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Not a day to be out in the apiary. By this time of year your hive should be well protected against all that the winter may throw at it. Have you:

• Hefted your hive to check for stores
• Removed any varroa treatment - many only work when it is warm.
• Lashed your hive together so that if it falls over it can be picked up easily
• Placed a large concrete block on the roof to prevent it being blown over
• Browsed our "For Sale"page - I have added more items today.
• Browsed the supplier catalogues with ideas for Xmas presents for you.
• Looked at the BBKA reading list for exams for reading suggestions
• Looked at the BBKA exams and see what you might like to tackle next year
• Looked at the BeeInfo pages on this site to brush up your knowledge

Just a few reminders of upcoming events and happenings.

Christmas Social: This will be at the Colliton Club in Dorchester on Monday 2^nd December 7.00pm - 9.00pm. We will be having a light-hearted Quiz and partaking of sausage & chips (vegetarian options available).

Membership: That is due for renewal if you have not already done so.

January Social: This will be 22nd January at 7:00 at the Colliton Club. Always a good chance to meet beekeepers and discuss all sorts of things - even beekeeping.

BeeInfo: I have been adding new pages to the BeeInfo area of the website and the front end menu was becoming more difficult to navigate. I have now changed it for a collapsible menu. Just click on a triangle to unfold that section of the menu then click on the underlined page to get to the information. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I am open to suggestions.

Beginners: If you are interested in bees - and that includes those thinking of keeping bees as well as those who simply want to know more of nature - then there is a Beginners' course being held in Dorchester in March. There are more details here. As a build up to this I am adding some pages for beginners on the BeeInfo section of the website. Those attending the course will not only get an excellent grounding in what is involved in keeping bees but will also get several opportunities to look in a hive and handle bees.

Honey Adulteration: An excellent article in the Guardian the other day. Have a read here.

Feedback: Any suggestions as to how we could improve this site then contact me, Stephen, the webmaster.

"Drones have grandfathers but not fathers!" - this was my parting shot at a recent talk I did on the peculiarities of bees.

I had explained that drones are males and come from unfertilised eggs and that workers are female and come from fertilised eggs. There were several puzzled looks in the audience but several saw how that works.

That was not good enough for me and I have added a page to the BeeInfo section of the site which explains it more clearly. The page is here.

This is the time of year when bees should be quiet - though mine are still very busy bringing in pollen. Since there is less to do in the apiary I am doing more reading about bees. This means that I am producing more pages for BeeInfo. I have added a page on what is meant by "eusocial".

Have a look at the page on eusocial bees and if this is of interest to you then do remember we are running a course in the spring on Bee Behaviour in the spring. We are also running the Beginners' Course. Both of these are popular topics and early booking is a good idea.

For both of these courses contact our secretary Sally at: dwbkasecretary@gmail.com

And for those of you who have not renewed your membership - now is the time to do so.

Also I have just added a page on the Wax Moth. Well worth reading before you store your spare frames over winter.