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Can you tell what you are looking at above?

Come to the talk on Thursday 17th February at 19:30 at the Colliton Club we have a talk by Kevin Pope- Seasonal bee Inspector – on what he found last year. This is an event not to be missed if you want to know what we need to look for this year.

And if you are not sure what the photos are then you should definitely be at the talk.

And the wind? Thursday is the quiet before the storm – quite literally. If your hives are not strapped down then now is the time to do it. We are expecting winds of up to 70mph – the worst for many years.

If your hive is strapped together and blows over then on Saturday all you have to do is lift it back onto its stand and apologise to the bees!

And finally search on Google for “BeeInfo” – all one word. There I am building up a site of much that I know about bees. The URL is https://dorsetbka.com/BeeInfo/

Today I have received information that one of the local beekeepers is no longer going to keep bees. This is always a sad day but hopefully the bees and the equipment will soon find a new home. I have put a list of the available items on the For Sale page. Bill would prefer to sell them as a single lot but I am sure he would be open to offers.

Reminder of dates for your diary:

Beginners Course starts on Tuesday 8th Feb 7.00pm at the Colliton Club and for further 5 consecutive sessions, last session Tuesday 15 March.

Kevin’s Talk now on Thursday 17th February 7.30pm at the Colliton Club

Hive Manipulation Sessions on Saturday 12 March 10.00 – 4.00pm at Sunninghill School Hall

BeeInfo

Work on the BeeInfo pages is moving ahead steadily. Do check them out at dorsetbka.com/BeeInfo

This is a new venture and still in its early stages but I would appreciate any feedback, positive or negative, at dorsetbkaweb@gmail.com.

There does seem to be a possibility that life is returning to normal and once again we can gather round the open hive and admire the work of our bees. Thus I have more confidence in adding some dates to the diary:

January

Tuesday 18th January BIBBA are doing a Webinar on Wax Production and replacing old comb. They also have on their site an interesting article on the reason we should not be importing bees. It is worth a read and gives you extra ammunition if you meet someone who wants to buy foreign bees so they can get going more quickly.

Saturday 22nd January Central Division of Somerset BKA are doing a talk to bring us up to speed on the Asian Hornet. Last year was quiet but only yesterday I received an alert about a suspect nest in the in Dorset. If you are interested in the Somerset talk then details are here. It is to be held at Oakhill Village Hall BA3 5AN.

February

17th – Thursday – Kevin Pope to give a talk at the Colliton Club on what he found as a Bee Inspector in 2021.

March

Nothing as yet but I am sure things will happen

April

8th, 9th and 10th is the Beekeeping Convention in Newport, Shropshire. Details are available on the BBKA website with a full programme to be published this month.

Other

If you are still wanting more lectures then the BBKA site has recordings of previous lectures. You can also find a lot of useful lectures on YouTube. National Honey Show has their own channel and my favourite must be the Norfolk Honey Company channel on You Tube. Another channel worth a look is “Inside the Hive TV“. It is American based but is well produced and has much of interest to UK bee keepers.

There is more information appearing on the BeeInfo pages.

Well the wind has died down – if not gone away and having checked that your hives today you may wish to have a break this evening. In which case there is the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers Association Xmas social tonight the 8th of December at the Colliton Club in Dorchester from 7pm or thereabouts.

What is more there are more goodies for sale on the For Sale page. Have a look.

Well that was a stormy weekend and where I was it was deep snow as well. It may not be the nicest weather but it would be an idea to check that your hives have not been blown over or hit by a falling tree. if you have strapped your hive then all it should need is to be lifted back onto its stand. That should take two of you if the hive has plenty of stores.

On a separate note I have added some interesting nativity figures in Bees Wax which are for sale. They would certainly make an interesting bee based addition to your Christmas decorations. Check them out on the For Sale page.