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

May 2001

May Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 9th May at 7.30pm, at CIT Weston. Members are invited to bring along their favourite gadgets, tools and equipment to share. Also welcome are any videos or photos of interest to fellow beekeepers.

President’s Note

Hi Members. Thanks to some exceptional April weather, your Autumn shutdown should have gone well.

Our first social outing, the Anzac Day Picnic, at Pialligo was attended by about a dozen members and their families. My apologies for the short notice and thanks to Ray Sillis for opening his orchard to us.

Don’t forget to bring along your interesting items for our Gadgets and Equipment night.

David Lillis

Visit to Cec Mercer’s Apiary

Cec reports that all who were able to visit his apiary on Sunday 18th March were able to get hands-on practice at looking at diseased combs.

Handy Hints

Cleaning Gloves

Wash gloves in mild detergent and dry carefully. Then use a wax leather dressing to keep them in good condition.

Robert Gardiner

Contributions Sought. Do you have some handy hints or short cuts to share? If so jot them down for the newsletter

Subscriptions

Members are reminded that subscriptions for 2001 are now due. They may be paid at meetings or by mail to PO Box 1482, Woden ACT 2606.

Welcome to New Members

A belated welcome to Paul Helliwell and Les LeFevre who joined the Association last month and to Scott Watkins and Debra Bourne.

Anzac Day BBQ

Thanks to Lyn & Pat, David and Pam for their assistance in planning the ANZAC Day BBQ at Tanbella Orchard in Pialligo. Thanks also to everyone who stepped in when I had to leave unexpectedly. Also thanks to Ray Sillis and family for allowing us to use their beautiful orchard setting.

Derek Butler

Thanks are also due to Derek for organising the picnic. A very pleasant time was had by all in the autumn sunshine in a lovely setting by a small lake. Quite a few of us went home with a bag or two of freshly picked apples.

Ed.

Irradiation of 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 details.

Any Questions?

A new segment where members can seek information from others’ experiences on any questions they may have about beekeeping and related topics.

Our first question comes from Bob Shaw who would like to know how members clean their wax to prepare it for sale. Bob especially wants to know how to get the light coloured wax seen in candles and in foundation.

If you have an answer for Bob or a question you would like to ask please contact Lyn Shiels Phone 6286 2421, Email at lynshiels@netspeed.com.au or post to 57 Beasley St Torrens 2607 .

Fruity Bees at Isabella Plains.

I was called to a house in Isabella Plains in March when a lady said she had a swarm of bees in her aviary. Both she and her son were allergic to bee stings (badly enough to require medical treatment) so they were unable to cope alone.

I found that she had a walk-in cage containing rainbow lorikeets, whose seed diet also includes dried fruit. Of course in March there was no swarm, but there were indeed many bees clustered around the diced fruit and sultanas in the feeding bowl and on dropped fruit on the cage floor. I cleaned up the floor and removed what fruit I could from the bowl. I suggested that the only thing I could think of was to cover the bird wire with flywire so that the bees would give up and no longer seek out the fruit. So I measured up the cage and left the lady to buy flywire and get a neighbour to cover the birdwire. I hope it worked. I wasn’t sure if the bees would still seek out the fruit through the clearance gap around the cage door.

Derek Butler

Canberra Show

Thanks were expressed at the last meeting to Rob and Margaret Gardiner for their information on honey judging in the last newsletter.

The winter months provide an opportunity to prepare some exhibits for the show. There will be a class for candles (dipped, rolled and moulded) and for wax moulds. So get out that wax that you’ve been meaning to do something with and have a go at one or more of these crafts.

If you plan to enter candied honey it needs to be bottled now and allowed to crystallise naturally over the winter months. It should be in a 500gm glass bottle not previously used for other purposes. Dick has suitable bottles at Bindaree.

Electricity Applied to Bee Rearing.

From Town and Country Newspaper, 10 April 1880.

"A correspondent of the Deutsche Presse describes a method which he has adopted with success of overcoming the obstacles frequently presented to the rearer of bees by the self-will of those interesting and profitable insects. This is no other than giving them an electric shock. Everyone interested in bees knows the difficulties and dangers involved in hiving a swarm. One is often seen on a hot day in June in the top branches of a tree not to be climbed, and another in some inaccessible place seems to preparing to set out on its wanderings. Herr Freiwith hit upon the idea of employing the electric force to stupefy the bees. Trials on large and small clusters, and even on single insects, answered perfectly: the bees coming in contact with the conducting wires, fell stunned and motionless to the ground. The time required for their recovery, varying from ten minutes to eight hours, was proportionate to the strength of the shock, but all came out of their trance safe and sound. Encouraged by this experiment Herr Freiwith resolved to try it on bees in the hive. To this end he introduced the ends of two conducting wires into a fully occupied honeycomb, and turned on the current for a moment; the bees soon lay on the ground, and it was half an hour before they resumed activity."

(I wonder if it would work on stringybark crazed bees?) Anyone who wants to try this will be relieved to know that Herr Freiwith has not patented his device but be warned you will be expected to write an article for the newsletter. Ed.

Book Review

Beekeeping by Laurie Braybrook et al, Creative Solutions 1991

This excellent beekeeping manual is suitable for beginners and more experienced beekeepers. Prepared by the Victorian Department of Agriculture it contains basic information on bee biology, apiary establishment and management, diseases, pollination, queen raising, honey extracting and much more. The layout is excellent and diagrams and photographs complement the clear explanatory text. Reasonably priced and recommended as a first beekeeping book and as a ready reference for all. Dick Johnston has copies for sale at Bindaree.

Empty Super Story.

Recently Pat and Lyn extracted honey from hives at Burra. The bees have been feeding on stringy bark and are rather stroppy. After a fairly trying time in the shed with a few too many bad tempered companions they swung the buckets into the car for the trip home. While completing the cleanup and hosing down the area for spilled honey Pat noticed that lots of bees were going under the car where honey appeared to be dripping down. Investigation showed a long split in the side of one bucket and about six or eight litres of honey flowing down under the front seat. A new bucket was quickly found to contain the split one and a hasty retreat to Canberra. After several hours cleaning our car is almost as good as new but on a hot day you can still detect a hint of the aroma of honey.

Lyn Shiels

Bindaree Beenotes May 2001

- Preserving wooden bee equipment

As the cooler months arrive, it is a good time to build new bee gear. Treatment with a solution of Copper Naphthenate is the best way to preserve wooden equipment. However, in the Canberra Winter it does take several weeks to dry properly. So planning is necessary.

Copper Naphthenate does not pose or cause environmental threat. It will not harm humans, animals, bees, plants or grasses, before, during or after treatment. The organic nature of Copper Naphthenate means that the treated wood does not become brittle or hard, the Copper prevents fungal decay and insect attack, and the water resistant qualities of the Naphthenate prevent rot and lengthen the life of the timber. Timber treated with Copper Naphthenate can be subsequently painted once the Copper Naphthenate is completely dry.

Method – 1 part of 5% Copper Naphthenate solution - as sold by Bindaree - is diluted with 4 parts of White Spirits or Mineral Turps type solvents to give a 1% Copper metal solution.

Application is best achieved by dipping the pre-cut timber, and soaking overnight. However, I have achieved very satisfactory results by painting assembled boxes with the Copper Naphthenate solution using a paintbrush.

Safety precautions should be taken against fire whilst the Copper Naphthenate is in solution form, as White Spirits or Turps or other solvents used to dilute the Copper Naphthenate are normally flammable.

In the areas of use such as bee boxes, the parts or assembled equipment coated with Copper Naphthenate should be allowed to dry and air thoroughly prior to painting, to ensure that all solvent fumes have been removed. Another helpful hint in extending the longevity of the bee boxes is, after treating with the Copper Naphthenate, pre-coat them with 1 coat of paint before assembling, ensuring that all end grains are suitably coated to prevent moisture absorption.

I want to thank Colours & Chemicals, the manufacturers of Copper Naphthenate, for this information.

For the hobby beekeeper, Bindaree sells 400ml of Copper Naphthenate in a convenient 2L container for $4. Just fill the container with Turps to get the correct concentration.

Dick Johnston

A Lot of Drones

From The Kiama Independent, June 7, 1892

"A meeting to form a Bee-Keepers’ Association was convened for Friday evening last, but (says The Pioneer) no one put in an appearance, not even the convenor. What a mob of drones!"

It is to be hoped that we can do a bit better than our colleagues of 109 years ago.

Internet Delivery of Newsletter

This newsletter is published in hardcopy for delivery by postal mail but is also published in two formats (HTML and PDF) on the Internet for electronic delivery to recipients who have Internet access. Electronic delivery ensures that the newsletter is available for reading (and printing) as soon as it has been completed – even before the hardcopy printing process is commenced. Of course the electronic copy is also in full colour, which enhances the presentation of photographs and other graphics that are normally included in the newsletter.

If you would like to try receiving your copy of the newsletter via the Internet and, in doing so, reduce the Association’s printing and postal costs, please simply send an email to Paul Hooper at phooper@pcug.org.au nominating your preferred email address.

 

 

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