, so leaving somestems intact for insects to hibernate inside the hollowstems. Many solitary bees over winter in their nestchambers.
Plant useful things in your gardenMy gardening mantra is either the bees can eat it orwe can. If a plant can’t fulfil either of these two re-quirements then it doesn’t get a look in! Of coursemost of the things that we can eat are also beneficialto bees and other pollinators as the majority of vegeta-bles do also flower and the fruits we eat need the beesto pollinate them.
Plant the best plants for beesNot all flowers are equally attractive or beneficial tobees and other pollinators. Attractiveness and benefitto pollinators varies a great deal with some plants be-ing 100 times more attractive and useful than the worst.To complicate things not all plants are equally benefi-cial to all insects due to the shape and morphology ofthe blooms which may prevent all but a few dedicatedvisiting bees whilst others contain toxins, the effectsfrom which only certain bee species are immune. Greatexamples are the foxglove Digitalis Purpurea, Com-frey Symphytum officinalis and Everlasting Pea Lath-yrus latifolia which are among the top 10 UK plants forsugar content in their nectar and the amount of nectarproduced per hectare (kg of sugar/ha/year). These 3plants should be a magnet for all bees having the great-est rewarding nectars among British plants. HoweverFox Glove and Comfrey are plants with deep tubularflowers which prevent all but the longest tongues fromaccessing their nectar, meanwhile Everlasting Pea has
8
Focus on Forage LBKA News, January 2019
Solitary bee nest planters.
both a deep nectary and tightly lipped flowers whichrequire a long tongued bee with a robust body to en-ter.
Bulking up your gardens by planting the most attractiveand beneficial plants for a broad range of insects willprovide the most benefit to pollinators, whilst addingplants which are attractive or of benefit to only a smallnumber of species helps provide food for more fussyspecialists – often the species most at risk. There aremany bees which are not generalist and will only feedtheir offspring pollen from a small number or a singlespecies of plant. Plant a mixture of broadly attractiveand specialist plants and choose plants which will offerflowers over a long season or plan a succession of flowertypes throughout the season. See the tables on pages10 and 11. There are lots more planting suggestionson my plants for pollinators pages along with downloadguides for plants for different types of bees. There arealso lots of resources on the LBKA website.
Reduce your reliance on pesticidesPesticides do have their place but only as a final resortonce other means of defeating pests and disease havebeen exhausted. Try mulching with compost and recy-cling garden waste to feed plants rather than chemicalfeeds, try companion planting to ward off unwelcomepests and attract beneficial insect predators over chem-
Tim Lover awarded MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours(last year).
ical sprays. Pesticides find their way into pollen andnectar and accumulate in social bee colonies where theycan exhibit a wide range of symptoms including reducedreproductive success, decreased life span of the individ-ual insects, compromised immune response and toler-ances to environmental stressors and increased mortal-ity rates. When buying plants for your garden try andfind out from the seller or the grower whether neonicoti-noid pesticides have been used in the plant’s production– these pesticides are harmful to bees and long lived inthe plant and surrounding soil meaning they can haveeffects on wildlife for many years to come.
Stop being so tidy in the garden
Try not to be too much of a compulsive tidy upper inyour gardens. Try leaving small hidden away messy ar-eas where vegetation is not cut back and things are lefta little wilder. This will act as a refuge for invertebrateswhich are less tolerant of disturbed areas.
Learn to plan ahead
If you want to provide for pollinators in summer then thetime to plan your planting activity is now. Decide whatspace you have, plan what you intend to grow and startplacing orders now so that come spring you can haveplants delivered and planted that will flower come sum-mer. Planning ahead is especially important for springbulbs which are best planted when dormant in autumn,5-6 months before they will come into flower.
9
Focus on Forage LBKA News, January 2019
Plant variety Flowering period Pollinators attractedHelenium autumnala July to October Honey bee, Lasioglossum bees, Hoverfly, 4 species of But-
terflyOreganum vulgareb or Ore-ganum onites
June to October Honey Bee, Lasioglossum bees, Andrena bees, Bumble-bee, Melitta bees, Hylaeus bees, Hoverfly, 9 species ofButterfly
Agastache foeniculumc July to September Honey Bee, Bumblebees, 4 species of Butterfly, Hum-mingbird Hawkmoth, Hoverfly, Flower Bees
Calamint July to August Honey Bee, Bumble Bee, Megachile BeesLavender Gross Bleu July to September Honey Bee, Bumblebees, Lasioglossum Bees, ButterflyNepeta June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebees, Megachile Bees, Wool Carder
Bee, Flower Bees, Butterfly, Mint Moth, Osmia BeesEchium vulgare June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebees, Megachile Bees, Osmia Bees,
Wool Carder Bee, Flower Bees, Hoplitis adunca, Las-sioglossum, Pollen Beetles
Veronica spicata June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Lassioglossum Bees, HylaeusBees, Hoverfly, Butterfly
Teucrium hiricanum June to October Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Flower Bees, LassioglossumBees, Hoverfly, Butterfly, Mint Moth, Swollen Thigh Bee-tles, Pollen Beetles, Wool Carder bees
Sedum Spectable August to October Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Lassioglossum Bees, ButterflySolidagod and Golden Rod July to October Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Xylocopa Large Carpenter Bees,
Coelioxys Sharp Tailed Bees, Lassioglossum Bees, But-terfly, Beetles.
Hyssopus June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Lassioglossum BeesEryngium June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Lassioglossum Bee, Hylaeus
bees, butterfly, hoverfly, pollen beetles, Solitary waspsEchinops June to September Honey Bee, Bumblebee, Lassioglossum Bees, Hylaeus
Bees, solitary waspsCentaureae (Napweeds andPerennial Cornflower)
May to November Bumblebees, Lassioglossum Bees, Megachile Bees, OsmiaBees, Hoverfly, Butterfly, Pollen Beetles
Cirsium (thistles)f June to September Bumblebees, Honey Bee, Andrena Bees, Halictus Bees,Colletes Bees, Flower Bees, Long Horn Beetle, SwollenThigh Beetle, Pollen Beetle, Butterflies, Solitary wasps
Examples of some of the best plants to attract a broad variety of pollinators. Suggestions based on several years of datacollection in studies into flower attractiveness to pollinators conducted by LASI and Rosybee Plants supplemented with resultsfrom the Agriland Project along with our own observations over the years in our London Garden.
aThe most attractive garden plant for bees in 4 years of trials By RosybeebThe most attractive plant for butterflies by LASI and top 10 plants for bees by both LASI and Rosybee trials.cThe most attractive plant for bees in trials by LASI.dShown by Rosybee trials not to be very attractive to bees however in my own garden I have 3 varieties which attract large numbers
of predominantly solitary bees, blue butterflies, solitary wasps, hoverflies and pollinating beetles. On regular visits to the prairie plantingsin London’s Burges Park and on my regular travels around North America I have witnessed Golden Rod visited by an extraordinary rangeof pollinators. Solidago is the only plant in my garden on which I have seen sharp tailed bees visit.
eCentaurea nigra (black napweed) ranked 4th by Agriland project for abundance of nectar produced per Ha and Centaurea montana(perennial cornflower) consistently in top 20 most attractive plants by Rosybee – in addition Centaurea species have long flower seasonand prolonged usefulness to bees.
fUK native Plant producing the most nectar according to Agriland Project.
10
LBKA Apiaries LBKA News, January 2019
Plant variety Flowering period Main benefitting pollinatorEverlasting Pea May to August Megachile BeesStachys May to September Wool carder bee (collects hairs from the plant to carder
its nest) Fork tailed flower beeBell flowers May to September Chelostoma campanularum, Melitta haemorhdalis Bum-
blebees, Honey BeeAchillea (Yarrow) May to September Colletes davisanius wool carder bee (collects hairs from
the plant to carder its nest)Alliums April to September Hylaeus Bees Honey Bee, Bumble BeeLamium maculatum March to November Bumblebees and Hairy Footed Flower BeePulmonaria March to May Hairy Footed Flower BeeAstrantia April to August Hylaeus BeesAsteraceae April to October Hylaeus Bees, Colletes bees, Swollen Thigh beetlesFoxglove April to July Garden Bumble BeeYellow Loosestrife June to August Yellow loosestrife Bee Macropis europaeusHawksbeard June to September Pantaloon bee Dasypoda hirtyipes, Red Tailed Bumble-
bee, Honey Bee, Andrena bees, Osmia Bees
Some examples of plants which are beneficial to specialist species and are a good way to provide for fussy flower visitors toyour garden.
Give no dig gardening a trySpreading composts and biodegradable mulches ontoyour soil and allowing worms and other detritivores totake nutrients down into the soil is much more ben-eficial to most soils over conventional digging in. Byrefraining from deep digging and only adding organicmaterial to the soil surface we replicate what occursin nature by creating a nutrient rich, moisture retain-ing top layer above increasingly mineral based layers ofsoil. Most plants have the majority of their roots withinthe top 30cm of soil, even very large trees seldom haveroots penetrating deeper than 2-3 feet and they aremainly for anchorage rather than water and nutritionalabsorption. The benefit to bees in no deep digging isthat solitary species nesting in the soil don’t have theirburrows disturbed and plants flower better. Diggingfrequently disturbs the buried seed bank meaning weedspecies can take hold, whereas no dig gardening resultsin far less seed bank disturbance and therefore a reducedweed problem. In the United States it has been foundthat many ground nesting solitary bee populations cantriple on no dig farms compared to conventionally tilledcrop fields as a result of fewer nest burrows being dam-aged.
LBKA Apiaries
News from LBKA’s apiaries.
Richard Glassborow(Acting) Apiary Officer
All LBKA bees are tucked up for the winter. Mosthave their own supplies but one or two are being fedfondant. Mudchute and Eden have been treated forvarroa using Oxalic acid sublimation, Holland Park bytrickling. I have to say, the day Vlad and I treatedMudchute was the coldest and wettest I have ever beenwhile beekeeping. Utterly miserable for us but perfectfor treating as there wasn’t a bee to be seen outsidethe hives.
Fumigation is a very effective way of administering ox-alic acid and LBKA has recently invested in some kitto treat our teaching apiaries.
I do prefer to avoid chemicals where possible and havelong used shook swarm with the varroa bait-frame re-finement as the foundation of my integrated pest man-agement of varroa. This can be 98% effective but needsto happen during the spring build-up. The timing is achallenge at Eden because that apiary is used for train-ing courses and BBKA Basic assessments during thesame period– and they all require more than one fullcolony – bees, laying queen, brood, and stores. Suc-cessfully weaving shook swarms through that and theweather is frankly stressful so I thought I would trysublimation, which can also be 98% effective againstvarroa.
11
Product Reviews: Oxalic Acid vaporisers LBKA News, January 2019
In my opinion, an effective integrated pest managementstrategy against varroa needs at least one tool in thebox with that kind of potency. And of course the otherbenefits of shook swarm is that it controls pretty mucheverything else and you are unlikely to need chemicaltreatment during the honey season. Unless you are veryunlucky with the weather the bees thrive on it.
LBKA is aware there is much interest in letting honeybees develop their own defences against varroa. Butas far as I know, the only evidence that comes closeto credible survival involves isolation. That is just notgoing to happen in London. We know the density ofregistered colonies is high; we suspect (with some ev-idence) that there are significant numbers of unregis-tered managed colonies and there are also significantnumbers of feral colonies in addition. Whatever thisadds up to it is the opposite of isolation. Bluntly, ifyou don’t manage varroa, your bees die.
What is more, if we don’t manage our own varroa, itspreads to keepers who do. That is why I think theinspection board above shows such a high knock downin December when that colony was treated with MAQSin August and shook swarmed in May. It is a strongcolony and when the nectar dried up in June I think theywent robbing and came back with more than honey.This is why LBKA make varroa management one of thetop priorities for responsible urban beekeeping.
Next month we hope to be reporting on the relocationof the apiary in Holland Park. Though the rooftopapiary at the orangery is certainly very beautiful it hasnever been possible to develop its potential as a westLondon teaching apiary because the load restrictions ofthe listed building impose an impractical limit on thenumber of people on the roof at anyone time.
Mark Patterson and I have been negotiating with theRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to relocatethe apiary in a nearby, beautiful wooded former pad-dock. Fingers crossed.
Oxalic fumigation at Mudchute.
Typical varroa knock down after oxalic fumigation (and thiscolony was treated with MAQS in August!)
Product Reviews:Oxalic AcidvaporisersRichard [email protected]
If you have already read the Apiaries column you willhave seen that LBKA recently invested in equipment totreat the teaching apiary colonies for varroa by subli-mating oxalic acid. That column gives a little bit moreabout why we did this but I thought it might be help-ful to share some of the choices behind the purchases.This is in no way an exhaustive product review but Ihope there are some points of interest.
The first thing I should say concerns Health & Safety:Oxalic is an organic acid and when sublimated the gasis extremely hazardous to our health. (Sublimation isa change of state from solid to gas without passingthrough a liquid state). The bees get one dose – theysurvive but the varroa don’t.
We on the other hand are administering many doses andprotection from the crystals and the fumes is essential:gloves, eye protection, adequate breathing apparatus,and only outdoors.
For this reason, we are not hiring out this equipment.
12
Product Reviews: Oxalic Acid vaporisers LBKA News, January 2019
The £115 Varrox on the left; the £35 Vapmite on the right.
But we hope in time to train all our apiary managers(who may then be persuaded to visit other memberswho wish to use it).
So why the product review? Sublimation takes longerthan trickling oxalic solution, especially if you only haveone vaporiser because you have to wait for the fumes toact and for the tool to cool down before you can moveon to the next hive. If you have two tools you can besetting up the second while the first is doing its thingand cooling, then move the first to the third while thesecond is cooking, and so on. Thanks to Geoff Hoodfor that handy tip. If you only have one or two hivesthis would not be a cost effective advantage but the As-sociation has 16-20 hives so speed does matter.
There are several makes on the market. We needed fastdelivery so imports would be too risky. Thornes sell twobrands, the Vapmite, £35, and Varrox, £115: which tobuy? Remember, we want 2 so a cost difference of⇥3 matters. But equally the Association cannot affordto buy cheap stuff that doesn’t work or doesn’t last.(There are other costs: 12v leisure battery £70 ish;decent battery charger suitable for that kind of battery,£70 ish; respirator, £30 ish).
We decided to buy one of each and report back. Sohere is my brief report:
The process works by loading a measure of Apibioxal(Oxalic acid) into the metal heating pot at the endof the vaporiser. That is then inserted under the meshfloor – over the inspection board. (the inspection boardis plastic it must be protected). When the terminals areconnected to a 12 V battery the pot gets very hot andthe acid sublimates. Obviously the hive must be sealed
or all the fumes escape – but this is a product reviewnot a how-to guide.
I will say straight away, as far as I could tell (I couldn’tsee them working), from a sublimation point of view,both models performed as intended.
We cannot yet report on reliability over time. Thereare build quality differences but are they worth a pricedifference of three times? If you are a low user, I wouldsay, definitely not. ⇥1 Vapmite + time on your sidedoes the job. If you are a mid range user you mightwant ⇥2 Vapmites.. High volume users or equipmentfetishists might be better with the Varrox, or as wehave done, one of each until you are convinced of theverdict. In the mean time, yes the Varrox is just a littlebit nicer to use. Why?
There are some clues in the picture. Look at the cables:the Varrox cable is heavier and likely to last longer. Butit is also more flexible. You can sees how it is moreneatly coiled on the floor. That makes it easier to workwith. The Vapmite cable is stiff and a bit frustrating:impossible to pack neatly and affects the lie of the heatpot.
Look at the heat pot: The Varrox is nice and flat onthe floor: the Vapmite is not. I tried to get it to lie flatbut it wouldn’t, largely due to the cable. I could haveloosened the screws holding the pot to the arm but thennext time would it be the same? Those screws by theway, catch on the underside of the hive when you aretaking it out.
Look at how the cable joins the arm: the Varrox issealed, presumably waterproof. The Vapmite is not. Iused then both in the rain. Neither was a problem butI think the Vapmite could have been. I may be beingunfair because I have not taken them apart so I don’treally know.
The terminal clamps: both work, but again, the Varroxis a bit more reassuring.
Three times more reassuring? No.
But I know which one I prefer using. Maybe I am a bitof an equipment fetishist!
13
Upcoming events LBKA News, January 2019
Facebook(In)digest(ion)Some of the highlights from LBKA’s public facing Face-book page.
Eugene FahyLBKA Member
TS Eliot observed that “April is the cruellest month”.Whilst it may be true that “Winter kept us warm” ourFacebook page has ample evidence that this year, inLondon at least, it did not “cover Earth in forgetfulsnow”. Posts from Richard Glassborow on 22 Decem-ber and Kathie Binysh show bees were out and aboutin mid-winter, setting back plans for oxalic acid treat-ments.
A posting in French from Isabelle Garnier, led to abrief discussion about the anger of yellow jackets (“GiletJaune” protestors rather than wasps) at French author-ities’ delay in tackling Asian Hornets. Mark AnthonyPatterson (MAP) pointed out that the four year delayin acting, allowed the species to become established onthe European mainland. This makes it impossible toeradicate them and difficult to contain them in areaswhere they are well established.
Finally, in the spirit of Janus and January, looking back-wards, Jon Harris posted pictures of the 2018 LBKAquiz – the comments provide evidence, if any wereneeded, that beekeepers rarely agree on anything and,looking forwards, MAP shared an event for the beekeep-ing diary. Free tickets are available for the Bee KeepingScience Convention on Saturday 23 February at Rootsand Shoots (familiar to LBKA members as the venuefor our AGM).
Members’marketplaceThis section is for members offering beekeeping itemsor services to members or requesting items. Items couldinclude nucs, wax and honey. Email [email protected] to add something here.
Vald Zamfir: I have an extractor for sale. It is a 4-frame manual tangential, stainless steel drum, fitting upto Langstroth-sized frames (just about, if the top barsare on the inside, towards the axle). The downsides are
that gears rust quite easily since they’re not stainlesssteel and the mechanism tends to screw itself to stuckand needs to be spun the other way for a bit. The askingprice is £100. Contact [email protected].
Emily Abbott: I run Hive & Keeper Ltd a companythat sells single apiary/harvest honeys from small scalebeekeepers around the country. Jars are labelled withthe honey’s main flavour, the name of the beekeeperand where the apiary is. Hive & Keeper currently workswith about 30 keepers and your honey would be en-joyed by people across the country. Let me know ifyou have honey you want to sell, but don’t want to jarand sell it yourself. We buy 30lb buckets (a minimumof 3). Check out http://www.hiveandkeeper.com/ oremail [email protected].
Kyle Moreland: I am also looking to contact otherbeekeepers in Streatham Hill (SW2); to lend a handwith hives, swarms, etc. I am available during the dayas I am retired and have a pickup truck which can beuseful for moving hives. I have 2 empty hives that I amlooking to fill in Spring 2019. Please contact me [email protected].
Upcoming events
Sunday 13th January: MonthlyMeeting: Pests, diseases and broodconditions11:00-13:00 at Fairley House Junior School, 218 Lam-beth Rd, Lambeth, London, SE1 7JY
The meeting will cover a large cross section of brooddiseases and disorders which will be supplemented byslides and general information about the identificationof each situation. Given the prevalence of brood dis-ease in this last year, this will be an important meetingto attend. Followed by the usual hot drinks, cake andchat. Meetings are for members only, but you’re wel-come to come as a guest to find out more about ourassociation.
Tuesday 29th January: Monthly PubSocialfrom 18:30 at The Mud Lark, Montague Close, LondonBridge, SE1 9DA
This month, we’re in the The Mud Lark. It’s a historicpub right on the Thames and easily accessible fromthe City or London Bridge. Non-alcoholic drinks areof course available for anyone feeling abstemious afterChristmas. And food.
14
Quiz answers LBKA News, January 2019
Sunday 10th February: MonthlyMeeting: EFB and AFB11:00-13:00 at Fairley House Junior School, 218 Lam-beth Rd, Lambeth, London, SE1 7JY
The meeting will be about European Foul Brood (EFB)and American Foul Brood. Both are notifiable (you’relegally obliged to report it if you see it) brood diseases.These were both rife in London last year. Amongstthose affected were LBKA apiaries and LBKA members’apiaries. Get important advice, hear from those whoexperienced it last year and help us do our bit to helpkeep it under control in future. Followed by the usualhot drinks, cake and chat. Meetings are for membersonly, but you’re welcome to come as a guest to find outmore about our association.
Wednesday 6th February: WinterLecture: Saving our Wild Bees by DaveGoulson19:00-21:00 at Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk,Kennington, SE11 6DN.
We’re delighted to announce that Dave Goulson(founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Pro-fessor of Biology at the University of Sussex) will giveone of our Winter Lectures with the title "Saving ourWild Bees". He will talk about wild bees, bee and insectdeclines, and what we can do about them. Dave is anengaging and accessible speaker, who gives many publiclectures and has authored a number of books. Ticketsare free but there are limited spaces and as such, tick-ets are currently only open to LBKA members. We willopen tickets to non-members shortly towards the endof January (or you can join). Please contact us to findout how to get your ticket if you’re a member.
Quiz answersJon’s answers to the quiz on page 5 (not that everyoneagreed with them. . . )
1. 18742. 20,0003. 2504. Antarctica and Arctic5. 2306. Spain7. 25km hour8. 1709. Dec 2007
10. 197611. No12. Yellow, white and blue
13. 100014. 5015. Apiphobia16. Manchester17. Straw/yellow18. Abdomen19. 18 million tons20. 3.921. 30422. £22523. Rotting meat24. 98 (99th year)25. Michael Caine26. Wax and saliva27. 628. 170029. 7530. 28g
CommitteePlease do not hesitate to get in touch with a memberof the committee if you have any questions, requests,suggestions. We are:
• Chair: Richard Glassborow, [email protected]• Treasurer: David Hankins, [email protected]• Secretary: Natalie Cotton, [email protected]• Education: Howard Nichols [email protected]• Membership: Aidan Slingsby, [email protected]• Resources: Tristram Sutton, [email protected]• Development: Simon Saville, [email protected]• Mentoring: Elliot Hodges, [email protected]• Events: Martin Hudson, [email protected]
Our website is http://www.lbka.org.uk/ and the pic-tures are in the same order as the names above.
15