Dorchester and Weymouth Bee Keepers Association

This is a busy time for beekeepers so why not take a break and visit us at the Dorset Spring Show in Puddletown on the 9th or 10th of may. We will be there noth days though you only need be there for one!

We will be talking about bees and how we look after them. There will also be an opportunity to roll a candle. Who knows what else we might be demonstrating. We were there last year and it is a most enjoyable show with lots going on.

If you miss that one then the following week on Saturday 16^th May  we'll be on Weymouth seafront for the Weymouth Community Expo event, talking to the public about the Yellow legged Hornet and how to find them.

There has also been a lot of interest in our For Sale page and I am pleased to say a National Hive went from there in less than a week.  I have added some more stuff and expect there will be even more added and sold in the next few days.

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.