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Yes this Saturday - the 11th is the day of the Dorset Beekeepers Convention at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester - and if you don't know it then it is right opposite the vehicle entrance to the Top of Town car park. There are still tickets available so get them while you can.Just follow this link here.

Also today I have added hive stands to the For Sale page. They are free courtesy of Nick Knight.

Two bits of news to let you know that are almost here:

Yellow Legged Hornet :Yes that is almost here - no I lie - it is here. In the last fortnight two Asian Hornets, whoops! I meant Yellow Legged Hornet, have been found in the Osmington Mills area. DEFRA are handling the sightings and have made it very clear that they do not require any help from local beekeepers apart from keeping eyes on traps and hives - something we do already I hope. I have not received an update for several days but I know that some of those involved in the sightings will be at the Convention on Saturday.

Convention: Yes the convention is almost upon us. It has taken a lot of setting up by Dorset Beekeepers and we are hoping for a good turn out on Saturday. Tickets have been selling steadily and personally I am looking forward to hearing from a variety of excellent speakers as well as meeting up with other beekeepers from across the county and beyond.
If you have not bought your ticket yet then there is still time. Just follow this link here.

When I wrote the title for this post I didn't realise how right I was.

A live Asian Hornet was captured in the Weymouth area.

It was captured on Sunday 28th September by a vigilant beekeeper whilst checking his hives. He used the App to notify DEFRA and they will be on site later today. Having done a preliminary sweep of the area we are hopeful that it is a solitary worker which came in on a cruise ship. Time will tell.

What we all need to do is check our traps and our hives regularly. One nest found and destroyed in the next couple of weeks means many queens not overwintering in Dorset.

Whilst you are checking your hives you could put straps round them. This weekend could be very windy - and if not this weekend then certainly there will be storms this autumn. If a cold wind blows your unstrapped hive over then the bees will be chilled and blown away.

If you have strapped your hives together and it is blown over then your bees may get a headache but you can lift them up and things are back to normal. You can get strap which are not rachet straps and they make no noise as you tighten them. Personally I use ratchet trap but I do make certain that the ratchet part I not touching the hive wall or roof as I tighten it.

On a separate issue time is running out for getting tickets for the Bee Convention to be held at the Dorford Centre in Dorchester on Saturday 11th October. Ticket are selling steadily and I suggest you get yours sooner rather than later - or not at all if you are too late. There is an excellent range of speakers and workshops. Personally I find one of the most enjoyable aspects of any such conference is meeting up with other beekeepers. Full details are here. You could take my word for it and  book. The URL for bookings is https://buytickets.at/northdorsetbka/1793471

Members rates can be reached by adding the discount code DBKAC2025 when making a booking.