May 2022
Dear Members,
The Beekeeping season is now in full swing. The streets are alive with blossom and the nasty cold snap in early April is hopefully not going to be repeated.
Newsletters
April 2022
Dear Members,
The observant among you may have noticed that the previously vacant Chair of the Association has now been filled! With only a little pressure Andy Dixon has agreed to take on the Chair until the next AGM in February 2023. This was agreed at our last Committee meeting and we are very grateful to Andy for agreeing to take on this task to keep Rugby Beekeepers running smoothly.
March 2022
Dear Members,
While February is often a wet and windy month, this year with three major storms and extreme weather warnings in our area it has also been a difficult month for our bees. They should have been out collecting the pollen bounty on offer from the early Spring flowers (which too have been battered by the wind and rain), but instead, they have been confined to their hives.
February 2022
Dear Members,
Along with our bees, February is the time beekeepers start gearing up for the season ahead. Hopefully, by the end of February, you will have cleaned all your equipment, got your plans ready for the next year, made sure you have assessed how many frames and wax you need to do those artificial swarms or shook swarms ready to snap up bargains at the trade show or order online before the spring rush.
January 2022
Happy New Year.
As we move into 2022 we hope that the restrictions Covid has imposed on us will lessen, and our beekeeping will benefit from meeting other beekeepers and sharing experiences and knowledge at our monthly meetings and at trade shows and the annual national beekeeping Conferences across the UK and Ireland.
BeeBase
Beebase News Web feed-
A confirmed finding of a single Asian hornet in Felixstowe, Suffolk
29 April 2022The National Bee Unit is carrying out enhanced monitoring and awareness raising together with local beekeepers after a single insect, confirmed to be Vespa velutina was killed at a sentinel apiary, reported by a beekeeper.
Laboratory analysis has shown that the Asian hornet was a female but as it was dried out and damaged it couldn’t be ascertained if it was a queen or worker. Additionally it is highly likely to be from the European population rather than a new introduction from Asia and is highly unlikely to be the offspring of either of last year’s nests in the UK.
Further information regarding the yellow legged Asian hornet can be found on Defra's Asian Hornet sightings page and on BeeBase’s Asian hornet page. Please direct all media enquiries to the Defra Press Office: 0330 0416560
We continue to ask beekeepers to remain vigilant, record monitoring trap locations on BeeBase (guidance here) and report suspect sightings here. -
Registration Page - Error - FIXED
24 March 2022We are currently experiencing an error with our registration page which is preventing beekeepers from registering. We are working hard to find a fix and will update this News items as soon as a fix is found.
To register, please come back in a few days or give the NBU a call on 0300 3030094 and we can process your registartion for you.
UPDATE: This has now been fixed. -
Analysis of 2021 Asian hornet nests
03 March 2022During the 2021 season, two Asian hornet nests were located and successfully destroyed by NBU inspectors and APHA colleagues, following sightings reported via the Asian Hornet Watch app.
The nest found in Ascot, and destroyed on 11th October, was 35 cm in diameter and contained six combs. Results from genetic analyses suggest that all Asian hornets collected in the surrounding area were likely to have come from this nest, and that the nest hadn’t reached the stage of producing adult sexual stages.
The nest found in Portsmouth, and destroyed on 31st October, was 31cm in diameter and contained 4 combs. Results from genetic analyses suggest that all Asian hornets collected in the surrounding area were likely to have come from this nest. The nest had reached the stage of producing sexual stages but was highly inbred and a large proportion of the offspring were triploid.
The queen and drones for both the Ascot and Portsmouth nest were highly unlikely to be direct offspring of the Gosport nest from 2020.
Further information regarding Asian hornet can be found on Defra’s Asian hornet sightings page and on our BeeBase Asian hornet page. Please direct all media enquiries to the Defra Press Office: 0330 0416560.
Use the Asian hornet Watch app for Android and iPhone to report sightings.
Yn ystod tymor 2021, cafodd dau nyth cacwn Asiaidd eu darganfod a'u dinistrio'n llwyddiannus gan arolygwyr yr NBU a chydweithwyr APHA, yn dilyn golygfeydd a adroddwyd drwy'r ap ‘Hornet Watch’ Asiaidd.
Cafodd y nyth a ganfuwyd yn Ascot ei ddinistrio ar yr 11eg o Hydref. Roedd yn 35 cm mewn diamedr ac yn cynnwys chwe adran i atgenhedlu. Mae canlyniad y dadansoddiadau genetig yn awgrymu bod yr holl gacwn Asiaidd a gasglwyd yn yr ardal gyfagos yn debygol o fod wedi dod o'r nyth hwn, ac nad oedd y nyth wedi cyrraedd y cam lle y caiff ffurfiau rhywiol llawn dwf eu cynhyrchu.
Roedd y nyth a ganfuwyd yn Portsmouth, a'i ddinistrio ar 31 Hydref, yn 31cm mewn diamedr ac yn cynnwys 4 adran i atgenhedlu. Mae canlyniad y dadansoddiadau genetig yn awgrymu bod yr holl gacwn Asiaidd a gasglwyd yn yr ardal gyfagos yn debygol o fod wedi dod o'r nyth hwn. Roedd y nyth wedi cyrraedd y cam lle y caiff ffurfiau rhywiol llawn dwf eu cynhyrchu ond roedd wedi mewnfridio i raddau helaeth ac roedd cyfran fawr o’r epil yn driploid.
Roedd y frenhines a'r dronau ar gyfer nyth Ascot a Portsmouth yn annhebygol iawn o fod yn uniongyrchol o’r nyth darganfyddwyd yn Gosport yn ystod 2020.
Mae rhagor o wybodaeth am y gacynen Asiaidd ar gael ar dudalen golygfeydd cyrn Asiaidd Defra ac ar ein tudalen cyrn Asiaidd BeeBase. Dylech gyfeirio pob ymholiad gan y cyfryngau at Swyddfa'r Wasg Defra: 0330 0416560.
Defnyddiwch yr ap Gwylio Hornet Asiaidd ar gyfer Android ac iPhone i roi gwybod am olygfeydd.