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

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

Contact No:  Association President – Bob Shaw  Ph: 62540018

 

Meeting

The April meeting of the Association has had to be postponed due to Easter and School holidays preventing us from using the CIT buildings. This means that the Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 14th May at CIT Weston.

Instead it was decided to hold a barbecue-picnic at Weston Park on Saturday 17th April between 11.30am and 3.00pm. This is an opportunity for our members and their families to get together socially. Beekeeping topics are not entirely forbidden but nor will they dominate the day.

As you drive into Weston Park look for the bunch of yellow balloons. Bring a barbecue or picnic lunch and your favourite tipple and enjoy a few hours of Canberra’s delightful autumn weather and fresh air.

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Lanyon Garden Fair

The Lanyon Garden Fair was held on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th April. We had a steady stream of human visitors to our stall on both days and a lot fewer of the feral bee visitors that plagued us last year.  This may have been due to a reduction of feral hives over the last difficult season.

Children were, as usual, our most enthusiastic visitors and we wish we had a dollar for every time we said “The queen is the mother of all those other bees.” The live bees with marked queen were the centrepiece of our display and sparked many questions and comments.

Thank you to Bob, Pat and Bridget for helping with the stall and to Rebecca of Lanyon for her patience when we couldn’t give her a definite undertaking to be there until our insurance was settled.

Lyn Shiels

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President’s Note:

Hi Everyone,

On Saturday, 18th March I spent a very interesting day at Des Cannon’s property at Urila, south east of Queanbeyan.

The purpose of this day was to introduce beekeepers to the art of beelining, locating feral hives by means of observation and timing of marked bees trained to return to a nectar source.

The importance of beelining was demonstrated in the early period of the Small Hive Beetle incursion around Sydney, and will be a major tool in event of any other pest or disease incursion in future.

George Dolnik, an Association member for the past two years, died suddenly at his home on March 9th.  Our sympathies are extended to George’s widow Camille and his family.

The AGM, take 2 or 3 or something will be held at CIT Weston on May 14th.  We cannot have the meeting at CIT Weston in April due to CIT holidays.  All positions will be vacant, so if you wish to nominate yourself or someone else to manage your Association please do so, and come to the meeting to elect your new executive.

Our April meeting is being replaced with a social day at Weston Park so please come on 17th April and enjoy a BBQ lunch and tell a yarn or two.

Bob Shaw

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Autumn Shutdown

If you have not already done so this is the time to prepare your bees to ensure their survival over winter in good condition ready to take advantage of any spring flow of nectar.

The basic requirements for a successful Winter are good hive material, vigorous queens, good hive location and adequate supplies of honey and pollen.

Autumn is a good time to remove any old black frames with a view to replacing them with newer frames or foundation when the spring flows begin. As a general rule the hive should be reduced to one box of bees and one of honey in addition to that stored in the brood box.  As the brood nest contracts in Autumn place full frames of honey on the outside and any uncapped honey in beside the brood nest.  Extract any honey extra to the bees’ needs and protect the frames from wax moth attack in storage.  Don’t leave large amounts of uncapped honey as it can ferment or go mouldy.  Place a hive mat on top of the last box under the lid.

Some beekeepers place a mat over these boxes and return an empty box on top. The mat prevents excessive heat loss and some bees will go up past the mat on warm days and prevent wax moth attack. If there is an unexpected early nectar flow the bees will have space to take advantage of it.

If you have hives that are smaller than one box of bees consider amalgamating them with another weak hive or adding them to a strong one. One strong hive is much more likely to survive winter than two weak ones and can be split in spring when there is a honey flow.

Any hive without a full box of honey should be fed now until they have sufficient stores. Sugar syrup fed to bees in Autumn should be made up in the ratio of two measures of sugar to one of water.

Wintering bees need to have access to some good quality pollen as well as honey. In most locations around Canberra bees will maintain a minimum level of brood raising and this makes a healthier hive in early spring. A hive with a population of younger bees will be less likely to fail in early spring than one with only old bees.

Locate the hives in a warm sunny position out of the wind. Ideally the site should have a northerly aspect and have very good drainage. Make sure the hive is tipped slightly forward to allow any moisture to drain away. Keep grass and weeds down around the hive as these tend to create damp conditions. Make sure the hive vents are clear at the beginning of winter but if the bees close them up leave them that way until the warmer weather returns.  Most beekeepers reduce the hive entrance to about 8-10 cm using a couple of small wooden blocks. This makes it easier for the bees to repel robbers as well as conserving warmth.

It may be too late to conduct a final disease check.  I have noticed that my bees are very tetchy and begin robbing as soon as any hive is opened. Taking a bottle of sugar syrup and drizzling some over the frames in every hive may help to keep robbers busy at home but if robbing still occurs abandon the check and close down the hive as quickly as possible. Reducing the entrance before opening the hive makes it easier for the bees to repel robbers. A handful of dried grass can be used to provide a temporary closure.

Throughout Winter and in early Spring check the hive for supplies regularly. This can be done at any time by hefting the hive slightly from the back to test the weight. If it is very light supplies are low and the bees require feeding. It is often possible to do a quick visual check during Canberra winters.  Wait for a still warm day to have a quick look.  Don’t remove every frame and don’t stand brood frames out of the hive.

With a bit of care now and an occasional check over winter our bees should be ready for the good season we hope is in store in Spring and Summer.

Lyn Shiels

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Pam’s Beauty Hints

Light Beeswax Cleanser

1tbsp beeswax

1 tbsp white petroleum jelly

4 tbsp almond oil

2 tbsp rosewater or herbal infusion

2-3 drops of essential oil such as rose or lavender if using the infusion

Place the beeswax, petroleum jelly and almond oil in the top of a double boiler or in a bowl  set in a saucepan of water. Heat gently on low heat until melted.

Warm the rosewater or infusion.

Remove from heat and beat the rosewater or infusion into the beeswax mixture. Leave to cool.

Transfer to a sterilised pot or jar. Cover when completely cold. Use within three months.

This is a light textured cleansing cream suitable for all skin types. For normal or dry skin use an infusion of elderflowers or marigolds; for oily skin use chamomile of yarrow.

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Bees in Mythology

Legend has it that Jupiter was nourished by bees. Similarly Pindar, a lyric poet of Thebes, was said to have been nourished by bees with honey instead of milk.

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Koulourakia

125g butter or margarine

½ cup sugar

2tblspns honey

½ cup evaporated milk

½ tspn ground cinnamon

½ tspn ground cloves

2 eggs

2 tspns vanilla

4 cups self raising flour

½ tspn bicarbonate of soda

Melt butter, sugar and honey in saucepan with evaporated milk. Add spices, let mixture cool. Beat in eggs and vanilla, then sifted flour with bicarb, stirring until you have a soft dough.

On a well floured board roll into thin pencil shapes and form into plaits, twists, crosses or circles.  Place on greased oven tray, sprinkle with sugar or glaze with beaten egg.

Cook in a moderate (180°C) oven till golden, about 20 minutes. Makes about 80.

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Crunchy health cookies.

2 tblspns honey

125g butter or margarine

1 tblspn water

¼ tspn bicarb soda

1¼ cups rolled oats

½ cup coconut

½ cup raw sugar

½ cup wheatgerm

 Place honey, butter and water in small saucepan and bring to boil over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add soda and mix well. Combine oats, coconut, sugar and wheatgerm in mixing bowl, pour over honey mixture and mix well.

Place heaped teaspoons of mixture on oven tray, allowing room for spreading. Bake in moderate (180°C) oven till brown, about 12-15minutes.  Cool slightly before removing from the tray.  Store in airtight tin when cool.

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Swarms – Not a Problem

Last swarm season, while on holidays, Paul retrieved a message from his answering machine and returned the call ready to direct the caller to someone else.  This was unnecessary as you will see from the conversation that follows.

“Hello Diane, I’m calling about the bee swarm report you made earlier this afternoon.”

“Oh, Thanks for calling back. I phoned the government and they gave me your name. Actually, the problem has gone away.”

“That’s good. They’ve moved on?”

“Well, I talked to my neighbour who suggested we smoke them away. So my son lit a smokey fire in a Milo tin and smoked them. They flew off. And now they are someone else’s problem. I remember when I was a kid, my mother talked about smoking swarms to make them go away … and it works.”