Kingston Beekeepers

Please click here to open the June 2011 KBKA Newsletter.

To be held over 2 consecutive Sundays  - the 15th and the 22nd of May 2011, between 10:00am – 3:00pm; this intensive course is aimed at those who already have bees or those complete beginners who would like to condense their learning. It will cover the basics of lighting and using a smoker, recognising all stages of brood and the opportunity to open and handle the bees. Hygiene will also be covered and the principles and practical methods of marking a queen.   The cost of this course is £50 and will be held at our Hampton Court Allotments Apiary. Bee Suits/veils/gloves and all beekeeping equipment required as part of the course will be supplied. Further details on application.

Please click here to apply. Numbers are limited and will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis.

The latest newsletter is now available to download and read at your leisure. Another edition packed full of fantastic beekeeping related articles.  It can be downloaded here.

Please do keep sending in your beekeeping related stories and photographs. The next couple of months can be a very busy time for beekeepers as our hives hopefully expand and I'm sure there will be a few instances of swarming or a few lucky members who manage to collect a swarm in the coming months. Maybe you could take a few pictures to record the event(s) and write a brief description of how easy or difficult the procedure was?! - they don't always alight at a convenient height from the ground and this can create its own particular problems.

With all those swarms in the local area (and I'm sure there will be quite a few, with so many beekeepers per sq mile!) I for one will be taking full advantage in placing a lure hive in a suitable location, offering a nice new home to a few thousand bees!

To be presented by Alan Byham, Regional Bee Inspector. This one day event will be held on Friday June 3rd 2011 in Claygate. Limited places available. Please click here for more information.

There is the potential for major pest and disease threats to the European honey bee to reach Europe and the UK through imports of live bees or commodities. The purpose of this plan is to set out the response to an outbreak of an exotic pest or disease of honey bees in England or Wales. Although the plan is primarily a generic one, it focuses in particular on current threats in the form of the notifiable pests - the small hive beetle (SHB) and Tropilaelaps mites. Read more here.

The Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida), is a potential threat to UK beekeeping. This beetle, indigenous to Africa, has recently spread to the USA, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Australia with all the indications being that it will be a very serious pest of the European honey bee should it ever reach the UK. There is a serious risk of its accidental introduction into the UK and all beekeepers need to be aware of the fundamental details of the beetle’s lifecycle and how it can be recognised and controlled.

Please follow this link to The National Bee Unit's Contingency Plan

The first KBKA newsletter of 2011 is now ready for reading or downloading to your PC for reading later. Congratulations to Mike and Julie for an excellent first newsletter. I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Please keep sending your bee related news, stories and photographs to Mike or Julie for possible inclusion in future newsletters.

View the February newsletter here.

Please find below, a link to the recently updated Managing Varroa Leaflet as well as the new Small Hive Beetle Leaflet which contains a few small amendments. Click here to download.

 

For those of you interested in statistics and those of you interested to know what you should be charging for a pound (454g) of 'premium' honey! Someone managed to get 211 lbs from just one hive last year! See the facts here

Click here to read an overview of the activities of the SE region team of Bee Inspectors in 2010. Lots of interesting data regarding varroa, average honey yields and foulbrood incidence within the SE region. Recommended reading!

6^th Surrey Bee Day on the 26^th February 2011

Kingston Beekeepers Association will be running a Beekeeping Theory course over the winter months at the beginning of 2011. The course will be held in the private room of the Foley Arms Pub at Claygate, Esher, on Mondays from 7pm to 9pm, starting on 24^th January 2011 and running for 8 consecutive weeks. 

The course is intended for those who would like to take up beekeeping and have little or no practical experience. The course will cover the life cycle of the honey bee colony, beekeeping equipment requirements, setting up an apiary, and management of honey bees throughout the beekeeping season etc.   The cost for this course is £50.

The November newsletter can now be downloaded here. This is the last newsletter of 2010. Keep sending your bee news and articles for possible inclusion in our subsequent newsletters.

 Click here, to download the Quarterly Newsletter on progress with implementing the Healthy Bees Plan.