Newsletter July-August 2007

Shropshire Beekeepers' Association

Newsletter : July/August 2007

1. Editor's Notes

The reporting of the plight of honeybees in the United States continues strongly. Only in the last week a full-page article in the Guardian re-told the story we have now become familiar with. As yet, however, a definitive reason for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has yet to be found, despite intensive research by Universities and other specialised groups. Although there have been some concerns that we may be experiencing a similar problem here, the latest analysis of the situation in the UK has concluded that although colony losses over the recent winter/spring were slightly higher than normal, they were still well within the range to be expected. Our regional Bee Inspector, Dave Sutton, spoke to Ludlow beekeepers recently on this theme and suggested that unanticipated losses may have happened as follows:

Without realising it, most of us have resistant varroa mites in our colonies, so that the treatments which many of us have been using weren’t very effective.

The exceptionally warm winter caused many of the young workers which had emerged in the late summer and early autumn, together with the older bees, to continue flying and working hard, whereas normally they should have been resting quietly on the combs, conserving their energies for the early spring build-up of brood.

Having exhausted themselves, they simply ‘ran out of steam’ and were steadily dying, just when they were needed to collect pollen and feed the new developing larvae and young bees.

Once the colony succumbs to declining numbers, beyond an optimum point at which to remain viable, it appears to give in. Eventually all the remaining workers either exhausted or debilitated by viruses which have come in on the back of varroa — decamp over a period of half an hour or so.

The result is that when the beekeeper (who failed to see the workers leaving) next looks at the colony, often all that is found is a queen and a few remaining workers.

Whatever may have happened, the ongoing message is to be vigilant about the known dangers to our bees, especially varroa and the foulbrood diseases.

2. Apiary Meetings

The June meeting, like so many recently, was effectively a ‘wash-out’. Heavy rain early in the day persuaded a number of members that it was unlikely to take place, so only two bravely turned up (congratulations to them!) We decided that it was not worth proceeding but had an interesting talk on bee related matters instead. The next meeting is back at the Radbrook Apiary on 14th July at 2.30 p.m. Let us hope for better weather by then.

3. Shrewsbury Flower Show - URGENT

The Flower Show is getting closer! An advance notice was posted in the April edition of this Newsletter, asking all those who were interested in making their honey available for tasting and/or selling to get in touch with Ray Green by 7th. July. At last week’s Committee meeting Ray reported that no-one had yet contacted him about this. The note went on:

“So that everyone is given a fair opportunity to offer honey for this stand, there will be a cap on the amount that each individual can supply. This level has yet to be decided along with the selling price, although the latter may be based on £4.50 per lb.. A deduction will be made from the selling price to help with the costs of staging the Show. Each supplier is expected to help steward the Bees, Honey & Wine Section at some time over the two days.”
So, if you would like to offer honey or have any questions, please contact Ray immediately. Tel: 01743 465079; email: berwickbees@connectfree.co.uk

DO IT NOW

4. Queenlessness

By Len Dixon, in Reigate Division Beenews (Courtesy BEES)

One of the most commonly asked questions particularly round about June/July, relates to queenlessness, principally in the form of ‘What should I do?’ My reply is usually ’Nothing.’ The reason is that they may not be queenless at all. So before too many people ask the question again, let’s have a quick look at the problem.

The normal reason for queenlessness about now is the result of natural re-queening (swarming to the likes of you or me). Otherwise, queenlessness arises because a queen gets lost during a mating flight (which rarely happens) or meets some other accident (which probably means something silly done by the beekeeper, like checking a colony too soon after a virgin queen might have emerged). But more often than not, I believe the queen is there all the time - except she’s just not laying.

There are several reasons for this. First, it might simply be a case of impatience on the part of the beekeeper. New queens frequently don’t start laying straight away. Once emerged, they require a few days to mature before their subjects decide enough is enough, and pack them off on mating flights. Once mated, it can take some time before a new queen begins to lay, so often, what anxious beekeepers describe as queenlessness is nothing more than a delay in the commencement of egg laying.

That’s why I suggest that no action should be taken, at least in the short term. Wait for at least a week to see what happens. Then, before tearing the colony apart, watch the front of the hive to see what is going on, and whether pollen is being brought in. If it is, then all is probably likely to be well.

A second good sign is shiny cells in the brood area. If you see these when checking for a new queen, then it pretty certain she’s there; the bees are preparing cells for her to lay in. Note the bees’ behaviour, too. If they are comparatively calm and quiet, you can be pretty sure they aren’t queenless. There’s no guarantee, though, because there may be other problems, which I will touch on in a moment.

If there seems to be undue delay in the commencement of egg laying, before anything else, try inserting a frame of eggs and very young larvae into the centre of the brood area, and leave them for three or four days. If a colony is queenless, they will fairly quickly begin to correct the situation by building queen cells. Frequently, when checking the result, one finds that the new queen has begun to lay; the new eggs seem to provide the necessary urge to get her going. If there are indeed queen cells, you were right, they were queenless. Allow a chosen one to develop.

Some people try to solve swarming simply by removing queen cells. This is likely to result in disaster. If bees are going to swarm, this won’t stop them. They are likely to get so frustrated, that they’ll go even if a queen cell isn’t sealed. So if all cells are continually destroyed when a colony is checked, queenlessness is an almost certainty. And I’m afraid people still try it.

Of course, actual queenlessness isn’t the only problem. Sometimes, for one reason or another (long spells of bad weather is a common one), a queen is not fertilised properly or sufficiently. This shows itself either immediately or even after a considerable delay, depending on how serious the problem is, and results in either all-drone brood, or a mixture of drone and worker brood in the worker brood area. Sometimes the bees will correct this by requeening themselves. Often, though, the colony dwindles, and if it is to be saved, the beekeeper needs to help. The faulty queen is first removed, then a frame of eggs from a good colony inserted to allow them to requeen themselves.

One of the most serious problems is laying workers. This happens after a colony has been queenless for some time. The lack of queen pheromone no longer prevents workers’ ovaries from developing, and several workers begin to lay. Any eggs that hatch and develop will be drones. The most obvious signs are multiple eggs, often many, in each cell, scattered throughout the brood area. A drone-laying queen usually keeps to a reasonable pattern; laying workers don’t, laying quite randomly. This really is a problem, because it is unlikely that the colony would accept a new queen even if introduced, and it’s not possible to find and despatch the offending workers! Essentially, the colony is doomed. To save the bees, if that’s what one wishes to do, empty the colony out in front of a larger one, and let those that can merge with it (providing, of course, you are sure that’s all that is wrong with it).

So, if you think they’re queenless, remember patience is a virtue.

5. Did You Know?

In medieval times, static electric shocks were thought to be stings from invisible bees. Invisible bee honey was a highly prized commodity.

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