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This splendid specimen was on my shed door this morning, warming itself in the sun. So what has that got to do with Asian Hornets you may well ask.

If the weather is warm enough for butterflies to emerge then it is warm enough for Asian Hornet Queens to emerge.

For those who have not heard the Asian Hornet Queen will hibernate on her own and when it is warm enough then she will emerge and seek a sheltered location to build a nest such as the roof of your shed.

This nest will be the size of a golf ball.

In this nest she will lay eggs which she will then nurture and eventually a full colony could form.

Every queen we can trap in the spring could mean several hundred queens we do not have to trap next spring. So let us get trapping.

If you have a trap then use it. If not then the BBKA have instructions on how to make one.

For bait you could use a commercial bait but it is expensive and at the moment very difficult to get hold of. The Asian Hornet Queen is hungry and needs carbohydrate so some combination of fruit juice, dark beer and cider vinegar is a good choice.

Put your bait in the trap and wait. check the trap at least daily. We do not want to be killing European Hornets.

Remember each queen we catch this year could be 400 fewer nests next year.

Sitting here with the rain drumming on the window it is difficult to think ahead to an active beekeeping season - but that is what we must do.

The first event which you need to know about is the Asian Hornet Workshop to be held at the Sunninghill Community Hall, Culliford Road in Dorchester. The event is on this Sunday the 18th February from 2:00pm to 5:00pm and includes:

• Update on the Asian Hornet situation in the County from Mark White
• Tea and Cakes
• Talk by Pollenize on using AI for Asian Hornet detection.
• There will be local and regional experts there with an opportunity for questions.

We were hoping to give out some Trappit but at the moment it is impossible to get hold of. There will be recipes for making your own.

Also next week we are starting the Beginners Course for aspiring beekeepers - or those just interested in beekeeping. Full details are avaialble on this web site.

For those of you who are just thinking about becoming beekeepers I can highly recommend the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers Beginners Course starting in February. But then of course I would recommend it as I am one of the speakers! It is a course we have run before and feedback has always been good.

For those looking for something else then there is the Somerset Annual Lecture Day. There will be a packed programme of talks, workshops and a trade hall aimed at beekeepers at all levels.

The programme at present includes:

Lectures:

Beekeeping techniques for the better beekeeper: Gerry Collins NDB
Understanding the evolution of natural Varroa-tolerance mechanisms in various beekeeping populations: Professor Stephen Martin
Catch it if you can! Gerry Collins NDB
Bees and how we care for them - translating bee research into real world conservation: Professor Juliet Osborne

Workshops: - choose one workshop in the morning and one in the afternoon.

a Microscopy: Bridget Knutson
b How to keep bees in poor weather - and survive: Geoff Blay
c Morning only! Beekeeping with Asian hornets: Richard Noel - Brittany beefarmer
c Afternoon only! Making Asian hornet traps: Colin Lodge
d Morning only! Integrated Pest Management Meghan Seymour, SW Bee Inspector & team
d Afternoon only! What is most likely to kill my bees apart from Asian Hornets? Meghan Seymour, SW Bee Inspector & team
You need to have purchased a ticket to attend the workshops;

Then there is the BBKA Beekeepers Convention. This will be held in Shropshire from April 12th to 14th. This is always a well attended show - well it is organised by beekeepers for beekeepers. There is a very full programme of events - far too many for me to describe here. Why not head over to the BBKA site and find out more. All of the lectures are popular - but some are fully booked sooner than others - so better get your bookings in as soon as they open at noon on Monday January 29th - that is next Monday.

Well I hope that gives you a good range of possible places to go to find out more about beekeeping.