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Published on Leave a comment on May – Asian Hornets Awake!

Been a busy time and a lot going on. What can we say of the weather - one moment it is warm and we put away our winter clothes and the queen starts to lay. Next it is cold and the winter clothes have to be got out and the workers do not want to go out. It is for this reason that the NBU have issued a starvation alert. Check your hives and if you suspect low stores then now is the time to give them some food. More details can be found on our Bee Info page and at the NBU site.

This was before we got started.

Last weekend was the Dorset Spring Show at Kingston Maurward. The picture above shows what it was like before the gates opened. The picture below shows what happened when the gates opened.

And this is what happened when the gates opened.

For a full report of what we did go to our new events page and link from there.

As the weather warms up - which surely it will - we must be ever more alert to the risk from an Asian Hornet invasion. At the moment the fertile queens will be emerging from hibernation. They are making a small nest in sheltered locations like a shed roof. Check all your sheds.

The queen will be laying eggs and seeking food for the larvae that hatch. Her need is for carbohydrate so any bait stations or traps should have sweet bait. There are many suggestions on the web but basically anything sweet smelling and full of sugar will do. The French recipes often include a sweet liqueur such as Cointreau. I leave it up to you to decide.

If we can catch one queen now then we might be prevent up to 350 fertile queens going into next winter.

There is an excellent video from the BBKA at YouTube.

Finally a reminder that there is a DWBKA Social at the Colliton Club on Wednesday 8th May at the Colliton Club in Dorchester. The socials consist of beekeepers sitting around chatting about whatever is on their mind. Usually the chat is about bees but not always. It is an ideal chance to find out how local beekeepers are faring in this up and down weather. I hope to see you there.

Published on Leave a comment on New Year

It is another New Year and this one has certainly blown in with a vengeance. So any plans or resolutions for the New Year? I certainly have plans:

  • Firstly I am going up the garden to check that the hive is still upright. I have recently moved and now have a garden big enough for a hive at the far end. In fact we may even put two hives up there but that is still under negotiation.
  • Whilst checking the hive I will also "heft" it. For those new to beekeeping "to heft" is to lift one side of the hive and assess its weight. If you do this regularly through the winter you can get some idea of the stores available for the bees.
  • But the weather is too wet and too windy for anything else out doors so this is a time to learn more about bees. For me part of the fascination of keeping bees is to understand more about them - particularly the organisation of the colony.
  • Later this week the weather is expected to dry up but become colder. That is when I will get out to the shed and see what repairs need to be done to equipment. What better way of keeping warm outside than scorching the inside of hives!
  • Prepare for the possible incursion of Asian Hornets. 2023 was a close call but hopefully we caught it in time Each nest which we destroyed can produce 350 gynes - that is females that can go on to produce a new nest next in the Spring. Did we find all the nests? Did we destroy all the gynes? Time will tell.
  • As part of my preparation for the Asian Hornet I will be attending the Asian Hornet Conference organised by Somerset Beekeepers this weekend. I will report back on that next week.
  • Also don't forget YouTube. I used to think it was just videos of teenagers falling of skate boards but in fact there is so much more. I am currently working through the Honey Show videos to be found at (221) National Honey Show - YouTube. They are well worth watching.
  • If this interests you then why not join the Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers and go on their Beginners' Course. Even if you never want to keep bees it is well worth attending to increase your knowledge of the natural world.

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