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
Contact No: Association President – David Lillis Ph: 62975202 (AH)
Our
next meeting will be held on Wednesday 8th May at 7.30pm, at CIT Weston. Our guest speaker is Mr Des Cannon who will
speak about his experiences as a Commercial Beekeeper.
The business section of the meeting is from 7.30 and Des will speak from 8.00. There will be time for a cup of tea and chat after the meeting.
At
last month’s meeting some members voiced concern that the business end
of the evening was becoming too drawn out, sometimes over an hour, thus
limiting the time for guest speakers and social talk.
It was agreed to go back to the format of early last year, that
is, limiting business affairs to half an hour and time for social talk
at the end of the meeting. To
do this the meeting must commence at 7.30 sharp.
I
am pleased to report that CIT has invited the Association to facilitate
a Beginners Beekeeping Course starting in October at Weston Campus.
Course
tutors would be volunteer members and the course fees would go to the
Association. I see it as an excellent
way of lifting our profile and boosting funds.
A sub-committee has been formed to oversee the details and will
report back at the April meeting.
The
National AFB (American Foul Brood) Policy will be discussed in more detail.
Des Cannon, our guest speaker and a Commercial Apiarist, is keen
to talk with members and answer questions on the subject. This will be
an excellent opportunity for all beekeepers to become informed about such
an important issue. Your attendance would be greatly appreciated.
David Lillis
Wax moth is vulnerable to cold. It has been found that as little as 4 hours in a domestic deep freeze, long enough for the cold to penetrate through the combs, is enough to kill all stages of the pest. It is also not fond of the light.
The Frame and Foundation demonstration at the
April was well received by those present. Paul Hooper and Lyn Shiels showed
various types of frames such as traditional wooden frames with wax foundation,
full plastic, wood with plastic foundation and half depth frames. Different
construction methods and tools such as wiring boards and nailing boxes
were demonstrated. Placing wax into frames, care of frames, cleaning and
refurbishing of old frames was also discussed. Members contributed their
ideas, suggestions and techniques to the discussion.
Herb Waldie was unable to attend the meeting but was able to give us some hints and techniques from his experience.(see under)
I usually try to answer email messages from the Bindaree website as soon
as possible. They mostly ask about
how to start in beekeeping or something similar.
So I thought it strange when the following message arrived from
a chap in the United Kingdom:
“Hi, is bindaree a type of bee or an Aborigine
word for something? - thanks.”
I suppose the business Bindaree Bee Supplies could
have been a supplier of Bindaree bees, not that I have ever known a strain
of bees to be called ‘Bindaree’, but I replied that Bindaree was indeed
an Aboriginal word and I gave a couple of meanings I had been given. For example: ‘going back to your original environment’, ‘where you belong’ and
‘a meeting of the waters’.
The chap then replied: “Thanks Richard,
the reason I asked was 'Bindaree' is running in the Grand National in
the UK on Saturday, and I wanted to put a bet on for my Australian fiancé
and wanted a horse with an Australian connection. - thanks again for your
help, anybody looking for bee stuff I will point in your direction!”
It was now Saturday night 6 April at about 9 pm.
The Grand National is held at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.
The most famous horse race in the United Kingdom, it is two and
a quarter miles in length and includes some awesome jumps.
It was scheduled to start at 3.45 pm on 6 April but because England
is 10 hours behind us in Canberra, it would actually start at 12:45 am
on 7 April, our time.
I am not usually a gambler but surely this was an omen? I managed to find an online pommie bookmaker on the Internet and it took about 5 minutes to register, open an account with funds from a credit card, and back Bindaree in the Grand National at odds of 20 to 1. The bookie accepts bets in any currency.
I awoke up on Sunday morning to the pleasant surprise
that my account at the pommie bookie was substantially greater. Bindaree had won the Grand National! I hope the chap’s fiancé was equally impressed.
My super was full, and that is my full super story.
Dick Johnston
Bindaree clears the last jump. Bindaree is the chestnut horse in the centre.
Bob Shaw recently made some beautiful creamed
honey and it has been selling well at the markets so he thought he’d better
make up another batch.
A suitable mix of liquid and crystallised honey
was placed in a bucket and Bob drew his trusty electric drill with beater
firmly attached. Alas it always
pays to have a good grip on the bucket before switching on the drill!
The bucket began to gyrate and to compound the problem the trigger mechanism
on the drill locked in the “on” position. The bucket’s dance became more
frenetic and by the time our intrepid chef had dealt with the switch a
good deal of honey was on the kitchen floor, cupboards, walls……
Several buckets of hot water and much cleaning and some help from the delighted cat and Bob was ready to try again, this time with an iron grip on the runaway bucket.
The
picnic was attended by about ten members and their families and the weather
was absolutely beautiful. We lazed in the sunshine by the delightful little
lake and chatted about bees and other matters, enjoyed our barbecue lunch
and drank a glass or two of wine.
Our thanks to Ray Sillis and the owners of Tanbella for allowing us to once again use this beautiful place for our picnic and to Derek for organising the day.
Our next social function will be the Mid Winter Madness Picnic which is provisionally set down for June 20th. More details later for time and location.
Just a reminder that sugar syrup fed to bees in Autumn should be made up in the ratio of two measures of sugar to one of water
I woke up Monday morning to find my bees had gawn!
With not so much
as "by your leave", or "thanks for all your care"
They’d stuffed themselves
with honey and taken to the air.
They’d left behind
a lovely hive, a garden full of flowers,
Everything a bee
could want to while away the hours.
I’d planted drifts
of lavender, great swathes of scented thyme
A hedge of pussy
willows on which they all could dine.
I’d nurtured them
and loved them, found time to stop and chat,
To ask how they
were doing, and talk of this and that.
I’d shared with
them my hopes and dreams of supers full of honey,
Of gleaming pots
of molten gold, all warm and soft and runny.
So where’s the gratitude
I ask? Was it something I had said,
That made them leave
this Shangri-La and fly off south instead?
Now I’ve filled
the hive again, replaced the bees I’ve lost,
But if this little
lot buzz off… good riddance! I’ll keep wasps!!
Anon
MAKING FRAMES
· Use pliers to tighten wire, it is easier on your hands than other methods.
· Don’t cut the wires off but twist them back and forth until they break close to the nail. Cut wires stick out further and may tear your hands when you are handling the frames.
CLEANING FRAMES
· 500g caustic soda to 6 buckets of hot water and a cup or so of detergent (any kind)
· Place in a metal tub on the barbecue to keep mixture hot.
· Dip frames and scrub with a Steelo pad and scrubbing brush.
· IMPORTANT – Wear elbow length rubber gloves and goggles when using caustic soda.
MAKING CUT COMB
· To remove wires from a frame without tearing the wax first cut the wires at the end bars.
· Use your battery charger to run a current through each wire for a few seconds.
· Use pliers to gently draw out the wires while they are still warm.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups
shelled nuts
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar
DIRECTIONS
First, preheat the oven to about 325 degrees
F. In a small saucepan over medium
heat combine butter, honey, and half the cinnamon. Stir well and remove from heat when the butter
is melted. Dump the peanuts in
a large bowl; add the honey-butter mixture and stir thoroughly until evenly
coated. Next, spread the nuts out evenly on a greased cookie sheet and
place the nuts in the oven and roast for about 12 to 15 minutes.
Be forewarned that the honey burns easily
so give this operation your full attention. Now remove the nuts from the
oven and quickly dump them back into that large bowl before they begin
to cool. Add the granulated sugar and the remaining half-teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir well and spread nuts back out onto the
pan to cool completely. At this point you will notice the nuts beginning
to solidify into one large sheet.
Not to worry. When the nuts are completely
cool, break the chunks up with your hands and put the nuts into a different
but equally large bowl.
Add the powdered sugar a couple tablespoons at a time, and work it in really well with your fingers, breaking up the chunks in the process.
2 bananas 300 mls milk
2 tablespoons clear honey
2 ice cubes
Slice the bananas into a liquidiser, add honey and milk, blend until smooth. Pour into glasses, chill in the fridge then add an ice cube to each glass.
Beekeeping
is an age old craft
Early
history emphasised the importance of beekeeping to the Egyptians of 4000
BC. It provided honey as their main source of sweetness; bee's wax for
their candles and both of them for cosmetics. The Greeks called their
honey from Mount Hymettus the Food of the Gods. The Old Testament extols
Palestine as the land flowing in milk and honey. The bee was a royal emblem
of Caesar and Napoleon. Until decimalisation an English £1 and 10 shilling
note showed a skep of bees beside Britannia and thus was the only craft
to be depicted on the national currency.
Rock
painting c.500 BC showing honey being collected from the single large
comb of an Apis dorsata nest, at Singanpur, India
From the Northamptonshire Beekeepers’ web site at
|
Richard Johnston Phone: 02 6281 2111 Email: bindaree.bee@bigpond.com Website: www.bindaree.com.au Shop open: Wed, Thur, Fri 4 pm to 6 pm, Sat 9.30 am to 4pm Closed: Sun, Mon, Tue. |
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