Can you spare a couple of hours acting as Steward during the Shrewsbury Flower Show on either Friday 13th or Saturday 14th of August? You do not have to be an exhibitor or even to have kept bees for years and years, just enthusiasm for your craft and the desire to tell other people about it. There will be 'very old' beekeepers on hand if you do get posed a very difficult question! (usually by a child)

If you have never done it before why not give it a go? To stand by an observation hive and watch the look on the faces of children as they try to find the queen is priceless! Stewards are also wanted for the static displays. Several new faces are also required for the Stewards Tea Tent (it's thirsty work being a Steward!) and Maxie Sinclair would welcome any help in that quarter. The Marquee closes at 9.00pm on the Friday night and 6.00pm on the Saturday night so if you are staying to see the fireworks perhaps you would consider stewarding for the last couple of hours? We will provide all stewards with entry tickets for the show.

If you require more information or would like to volunteer please phone/write/ or e-mail to: Graham Roberson, Ty Ger-y-nant, Trewern, Powys. SY21 8DU Tel: 01938 570130 e-mail: trewern@tiscali.co.uk

4.      Chalkbrood by Alan Stonell

While doing the spring-cleaning with my colonies I notice that a number of them are suffering with chalkbrood, some more than others. It is not unusual to find this in our hives and what we see is the infected brood, called ‘mummies’ which when removed from the comb, appear to be solid clumps, reminiscent of chalk pieces. Some colonies are better at cleaning them out than others. Chalkbrood is a fungal disease. Growth of the causative organism, Ascophaera apis, appears to be enhanced by a number of factors, including high moisture content (colonies not well ventilated in high humidity situations), cool temperatures and colony stress.

There is no recommended chemical treatment for chalkbrood*; often symptoms seem to clear up by themselves. Good hygienic behaviour by a colony, that is, quick removal of the mummies, appears to aid in clearing up the symptoms. Although it remains an enigma, some generalizations are in order concerning chalkbrood:

1. It occurs mostly in colonies expanding during the summer.
2. It rarely kills a colony, but will weaken it, leading to a reduction in honey surplus.
3. It is promoted by certain conditions; dampness, susceptibility of bee stock, inadequate nutrition, other diseases or conditions (queenlessness, laying workers, chilled brood).
4. It is spread mainly by beekeepers.
5. It appears that re-queening with resistant bee stock is the most likely way to clear up the symptoms.

5.     English Cedar

The following item was seen in Ludlow BKA’s May Newsletter. The observations were prompted by seeing a new hive described as being made with English Cedar wood. (Reprinted courtesy of eBEES)

The name cedar is used for a number of trees whose timber usually has a pleasant scent resembling somewhat, that of the ‘true’ cedars. The word cedar is really a ‘common’ name and, like such names in plant nomenclature can be rather misleading. There isn’t an English Cedar - that is, a species indigenous to England. There are, however, numerous cedars growing here - all introduced.

The tree cedars belong to the genus Cedrus - they have common names too, viz:

• Himalayan or Deodar - Cedrus deodara
• Atlas Cedar - Cedrus atlantica*
• Cedar of Lebanon - Cedrus libani*

6.     Bait Hives

Many of our newly joined members are first-time beekeepers who are not yet in possession of bees. Given the current cost of a 5-frame nucleus (anything up to £150) you might like to be ready for the possibility of picking up a passing swarm. The way to do this is to set up a ‘bait-hive’, which may tempt some bees looking for a new home to come their way.

When a colony is preparing to swarm, scout bees will be out looking for a good looking billet – that is, one that looks, feels and smells right to them. The ideal quality of such a home is it should be big enough for both the bees and for the food they will need to store for survival, such as a typical broodbox.

It will be even more tempting if it has previously contained bees – the lingering odours of honey and wax will be an extra incentive for them to choose your offering, especially if you can also furnish it with two or three old combs (in reasonable condition). Of course, you may have no choice but to use a new hive and some foundation if that is all you have, but the ‘second-hand’ stock will usually have the edge for this particular purpose.

Find a cool spot for the hive to wait in. Many beekeepers recommend positioning it as high up as you can manage (e.g. 2 – 3 metres above ground). It is true that scouting bees can often be seen inspecting possible residences at or above head level (chimney pots are a favourite) but personally I have not found that to be necessary.

Check your hive regularly (you will soon see if bees have arrived by the activity at the entrance). If you are lucky enough to lure a swarm then exchange the old comb for new foundation and, after about three days, put on a feeder with 1 weak (1:1) sugar solution. A good swarm is a comb-drawing ‘machine’ and within a week or so will have made astonishing progress in making your hive fit to live in.

At this point you may already find eggs being laid and then you must be ready to add further combs as the colony expands up to its full size. On the other hand you may have collected a ‘cast’ with a virgin queen. In this case you will have to wait longer while she mates with your local drones (there will be some waiting you can be sure) and then comes into lay in your hive. Be patient and keep to a weekly inspection pattern. Too much intrusion , especially with a virgin queen, can put them off the whole enterprise. Good luck!

7.      Arctic Honey - It's Tough Up North by Joe Collins

If you think we have had a hard winter, then think again. Imagine if it was continuously dark for three months of the year and the majority of precipitation fell as snow.

Not exactly ideal conditions for beekeeping perhaps, but these are exactly the conditions that Siss Heidi Hansen experiences - she is the worlds Northernmost beekeeper. Siss Heidi lives on the island of Rolvsøy in Northern Norway. At 71° North, the only land between Rolvsøy and the North Pole is Spitzbergen. Both Murmansk and Iceland are South of this apiary at the edge of Europe. And yet Siss Heidi says her bees do very well and she has no complaints. Despite the Northern latitude the Gulf Stream keeps the island warm so that last winter the temperature only fell to -15°C. This is not as bad as you might expect, farther inland the temperature can easily fall to -30°C. The flip side of a long dark winter is a truly excellent summer, when the bees (and the people) don’t ever seem to sleep. From May to July the sun doesn’t set and in mid summer the temperature is over 20°C.

Keeping bees in the far north is a little different to keeping them in Shropshire. Siss Heidi has 6 hives which she keeps in an open sided shed to protect them from the strong sea breezes. She cannot protect the hives by putting them in woodland or behind a hedge because there are no trees on the island. Like many Norwegian beekeepers her hives are insulated Langstroths, on stands with a huge landing board that goes right down to the ground. You might think that vermin would use the landing board to get into the hive, but on Rolvsøy there are no mice or ants to attack the hives. Like us, here in Shropshire, there are also no worries about bears, which can be a problem elsewhere in Norway. Along with having no mice or bears to worry about, the beekeeping conditions on Rolvsøy remind us of happier times before varroa came to our shores. Varroa is present in the South of Norway but it has not yet made it this far North.

The bees themselves are relative Southerners coming from Trondheim over 600 miles to the South. Trondheim is at about the same latitude as Reykjavik, so the bees are already adapted to long dark winters and short intense summers. Even using locally adapted bees, it is not possible to leave the hives out over winter. During the dark winter months the hives are moved into a cellar, where the temperature is a consistent 3°C, to avoid the worst of the winter storms. Despite the short summer the hives can be productive, last year the honey harvest was around 35lbs per hive. The harvest isn’t guaranteed, in 2008 it rained continuously so there was no honey at all. The compensation is that arctic honey commands a high price. Siss Heidi sells her honey for a breath taking £50 per pound. About five times the usual price in Norway. Some years there is a harvest of cloudberry honey which flowers in the early spring. The cloudberry is considered a delicacy in Norway, so Siss Heidi has been able sell her cloudberry honey at even higher prices.

It might be tough up North but is not so bad for beekeepers

8.      Small Hive Beetle