Standstill Order: 30 July to 10 Sept 2008
- No equipment may be taken from the apiary, everything you bring onto the site must stay there.
- Keep everything you use on your hive clean and sterile. There are tubs of washing soda solution in the shed for this purpose.
- On leaving the apiary dip your boots in the bucket by the gate, (even if you just to nip back to your car for your glasses).
- Use your hive tool only on your hive and once used, clean and place under the roof of your hive.
- Wear the disposable gloves from the box in the tin shed. If you are working with other hives change your gloves each time you visit a new hive
- The Bee Inspector has recommended that we stop using hive covers whilst the order is in place.
- Do not exchange frames and other hive equipment with other apiary members, you could be exchanging diseases too!
- Wash your bee suit if possible after every visit, that and your boots are the only things that you are aloud to take off the site so make sure they aren’t carrying disease material.
Research Campaign - Bulletin No. 2 (30 June 2008)
Just ten weeks into the campaign pressure is building on a number of fronts and a great deal is happening where it counts, at grass roots level. Please forward this bulletin to Divisional or Branch Secretaries, for onward transmission to the membership. Every action counts and there is no way it can all come from the centre.
The Petition: This is really flying and as of last week we had comfortably passed the 36,000 signatures mark; this means that we should this week pass the whole of the 2005 total of 37,500; remember however that this time we are looking for six figures. As noted previously, if each member completes just one form amongst family, friends and colleagues we would have 230,000! To be perfectly clear the petition stays open until the Autumn, when we plan to present it to the Government – more on this later. So in the meantime, keep on gathering those signatures!
Shows: I was a little disappointed by the response to my request for details of upcoming shows however big or small; I still need details please. That said, the response from the shows has been outstanding with 1000+ signatures from each of the Surrey and Devon shows and 2500 from the Bath and West. Please tell me of your successes as they take place. Do make use of the flyers and posters available from Stoneleigh and after use, return loan materials (A1 posters and roundels) as soon as you can so that others can borrow them.
Letters: I have seen many many replies to MPs and individuals from the Minister. These are to a standard format and basically refer to what (I mean how little!) Defra spends on bee health, the BBKA meeting with Lord Rooker last December and the publication of the Bee Health Strategy for consultation, as if this will be a panacea for bee health notwithstanding its failure to promise funds for research. Mention is also made of the NBU’s close liaison with US scientists over CCD. The letter then asserts that the high winter losses are predominantly down to poor varroa control. Given that most experts agree that varroa plays a key role in CCD it is easy to put it down to this element rather than the other factors of viruses and Nosema ceranae which are thought to play a contributory role with varroa. The letter then goes on the assure the reader that varroa management has become a routine part of bee husbandry and that IPM holds the answer. We know that that is important but not the full story, particularly when some IPM approaches are made illegal by government legislation.
The time has thus come to question these points in follow-up correspondence. BY our providing draft letters Defra is able to respond with its own draft – we need now to adopt a more individual approach. With winter losses measured in the BBKA survey of 30% nationally, the problem is a little greater than inadequate varroa management; and anyway, how did we ‘forget’ how to do it over the last two years when losses have risen from 10% to 15% to 30% this year. We’ve been using IPM for several years so what’s the new element? – only research will tell us of course.
Some recent good news was Defra’s decision to monitor losses more closely; they also found an extra £90K to spend on this monitoring exercise. If they are so cash strapped where did this come from? Was it just a reallocation exercise with the NBU budget calling inspection work research? I suggest that this could be a subject to write and ask them about.
Media Activity: We have continued to enjoy extensive coverage in the national and local press with a substantial piece in the Observer supplement, an article by Vince Cable in the Daily Mail and much else. More output on Country File, the World Service, Radio Kent, GMTV etc has kept the issue to the fore. Whilst the research message was not promoted on Egg Heads our team, although unsuccessful did a good job for the craft.
Westminster: The early day motion has more than 100 MPs’ signatures attached now – few get this number! Keep up your efforts on your MP to sign-up – the motion remains open until Parliament goes into recess at the end of July. I attach a copy of those who have signed up to date. (I’ve read the list and the MP for Kingston, Edward Davey, has signed the petition so I did not think it necessary to attach it to this article. Editor)
Thanks to the unstinting efforts of Ian Gibson, Tuesday 17 June saw a small piece of history at Westminster with the granting of an Adjournment Debate in Westminster Hall, with a full 90 minute allocation. Dr Gibson opened the debate under the heading, “The future of the UK Bee Industry”. Setting-out the problems facing bees, he highlighted the BBKA’s Research Programme which has been put forward to Defra with a modest request for £8 million invest over 5 years. David Heath MP emphasized the importance of bee pollination to the Cider Industry and Bob Marris MP urged the Minister to find the funds, urgently, saying that the Government ought actually to be investing £4 million per annum! Several informed interventions from John Penrose (Con - Weston super Mare) who is a beekeeper helped support the case. Bill Wiggin MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture gave a well considered speech exposing the poor financing of bee research over recent years and the losses to the research base. The full transcript is available on the Hansard section of the Parliament web-site. Here’s what they said:
“It is vital that every country maximises its potential to produce home-grown food, because that is becoming the big challenge, or at least one of the big challenges, for us in the agricultural movement in this country. Honey bees have never been more important for mankind than today”.
Ian Gibson (Lab – Norwich North)
“We need a step change in investment in the investigation of bee disease if we are to stem a worldwide phenomenon that is lapping at our doorstep and has the potential to become a crisis, both for the insect population and in economic terms”
David Heath (LibDem – Somerton & Frome)
“The British Beekeepers Association’s suggested figure of £8 million over five years is incredibly modest—that is no criticism of the BBKA. It is not a ridiculous amount such as politicians often come across when people suggest amounts because they believe passionately in a pet project. It is a sensible amount and, if anything, is low. I urge the Minister to consider it carefully.”
Bob Marris (Lab - Wolverhampton SW)
“I pay tribute to the British Beekeepers Association, which has done much to raise the profile of beekeeping and to inform us about the importance of bees to our country. It has put a tremendous amount of effort into its campaign, and its commitment to bee health is keeping the issue high on the political agenda.”
Bill Wiggin (Con - Leominster)
The Minister, Jonathan Shaw in closing, attempted to parry the stinging criticism of Government inaction by sticking to the prospect of the Bee Health Strategy. No vote was taken of course but it looked like the Minister was in a minority of one.
The next major initiative we are planning will be a mass lobby of MPs by beekeepers, hopefully following a march down Whitehall, to present the petition. This will take place on a Wednesday afternoon in the Autumn after the summer recess. It is to be hoped that we will have representatives from Associations up and down and across Britain. More details in due course. In the meantime we continue to meet with politicians to press our case.
Non-governmental funding: We are talking to other non-governmental funding opportunities and are most grateful to HRH The Prince of Wales for his interest in the campaign and for putting us in touch with the Wellcome Trust, which is now evaluating our research proposals to see if there are any that fall into their remit. They intend holding a Frontiers Meeting in the Autumn which may represent an important step forward. Discussions are ongoing with other groups but it remains a sine qua non that we look to government to play the major role in funding.
The fighting fund continues to grow, with some £3700 received from Associations; many thanks! For those still to donate, we look forward to hearing from you!!
Tim Lovett
(July 31 ‘You and Yours’ broadcast an item on the scarcity of local honey in Britain. Their researcher suggested that British honey stocks will run out by Christmas.)
BBKA Statement on recent bee losses in Germany
Members of the BBKA Executive note with concern the recent devastating bee losses in Germany and elsewhere, which appear to be linked with pesticide use. Initial enquiries indicate that the principal problem seems to relate to the application of pesticides to seeds as a dressing. The substances were apparently applied at an unusually high dosage (to protect against Diabrotica - the corn root worm) and were inadequately ‘fixed’ to the seed, resulting in release into the environment during drilling, possibly blowing on to other crops, so contacting with bees. The German authorities have suspended the approvals for eight seed treatment products pending further investigations. The UK authorities are aware of this development and the following statement has been placed on the CSL web-site:
May 2008 - Seed Treatments and Bees
In respect of the current concerns about the threat of seed treatments for maize to bees, the Pesticides Safety Directorate has advised as follows: We are aware of the concerns in some other Member States about the use of certain seed treatments containing clothianidin and imidacloprid. However, we are not aware of any problem in the UK related to any seed treatments and bees. There have not been any incidents reported to the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS.) to date which could be connected to the use of seed treatments. Given the vigilance of beekeepers it is highly unlikely that had there been any incidents they would have gone unnoticed.
Of the three active substances which are mentioned only imidacloprid is approved for treatment of oilseed rape seed and clothianidin for maize seed. This is the first year in which treatment of maize seed with clothianidin has been approved in the UK. We note that in the incidents in Germany the treatment was being used at a very high rate, 125 g a.s./ha in an attempt to control Diabrotica. In the UK it is approved at a maximum rate of 60 g a.s./ha on maize.
We will, of course, keep a close watch on the situation but currently have no concerns that use of these products according to the conditions of approval will cause a risk to bees in the UK.
The BBKA will continue to monitor developments in this area and will advise its Associations and members as more information becomes available.
BBKA policy on product endorsement
The BBKA, with the full knowledge of its membership, has for many years engaged positively with agro-chemical manufacturers in the interest of achieving responsible use of chemicals and pesticides where bees are concerned. The BBKA Technical Committee reviews data presented to it relating to products, which must have already received full governmental approval. Where appropriate, the committee advises the BBKA Executive that the product can be considered to be ‘bee friendly’’, provided that they are used correctly as per their approval. The BBKA Executive then decides whether or not to endorse the product. Currently just four products are endorsed, namely: Decis/Pearl Micro (deltamethrin), Hallmark with Zeon Technology (lambda cyalothrin), Fastac/Contest (alpha-cypermethrin) and Fury10EW/Minuet (zeta-cypermethrin). These products are all based on synthetic pyrethroids, related to substances widely used by beekeepers to control the varroa mite. Alarmist statements that they are ‘toxic to bees’ relate only to the active ingredients, not to the marketed product formulations themselves when used according to the recommended dosages and methods of application. The substances implicated in the German incident are members of the entirely unrelated neonicotinoid group and have NOT been endorsed by the BBKA.
An endorsement agreement is established for each product, which is reviewed routinely every three years. The agreement demands that the company keeps the BBKA fully informed of any development or incident involving the product (or their active substances) and reserves the right to cancel the endorsement without notice and at any time in the event that it can no longer be assured of the product’s ‘bee friendly’ status. Any donation made by the companies concerned, none of which has exceeded £5000 per annum, is dealt with by the Executive, NOT by the Technical Committee, which restricts its advice to the matter of whether the product can be considered ‘bee friendly’ or not. Funds so generated, are used for the promotion of beekeeping in line with the BBKA charitable objects and for example have supported ‘Bees in the Curriculum’ and the Member’s Register.
The policy of positive engagement with the agro-chemical industry has been notably successful. The UK Pesticides Guide contains a section provided by the BBKA which lists 10 points for good practice when using pesticides. Companies include reminders of good practice in their bulletins, as well as on package inserts. The result of this has been that the frequent poisonings on the 1990s have become a thing of the past in this country; single or nil incidents per annum have become the norm and have been shown to be due to misuse, misapplication or have involved products not endorsed by the BBKA.
The BBKA policy on product endorsement is not secret, and has been aired in BBKA News, discussed at the 2003 and 2004 Annual Forums and received de facto endorsement at the 2005 Annual Delegate Meeting, when a motion to end the policy was rejected voting 9 for; 30 against with 6 abstentions. The policy is kept under regular review, but it is understood that not all members are comfortable with it. On balance it is, however, the view of the Executive and the membership as expressed through our democratic process that the policy has delivered much good to bee keeping in this country. Notwithstanding the foregoing the BBKA is alerted to the current situation.
The BBKA Executive will continue to monitor developments in this important area which affect our bees’ health at a time when bees are under threat from a number of factors. We will then provide balanced information to our membership and beekeepers in general to assist them in working to maintain a healthy bee population.
Swarm makes a beeline for council
From the Surrey Advertiser
A Surrey beekeeper was called to the rescue after a swarm of bees descended upon Guildford Borough Council’s town centre offices.
Up to 25,000 bees appeared at a spot close to the Millmead House car park, near the reception area. They appeared to be settling among the low-lying bushes.
As a precaution measure Andy Martin, an environmental health officer for the council immediately ordered that the doors and windows of the council building be closed.
A member of the Surrey Beekeepers Association arrived to deal with the situation. While most people in the building stayed inside, a few went to have a look, and one member of staff took photographs.
Before the swarm was removed by the beekeeper latesr that afternoon the bees were contained appropriately in a blue Guildford Borough recycling box, propped open with a brick.
The swarm was collected and taken away by the beekeeper to be housed elsewhere. As Far as a council spokesman is aware, no one was stung in the process.
President and Treasurer of the Surrey Beekeepers Association, Malcolm Clarke, said that the bees would have been swarming as part of the process of finding a new home.
Surrey Advertiser, 4 July 2008
Thanks to George McCrone for spotting this article.
Hive of activity
Stands the Church clock at ten to three? And is there honey still for tea? – Rupert Brooke
A dark cloud looms over the South East horizon according to the region's beekeepers.
Apis Mellifera, the Honey Bee, is under attack; climate change, varroa destructor mites, European foulbrood and small hive beetle are just a few of the enemies threatening the population.
Read the rest of the article on the BBC News site
Half Day Convention. Saturday 13th September 2-5pm
Dr Dewey Caron is Professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware and as a world class speaker, the opportunity to hear him should not be missed He is combining a few bee meetings with a holiday in this country, and we are extremely lucky that he is able to talk to us. The afternoon will be divided in to two lectures, as follows:-
- Bee Nutrition – What we know (and don't know) about bee nutrition, and how we can supplement bees for survival, stimulus and gain.
- Queens, queens, queens – All aspects from finding, replacing, mating, rearing and biology.
The cost for this is £5.00 and bookings are being handled by Judy Knight.
The kitchen thinker: British honey
Bee Wilson on the crisis facing British honey-makers
'You don't know what you got till it's gone,' sang Joni Mitchell. 'They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.' Will this soon be true of British honey?
If beekeepers' estimates are right, the British honey-bee could be wiped out in ten years. Thousands of hives have already taken a hit from the varroa mite, a deadly parasite. Now the British Beekeepers' Association is warning that British bees could be affected by the colony collapse disorder that has destroyed bee colonies all over America. They are calling on the Government to fund a research project designed to protect the nation's bees. It will cost £8 million - loose change compared with the estimated £165 million a year that bees contribute to the economy through pollinating fruit trees and other crops.
Read the rest of the article on the Daily Telegraph site
Invasion of the dreaded hornets
'GIANT hornets with massive jaws attack city.' No, it's not the tagline to a 1950s B-movie, they're apparently for real and already here.
Thousands of the insects are said to have been swarming around residents and shoppers.
Read the rest of the article on the Metro site
Bee Books
I was standing in Borders book store in Orlean, New York State when Helen came towards me waving a book saying “You must read this”. The book was ‘A Spring Without Bees’ by Michael Schacker. It is an absorbing book, I think, in which Schacker sets out the case for the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder. Basically his argument is the the cause of the current spate of CCD is insecticides, specifically imidacloprid (IMD). He points out that the French Beekeepers experienced CCD back in 1994 and they quickly found that farmers had been spraying their sunflower fields with IMD. The French beekeepers association quickly got onto the government and lobbied them as only the French do, by organising a mass picket outside the Ministry and as a result got a ban enforced on IMD. They found that bees began to return to their hives and the decline in honey honey production they had been experiencing was reversed.
Meanwhile in the USA farmers in the 21st century have been saturating their crops with IMD. It’s a pesticide that kills insects by attacking their nervous systems. David Hackenberg, a former President of the American Beekeeper Federation, found that 90% of his bees disappeared and he is credited with discovering the curent wave of Colony Collapse Disorder. He is also leading the campaign in America against the use of IMD but he up against the big chemical companies and their powerful lobbying machines. Meanwhile as a commercial beekeeper he will not set his hives near farms that have used IMD and as a result is maintaining healthy hives.
One of the most worrying chapters in the book is on the way chemicals are used by Green Keepers on American golf courses. Research suggests that there is, in this group, a rise of 23% in the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 29% in prostate cancer, 17% in cancer of the large intestine and the list went on.
In places the book did rather sound like one of those conspiracy theory lectures but it does raise some important questions which space does not allow me to go into. The main issue being if farmers are using an insecticide that kills insects so efficiently surely it must have an effect on bees, both wild and domesticated.
This has been a very quick and simplified account of the book. If anyone wants to buy it it is published in USA by The Lion Press, I haven’t looked but Amazon may have it. The second book I found advertised in the Guardian. It’s ‘A World Without Bees’ by Alison Benjamin and Brian McCallum. It’s a study of worldwide claims and counter claims by scientists and others on the state of bee health and the decline in bee population. I haven’t read it yet but David Marshall has and he highly recommends it. Published by Guardian Books it can be obtained from their web site, www.guardianbooks.co.uk for £8.99.
Happy summer reading. Dave Priest editor.
