Session 10 – Getting Started

Avis Marshall 6th March 2017

Bee flight

0.5 mg honey per Km

25 gm to orbit earth

Bees carry nectar (& pollen)

approx. 40 mg

~30,000 trips per pound of honey

Trip approx 30 mins

Phenomenal rate of collection

Nectar is collected by worker in her honey sac and brought back to hive

She regurgitates it and give it to a house bee

The house bee and forage bee mixes enzymes from the hypopharyngeal glands

The enzymes convert complex sugars into fructose and glucose and provide protection from fermentation

Water content reduced to about 18%

When converted into honey, packed in cell and capped

Colour of honey depends on sources of nectar

Honey will vary from year to year, season to season

Some honeys will crystallise quickly others will remain liquid for years

Spring flow from fruit trees, dandelions

Summer flow from lime, sweet chestnut, blackberry

Autumn flow, ivy

Possible to get 30 kgs of honey per hive in bad years drop to 15 kgs

Honey

Wax

Propolis

Pollen

Venom

Royal Jelly

Preparation

Sales

Regulations

Home or out apiary?

Liaise with your neighbours

Easy access

Away from another beekeeper’s apiary

Hidden from road, paths (& thieves)

Level ground Early sun & possible shade at

mid day Water nearby Plenty of room to work on the

hive Hives not in a regular pattern Safe flight path

British Beekeepers Association National Beekeeping Centre National Agricultural Centre Stoneleigh Park Kenilworth CV8 2LZ 02476 696679 National Bee Unit

FERA Sand Hutton York, YO4 1LZ 01904 462510

Appointed Bee Inspector

Brian McCallum

KBKA Membership Secretary

Marion Hall

Chairman KBKA Derek Jones

Treasurer

Ann Jones

Bee Base

www.nationalbeeunit.com

British Beekeepers Association

www.britishbeekeepers.org.uk

Somerset Beekeepers Association

www.somerset beekeepers.org.uk

Paynes Bee Farm

www.paynesbeefarm.co.uk

National Bee Unit

www.beebase.csl.gov.uk

Dave Cushman

EH Thorne Ltd Beehive Works Wragby Lincoln LN3 5LA 01673 858555 Sales at Windsor, online

BJ Sherriff Carckew Road Mylor Downs Falmouth TR11 5UN 01872 863304

Local Beekeeping Supplier Thorne at Windsor Epsom BKA Ewell

Maisemore Apiaries Ltd

OldRoad

Maisemore

Gloucestershire

GL2 8HT

01452 700289

C. Wynne Jones

Ty Brith

Pentre Celyn

LL14 2SR

01978 790279

Exmoor Beehives

Kemble Bees

BBKA Guide to Beekeeping – Davis & Cullum-Kenyon £15

Practical Beekeeping – Clive De Bruyn - £24.95

Guide to Bees and Honey- Ted Hooper - £12.99

Starting out with Bees – John Williams - £19.99

Teach Yourself Beekeeping – Adrian & Clare Waring - £9.99

Honey Bee Books – Celia Davis - £40 for two

BBKA News monthly - free for all association members

BeeCraft Beekeeping Magazine – monthly

www.bee-craft.com- £22.00 per annum

Member of BBKA – monthly magazine public liability insurance

Member of Surrey BKA – Surrey Bee Day Courses

KBKA – Training at apiary Saturday afternoons loan of extraction equipment sale of honey at shows

purchase of queens and nucs or swarms

Attend Spring Convention, National Honey Show

Join our local Association

Wait until you are sure you want to keep bees

Start with a nucleus in May/June

Obtain local bees from a reputable source

Do not start with a prime swarm

Obtain gentle bees rather than hard workers for the first year

Plan to have at least 2 hives in the second season

Read and learn – there is always something different in beekeeping

Nationals

14 x 12

WBC

Beehaus

Polyhive

Apimaye hive

Practice session

Hampton Court Apiary

22nd April 2017

2.00pm

Bring wellies and marigold gloves

Time to join and learn more

Every Saturday at Branch apiary 2.00 pm.

Beekeeping is Confidence and

Knowledge

Expensive hobby

Time consuming

Lower Langford

Walled Garden

Give one reason why a colony will swarm?

What are scout bees?

Does the old or new queen leave with a prime swarm?

Give one way a beekeeper can prevent swarming

How long should a swarm be left before feeding it?

Who owns a swarm?

Name a notifiable disease.

Why are woodpeckers a pest of honey bees?

What does IPM stand for?

What does pepper pot brood mean?

Name 2 adult bee diseases?

How would you determine if a colony needed to be treated for varroa?

Identify two varroa treatments and the time of year they would be used.

Your name

Number of years

Qualifications

Location

Number of colonies