Dorchester and Weymouth Bee Keepers Association

New goodies on the For Sale page. Do have a look after you have read this post.

Last Thursday we had at least three swarm collection requests in Weymouth. All were dealt with by some of our most experienced bee keepers.

Collecting swarms is an important activity. The swarm holder is keen to get rid of a swarm which they may feel is a threat to every other living thing within several miles! The swarm collector is keen to obtain another colony.

It is also an ideal opportunity to educate the public. Once you have smoothly got most of the swarm into your skep you have time to educate Joe or Josephine Public about bees. In many cases this may be the only time they meet a beekeeper so make maximum use of the time.

The swarm I collected last week was, as ever, just out of reach up a tree and just as I described in a recent lecture. I was up a ladder which did not quite reach and I had to lean out with skep in one hand and then let go of the ladder so that I could use the other hand to knock the branch. Why is it always so awkward. Not only that but whilst I was up the ladder my phone rang. Needless to say it was not in my bee suit pocket but in my jeans pocket. That was exactly what I had told the beginners not to do!

The bees are now housed in a hive in the garden. They are the smallest bees I have ever seen! The only explanation I can come up with is that they are from a hive that has been chronically neglected. The worker bees clean out the cells from which adult bees have emerged but they cannot clean them completely. Over several brood cycles these cells fill up with discarded moults and pupa cases and the next occupant has less space to grow into so we end up with small bees. This is not good for the colony as a small bee cannot travel as far and cannot carry such a load of pollen, nectar or water.

Hopefully after a complete brood cycle I will see bigger bees emerge - I will let you know.

Meanwhile do check out the For Sale page where there are new adverts for a National Hive and a nucleus the a Buckfast Queen. Just what the enthusiastic beginner needs.

On Saturday 14th March at the Colliton Club in Dorchester we will be holding the AGM. This is an important meeting since we will be electing officers to manage the association over the next year. If you don't like the way we are doing things then this is an opportunity to tell us. It is also an opportunity to thank us if you do like what we are doing.

Then there is the capitation which we all pay from our membership to Dorset Beekeepers. This year we are asking to put this up from next October. You may well ask why - and I will tell you. The Yellow Legged Hornet has been found in the county and we are now on the front line to prevent it getting a hold in this area. Fighting invasions costs money.

Well that was a very brief summary of the AGM but you deserve more - and more you are being offered. Before the business of the AGM there will be a presentation on the Yellow Legged Hornet and what we are doing about it. Hopefully the presentation will include examples of some of the newer traps and detection methods that are being developed. It promises to be an informative session.

If that is not enough to encourage you to turn out for the AGM perhaps the offer of a cake break between the presentation and the business part will tempt you.

We do hope to see you on the 14th March at 2:30pm at the Colliton Club Dorchester.

Normally the warmer weather is a sign of hope that soon the bees will be doing what we want the bees to do. This year is different.

As soon as the temperature gets above about 13C for several days hibernating Yellow Legged Hornets (previously known as the Asian Hornet) will awake.

Last autumn we had nests of Yellow Legged Hornets destroyed in Dorset. Almost certainly fertile queens had already left the nest and found a place to hibernate. Now they will be coming out of hibernation ready to create a new nest.

It is important that we are alert to this problem. We must be prepared to give time to eradicating this invasion before it can become established. I know that as the bees become active we are all very busy checking our hives but if we don't get on top of the Yellow Legged Hornet invasion we will have much more spare time as we may only have empty hives to check! You have been warned.

On a lighter note have a look at the BBC 1 Asia series1:4 Tangled Worlds. The programme is well worth watching but of particular interest is the section from 40 minutes to 46 minutes which shows the Yellow Legged Hornet at work. It is not quite the same as ours since it has more yellow bands but its modus operandi is the same. All I can say is bring on the Honey Buzzards. If you want to know why then you will have to watch the programme.