Well now we are well into Spring its time to take stock of how our bees coped with the unusually harsh Winter. It has been estimated by the British Beekeepers Association that loss of the UK honeybee population is around 17% which compares to around 19% last year the huge 30% loss between 2007-2008!! However I have heard some stories and rumours of the losses in Scotland being as high as 50% for some beeks up here. The BBKA survey did reveal marked regional variations. Beekeepers in the north of England lost more than a quarter of their honeybee colonies,…

I just dont understand it! Why oh why get a queen from abroad? I mean what possible benefit can be gained from doing so, or is it easier to get queens from abroad? Im not sure I mean how difficult is it to phone your local beekeepers association and see what they say? Failing that a chat with local beekeepers should provide fruitful and perhaps queens can be found at no cost.

Not only that if you find a queen locally it gives you a chance to see the hive and discuss with the owner the temperament and other traits.…

Agricultural Research Services (ARS) are making positive strides in creating a strain of honeybee which is proactive in attacking the Varroa mite head on!

ARS are focusing on creating honeybees with a certain genetic trait; Varroa Sensitive Hygiene. The VSH trait in the bee means it is more likely to find and remove mite infested pupae from the capped brood developing sealed inside the comb cells. This can be obviously difficult for the bees to detect as the mite attacks the brood within the capped cells and so rely on the protective layer of wax to escape the bees natural…

There is a lot of advice online which tells beekeepers to ventillate the top of their hives by putting an entrance there. The reasons behind this are:

1. Bees release metabolic water as they consume honey. The warm moisture rises up to the lid of the hive and will condense and rain down on the bee cluster.

2. If you only have one entrance at the bottom it may get blocked by snow and the bees could suffocate.

I say and a lot of seasoned beekeepers say nae! With the proper ventilation neither of these reasons are valid.

I think…

Well its getting to that time of year again when liquid feeds are no longer an option, by the end of October the cold weather should have taken hold rendering the bees unable to cope with syrup feed.

Depending on how much honey has been harvested or the strength of the hive will depend on the required feeding. If you have a strong hive and you have not taken any honey it would be fairly safe to say the bees have stored enough honey to get them through the Winter. Although checks should be made throughout the season to make…

Bee stings or apitherapy (The term comes from the Latin apis, which means “bee”) as it is known or BVT (Bee Venom Therapy) is thought by many to reduce the effects of arthritis. The bee venom is administered either by needle or actual bee sting. The theory has been banded around for years, with the main concept being the bee venom reduces inflamation. This is of course true as South Korean found that the principle peptide in bee venom (melittin) blocks the expression of inflammatory genes that can cause painful tissue swelling in rheumatoid arthritis patients. Another anti inflamatory subtance…

Whilst searching for European Foul Brood (EFB) which was discovered in over sixty hives in the Perthshire and Angus area (forty of which have been destroyed), the American strain has also been found in Perthshire apiaries and hives. American Foul Brood (AFB) has been found in atleast four hives and three apiaries.

EFB infected colonies can fortunately be treated and normally saved, those with AFB however must be destroyed by burning the infected hive. The disease itself is caused by a bacterium that infiltrates the bee larvae, consuming their food supply starving the larvae to death. It can be recognised…

The Co-operative Group which launched a 10 point programme to help save the honey be called ‘Plan Bee’ has announced funding for Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders (BIBBA) to find and map the locations of native black honey bees and their hybrids.

The native black British bee has evolved to cope with the seasons here and developed a thick black hair covering its body. There is talk that the decline of bees in Britain is partly due to beekeepers using foreign queens producing bees that are unsuited to our climate. This has happened because the native black bees doesnt produce…

Ive just read a very interesting article written by Marion Lang in the Scottish Beekeeper magazine. She explains that the multitude of masts close by her apiary in Angus seems to be affecting hives and causing CCD.

In the article she explains the masts and the broadcasting radiation produced and states that in 2008 Mr Orjan Hallberg and Dr Olle Johanasson produced a paper showing that there is a marked increase with immunity problems in humans when exposed to electrical currents at 100MHz. In the West we broadcast between 87-107 MHz band.

Marion explains that the broadcasting radiation affects her…

A good tip for beekeepers is to keep an accessible water source for the hive to use. Rather than an open water source like a bird bath or similar, bees prefer to suck the water from a damp area.

The absolute perfect solution would be a small sandpit (even a bowl or flowerpot of sand) near the hive and kept moist. However if you dont have any sand the bees will settle for other things! Have you got some seed trays with compost?

As you can see from the picture they will drink from compost in a seed tray quite…