Dear Member
The bad news of this month is the discovery of EFB in a local Rugby hive. This raises anxiety for all of us and means we need to be careful - isolating swarms and not moving bees or equipment between apiaries until we have been given the all clear from the bee inspector. Please ensure that your bees are registered on BeeBase so that your apiaries are on the bee inspector's radar.
Dear Member
In mid April the sudden improvement in the weather meant at last we were all able to do the first inspection of the year - almost a month later that I had ever done a first inspection.
Dear Member
Once again while I am writing this we are being subjected to blisteringly cold winds from the East which will be putting our bees under some pressure as brood rearing has now begun in earnest to replace the winter bees, but the opportunities to forage have been curtailed by the extreme weather conditions. I hope you have been monitoring food levels in your hives and have not been tempted to disturb the bees by doing an inspection!
Dear Member
As I write this there is an icy wind blowing from the North East bringing freezing temperatures and the threat of more snow. If hives are in the open or unsheltered, wind chill can present real problems, lowering temperatures in the hive.
Dear Member
Well, as this is the beginning of another year, I hope you all had an enjoyable festive season and that 2018 will prove to be a happy and productive year for you (and your bees).
Can I remind you that the date of our February meeting at the Friends’ Meeting House has been changed to the fourth Wednesday i.e. 28nd February.
