Newsletter of the Beekeepers Association of the ACT Incorporated

Newsletter Web address: www.bindaree.com.au/newsletter.htm

Meetings of the Beekeepers Association of the ACT Inc are held on the second

Wednesday of the month at 7.30 pm at the CIT, Heysen Street, Weston in Building A

April 2001

April Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 12th April at 7.30pm, at CIT Weston. There will be a discussion about autumn shutdown methods and a chance to comment on our proposed program for activities for the year.

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Association was held on 14th February and a new committee was elected.

President	David Lillis	6297 5202 or 0413 426 290
Vice President	Robert Gardiner	6231 0383
Secretary	Mark Hosking	6257 4777
Treasurer	Graham Turner	6251 9422
Newsletter	Lyn Shiels	6286 2421
Public Officer	Derek Butler	6286 5377
Librarian	Dick Johnston	6281 2111
Committee	Roy Bray	6258 3433
	David Gowty
	Lyn Shiels

President’s Report

Another AGM has passed and thanks to everyone who attended. Apart from two new faces, the committee has stayed the same as last year. My appreciation to all those who are standing again and a big welcome to Rob Gardiner and Lyn Shiels. Rob for taking on the Vice President’s position and Lyn as Newsletter Editor.

The committee is already busy putting together the yearly planner, more on that later.

Welcome to new member, Carol Sloan, who joined the association after coming to the AGM. I hope we can all be helpful to you.

David Lillis

Canberra Show Judges’ Report

The judges and stewards were gratified by the enormous improvement in the presentation standards of exhibits in the second year of participation in the show. Official ribbons for class winners and overall best exhibitor were presented, and elicited delighted responses from both recipients and spectators. Entries were received in more categories this year, and virtually all were of exhibition standard. We hope to see an extension next year into even more categories, including

*Comb honey on the frame

*Chunk honey

*Wax and wax products

*Mead

COMPETING:

• Differentiation of Competition and Commercial Production Techniques

Many potential exhibitors were inhibited from entering this year due to the poor season, and general lateness of harvest. We plan to develop workshops encouraging members to think "micro" rather than "macro" when showing – ie you do not need large quantities of honey to produce a perfect jar for showing, so need not be ruled by seasonal restrictions. Nor does the exhibit need to be from the current season’s crop. What you do need is attention to fine detail in relation to the scoring criteria (Flavour, Aroma, Density, Clarity, and Presentation).

• Entry Criteria

We are confident that entrants are sufficiently knowledgeable for the judges to apply national level rigour in standards, and next year we plan to exclude entries that do not reach the minimum entry standards.

• Specific Areas for Improvement

1. Clarity

This is now the area in which improvement is most needed. All clear honey exhibits this year displayed cloudiness and/or air bubbles. We plan to research filtering techniques, and to hold workshops on this topic. We would be grateful for any advice members could give on what they find most effective when filtering, bearing in mind that the less the honey is worked, the better the aroma and flavour of the end product.

2. Flavour

We noticed some exhibits displayed "burnt" or "toffee" characteristics, consistent with heating, and suggest that for show purposes the use of a hot knife may not be advisable. Though fiddly, cold puncturing, crushing and decapping might be preferable for the small quantities needed for showing. Some exhibits appeared affected by the flavour of immature honey from unsealed cells.

We suggest that, for the fullest, most palatable flavour, uncapped cells should be discarded before extracting for show purposes.

3. Cooking

Encouraged by the quality of entries in this class this year, we propose to offer three subdivisions of the class next year ie Confectionery, Baking and Preserves. As well, we plan to present these three subdivisions at Open and School Students levels.

4. Scoring Criteria

Fine tuning of the criteria for classes was suggested. Members will be offered details in future workshops.

GENERAL AND EDUCATIONAL

• Training of judges and stewards

We estimate that two more stewards and one more judge would increase the efficiency of the judging, especially if exhibit numbers continue to increase next year.

• Judging Kit

Provision of a judging kit by the ACT Beekeepers’ Association would be helpful in training judges and stewards, as well as ensuring that essential tools are reliably available at the show itself.

• Show Convener

A working group of judges and stewards was proposed, to plan for next year’s show, and to provide ongoing updates on progress via a regular bulletin column.

• Equipment

We brainstormed a few ideas for sales that the Association might consider for next year’s show, including: badges, showbags, miniature honey samples, honey straws and promotional literature. We would also like to pick member’s brains about how to make simple display packs for showing frame honey.

• Demonstration Judging

It was suggested that demonstrations of judging, with amplified comments, would be a useful new venture.

More ideas from members would be welcome!

Robert and Margaret Gardiner (Judges)

Tentative Program for 2001

Date	Topic	Speaker/Organiser
11th April	Autumn	Derek Butler
25th April	Picnic/ Orchard Visit/ Mini hive Crawl	Derek Butler
9th May	Bee Research into Robotic Flight	Dr Srinivasan ANU
13th June	Gadgets and Equipment
11th July	Dinner	Rob Gardiner
8th Aug	Spring Management	TBA
12th Sept	Flora	TBA
10th Oct	Excursion to CSIRO, Snakes or other	Roy Bray
14th Nov	Show Planning and Honey Tasting	David Gowty
12th Dec	Christmas Function
Feb 2002	Video Night and Show Plans
Mar 2002	AGM, Show Report and Autumn Management

 

There are opportunities for more weekend activities if members would like to have them. It was also suggested that we should endeavour to complete routine business before 8:00pm in order to concentrate on our speakers or activities. A return of the question and problem forum was also seen as desirable. Members with any ideas for small or large segments to add interest to our meetings are invited to bring their ideas to the next meeting or contact any Committee member or write a Letter to the Editor.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Empty Super Award

The Case of the Wandering Queen

Last weekend Pat and Lyn Shiels went to Forrest to collect a feral hive located about five metres above a driveway to commercial premises. They were hoping to collect the hive intact because it was ideal for display. Pat courageously climbed the ladder and carefully cut the smaller branches supporting the hive.

Just as he reached out to grasp the final support and cut it the branch in question decided it had had enough and broke sending the hive crashing to the ground. They picked up the pieces and arranged them neatly in the box and sat back to wait for the bees to settle. No such luck. Twenty minutes later there was no noticeable diminishing of activity. Eventually a small group of bees were noticed gathering on the ground under a shrub. Investigation revealed Her Majesty among them. Scooped into an ice cream carton and carried in the direction of the hive she once again took flight. Another long wait and there she was again, this time sitting alone in the middle of the driveway where the frustrated beekeepers had been trekking back and forth. Another scoop and trip towards the hive. Another break for freedom. By this time Lyn was threatening immediate annihilation on the next sighting.

After another wait it became apparent that the bees were at last beginning to settle so it was assumed that HM had heard the threats and decided to go home before the murderous one spotted her.

The Case of the Government Benefactor

Cec Mercer had a hive which he suspected was infected with either AFB or EFB. He collected material and sent it off to the lab for a test to determine the fate of the hive. In due course he received an invoice for some $40 from the lab. Being both honest and efficient Cec sent off his cheque quickly. What a pity he didn’t study the invoice more carefully, especially the bit where it says that the fee is paid by NSW Department of Agriculture. We think this is our only chance to get Cec for an Empty Super as he doesn’t make regular mistakes like the rest of us.

Freebies

Just before Christmas I dropped off some hives at Steritech in Sydney to be gamma radiated. As I was short of hive straps I just used one per hive pulled up tight to hold the boxes together.

When I returned a week later my hives were outside waiting for me. Unfortunately, however, the forklift had pushed one open and robber bees were coming and going. I quickly straightened things up and bundled them into my trailer before heading back to Canberra.

The next day, on closer examination, I noticed some eggs in one frame and also spotted a queen. A few months on and the bees are healthy and working well.

David Lillis

Hi-Tech Bees

Recently I had an interesting experience whilst checking my hives at Hall. These bees on a nice day can still be cranky. In the course of getting organised I hooked my mobile phone on the honey bucket out of the way. I smoked the hive, then lifted the lid and as I turned to place it on the ground I noticed my phone was covered in bees. At the end of my inspection when I was packing up I counted fifteen stings in the leather case. I must be using the wrong network.

David Lillis

Newsletter Contributions

Contributions are sought from all members for the newsletter. If you have a funny or informative story from your own or others’ experience please bring it to meetings, mail to 57 Beasley St Torrens 2607 or Email to lynshiels@netspeed.com.au. The Newsletter will only be as good and varied as members’ contributions allow it to be. If you have a story but don’t have the time or inclination to write it yourself just jot down the facts and I will be happy to write the story up for you.

Irradiation of AFB Hives

David Lillis has offered to act as a point of contact for co-ordinating transport of infected hives to Sydney for irradiation. A considerable cost saving can be made if we combine to transport hives. Telephone David on 6297 5202 or 0413 426 290 for further detail.

Foot and Mouth Worries Beekeepers

From: James Morton <j.morton@CSL.GOV.UK>

To: <BEE-L@listserv.albany.edu>

Sent: Thursday, 29 March, 2001 12:26 AM

Subject: Re: FW: English tragedy

Dear All,

<Mgyr@aol.com> wrote:

"And we beekeepers think we have problems. The letter below should give us a close-up view of what is going on in England."

It's worth also mentioning that the current foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK is beginning to have a serious effect on beekeepers. Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is so infectious that there are tight controls on movements onto agricultural land throughout the UK. Such restrictions are most severe in areas where foot-and-mouth has been confirmed, but farmers everywhere are understandably extremely unwilling to allow any visitors onto their land for fear of introducing FMD infection.

Very many beekeepers in the UK have their bees on agricultural land, and due to the intermixed nature of the British Countryside, livestock are generally not far away. So as Spring approaches, many beekeepers are finding that it is impossible to get access to their apiaries to give their bees the attention they need.

The problem at present is that Spring is running about a month late, and conditions are too cold and wet for bees to forage properly, so some colonies are beginning to be running out of food and are in need of feeding. However, once the good weather arrives, colonies are going to be in desperate need of supers, and management to control swarming. It's a particular problem for large-scale beekeepers who will be wishing to move colonies on economically important pollination contracts during the next few weeks.

I have recently spoken to a number of beekeepers who have already accepted that they are unlikely to be able to able to visit their bees at all until the FMD outbreak is controlled. However, current epidemiological modelling suggests that this will take several months at least. By which time the honey flow will probably be over.

For Bee Inspectors it's a real problem too because we very soon need to start visiting apiaries to carry out our disease control and advisory work. However, we just won't be able to go to some places at all, and elsewhere will have follow the most stringent disinfection procedures to avoid any risk of spreading FMD infection. Several Bee Inspectors have been seconded to help with controlling the outbreak in the worst affected areas, and more may follow as the outbreak continues.

For those who want further information on the UK foot-and-mouth outbreak, the MAFF website at http://www.maff.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/fmd/default.htm is a good place to start.

James Morton, South-Eastern Regional Bee Inspector, Central Science Laboratory, National Bee Unit

Tel/fax: +44 (0)20 8571 6450, Mobile: 07719 924 418

E-mail: j.morton@csl.gov.uk ,Web: http://www.csl.gov.uk

 

Beekeeping Courses

C B Alexander Agricultural College, Tocal are offering two courses in Beekeeping this year.

August 11-12 Beekeeping: Learn all about beekeeping. This two day course introduces new and established beekeepers to all aspects of practical beekeeping. A "hands on" course with hives on site, plenty of question time, colour slides, videos, handling hives. Cost $253 incl. GST

September 17-20 Queen Bee Breeding Course This three day course covers all aspects of breeding, and rearing including mating, nutrition and disease control, catching, marking, transport and regulations for marketing. Included are "hands on" sessions in the apiary. Cost $379.50 incl. GST.

Morning and afternoon teas and lunch are included in the cost of courses and accommodation is available. For further details see brochure at meetings or contact the college on 1800 025520 or 02 4939 8881 or at their web site www.tocal.com.

Single Frame Slinger Suitable for the owner of one or two hives Will remove honey from one side of a comb at a time. Bottom pivot is placed in a hole in the floor and slinger held in vertical position and revolved. The honey is thrown out of the comb into the can and is emptied from the spout at the top. Weight 28 lbs See Dick for availability.

 

Bindaree Beenotes April 2001 – Are you running out of puff?

"Never forget that a good smoker capable of delivering a large volume of cool smoke at an instant's notice is a beekeeper’s best friend." Beekeeping – Victorian Department of Agriculture

Beginners often wonder how smoke works in calming a colony so the beekeeper can manipulate it with less chance of being stung.

There are a couple of answers.

One is that smoke makes the bees think they are faced with fire. Therefore, workers gorge themselves with honey in case they have to abandon the nest. This process makes them calmer. And when their abdomens are distended after taking on honey, it is thought workers find it more difficult to sting intruders.

Another answer is that worker honeybees usually produce alarm pheromones when disturbed. In contrast to the royal and brood pheromones, the reaction to this substance is much quicker and more direct. Smoke introduced into a colony masks the odour of these alarm signals and the bees fail to communicate with each other the fact that they are threatened by an intruder.

We are lucky in Canberra to have an excellent supply of fuel in pine needles. Pine needles produce a cool smoke that is more likely to calm the bees.

All you need to do is visit the nearest pine forest during fine weather and fill up a big plastic bag. A handful of pine needles can be lit in the bottom of the smoker with a few puffs of the bellows. There is no need for paper. More pine needles are then packed into the smoker. Tightly packed smokers are less draughty, the smoke is cooler and the fuel will burn longer.

The amount of smoke needed to subdue the bees depends on the time of year and what, if anything, the bees are feeding on. Bees tend to be more angry in the Autumn when the nectar flow is drying up. Red stringybark is renowned for making bees angry.

Take your time before opening a hive after blowing smoke in the entrance.

Always light the smoker and keep it in a fireproof container and not on the ground to avoid the chance of fire. Dispose of the unburned smoker fuel by tipping it into a water-filled hole. On days of total fire ban you may find spraying the bees with a fine sugar syrup mixture has short term calming effect.

Keep the smoker clear of tar and rubbish so that the lid closes safely.

My stainless steel smoker has lasted 15 years. If yours is running out of puff, Bindaree has supplies of the Beeco stainless steel smoker in regular and jumbo sizes.

They are made in Australia to the traditional Australian design. The new jumbo sells for $71.50, and the new low price for the standard is $66.

STOP PRESS: A new shipment of Boardman feeders has just arrived so you start the supply of sugar syrup before it gets too cold if your bees are low on honey stocks for Winter. The Boardman feeders are wood ($11) and plastic ($17).

 

 

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