BASINGSTOKE & DISTRICT BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER - DEC 1990 REPORT ON TREATMENT OF EUROPEAN FOUL BROOD. Harry and Mo Mayers have written to tell us about the treatment of one of their colonies for EFB following its discovery at their apiary on 16 Jun 90. They thought that other beekeepers would be interested in the procedure. Harry contacted the Bee Inspector as soon as possible after the discovery and an inspection was arranged for 19 Jun. (Such a rapid response is not normally possible but occurred this time owing to a cancellation). The Inspector completed a thorough examination of all colonies and selected two frames to be sent to Luddington. He then gave Harry a verbal Standstill Notice which was confirmed some days later in writing. Luddington's verdict on 22 Jun was that the colony would respond to treatment and, accordingly, the Inspector returned on the 30 Jun. He treated the colony with Terramycin mixed in sugar syrup - the quantity of liquid filled a 1 lb honey jar. This was poured into 2 empty frames which were then placed at either end of the hive and separated from the brood by additional empty brood frames. A further inspection of all hives on the 2 Aug gave the "all clear" and the official withdrawal of Standstill Notice came on 6 Aug. PESTICIDES IN WATER. We have been informed recently that Mid-Southern Water have been treating the public water supplies in the Fleet area with the insecticide Permethrin in order to kill freshwater shrimps. Permethrin, a pyrethroid, is toxic to bees and caution may need to be exercised when feeding syrup. Most of Basingstoke area's water comes from bore-holes so I would not expect the problem here. It is rumoured that Thames may treat similarly in March of next year. If you suffer unexpected loss of bees in the spring, consider the possibility of pesticide poisoning. INTERNATIONAL BEE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION. In a letter recently received from IBRA, they advise us that their governmental funding has been stopped and that they must now obtain their funding by other means. To this end, they are producing a new periodical about bees and beekeeping which is available for an annual subscription of œ10.00 and they invite both subscribers and sponsorship for third-world bee farmers. Details from Norman Hughes and at the AGM. BEES AND NEIGHBOURS. A Beekeeper was recently prosecuted under the Public Health Act 1936 for allowing his bees to cause a nuisance. This appears to have been an extreme case (40 hives at home) but it does set a precedent. Our thanks to Kingsley Law, the General Secretary of B.B.K.A. for the following: Extract from: Environmental Health News 17 Aug. 1990 BEEKEEPER ORDERED TO GET RID OF HIVES. In a Virtual re-run of a famous legal query answered by Municipal Engineering Magazine in the 1970s, a Nottinghamshire beekeeper discovered to his cost that bees are only 'wild animals' while swarming or out of the beekeeper's sight, writes Deirdre Mason. Officials at Newark & Sherwood DC had had complaints from neighbours of Norman Staley-Brookes of the High Street, Collingham, about yellow spotting on washing, windows and cars which, they said, was caused by the bees from the 40 hives which he kept at his home. The council took a case against Mr Staley-Brookes who denied vehemently that his bees were a problem. He said that nobody had identified the bees as his; there were other beekeepers in Collingham. There were, he said, 45,000 species of bees in Europe - nobody had identified the species of the bees alleged to be causing the problems. The bees, he claimed, benefitted the neighbours by pollinating their plants. Nobody, he said, had suffered any injury, loss or damage by the bees flying over their gardens. However, the Council's prosecutor, Mrs Kirsty Cole, turned one of Mr Staley-Brookes' points neatly against him. The bees, she said, had to be his because he had said that bees use the nearest source of water to the hive. This just happened to be a pond owned by one of his neighbours in Crown Close. Mrs Cole also pointed out that he was responsible for the actions of his bees because bees while hived were the property of the beekeeper. Newark magistrates ordered him to remove the hives within 28 days and to pay œ100 costs to the council. Officers at Chelmsford DC have also had complaints about 'aggressive bees' stinging people walking by a farm next to which there are beehives. These bees are causing a nuisance to local residents, Director of Environmental Health A G Sadler says, "It would appear that the precedents set both by the Municipal Engineering case and the Newark Sherwood decision now make a prosecution under the nuisance provisions of the Public Health Act 1936 pretty straightforward." We have received an advisory leaflet from the BBKA about the hostility of neighbours to beekeepers, how best to avoid such hostility and what to do, if in spite of everything, your neighbour threatens legal action. The advice given is sound and commonsense to most beekeepers. If you would like a copy contact Gordon Scott on Bas 476547. SPARSHOLT AUTUMN CONVENTION. As usual the turnout from Basingstoke to this event was excellent and was appreciated by the College at this quieter-than-usual convention - so, thanks to all those who attended and got us noticed, again. With a total turnout from the County of around 60 people, the Basingstoke contingent accounted for 20%. Those who were unable to attend the Convention this year missed informative talks on trading standards and honey preparation which covered various aspects of labelling, representation and packaging including stories of some who didn't get away. The Trading Standards Officers are there to help us not get it wrong, rather than to slap our wrists when we do - but they will do so if they have to! HONEY PRESENTATION. John Cossburn's main thrust at the Convention was about the presentation of honey. His view is that there should be a minimal difference between the way honey is presented at shows and the way it is presented for sale. He showed us several samples of poorly- presented honey which he had recently purchased from shops supplied by local (to Sparsholt) beekeepers, some of whom had had entries in the National Honey Show - the differences were startling. John outlined the preparation method that they use at Sparsholt. They coarse filter at the time of extraction and put the honey into bulk (28lb) storage until required for bottling or setting. When this time comes, the honey is first heated to 43øC (110øF) and any crystalisation is melted away. The syrup thus obtained is filtered through two layers of polyester georgette (available from fabric shops) into a bottling tank. If the honey is to be set, it is allowed to cool to 30øC (90øF) and a 'seed' (at least 10%) of fine crystal honey is added and stirred in, the honey is then returned to storage whilst it sets. When the time comes for bottling, the honey is warmed to 30øC (no more or you'll melt the crystals) and then stirred to 'cream' it and make it soft. The honey is allowed to settle so that the bubbles rise in the bottling tank not the jars and the honey is then bottled either by weight, or so that you cannot see light under the cap. Only 21 people entered the Honey Show at the Convention. There are various reasons why this may be, but amongst them must be lack of motivation and lack of confidence. We would like to see our association make an impression in future honey shows and so we are planning a honey presentation talk and 'surgery' to encourage an interest in shows, the confidence to 'have a go' and the confidence to say, 'It doesn't happen here', when poorly-presented honey is found in shops. We want our customers to continue to buy local honey. AFRICANISED BEES. Also at the Convention, Clive de Bruyn gave an excellent talk on the Africanised bees of Brazil. Showing us first the type of country, its beauty and its extremes of wealth and poverty, he went on to discuss precisely what an Africanised bee is (or maybe isn't, as there seems to be much media hype in evidence). Clive's opinion is that there is actually very little difference between Africanised and non-Africanised strains (where you can tell) and asserted that he had met worse bees in this country. He mentioned some of the advantages that the Africanised strains have (they clear the brood area more quickly during inspections for example and are tolerant to varroa jacobsonii) but did declare that some colonies were 'unpredictable' and that one had to be prepared to use lots of smoke. Throughout his presentation I was surprised at the number of beekeepers who were working 'killer bees' without even a veil. Almost always the Beekeepers's main concerns were of being 'mugged' or having their colonies rifled (remember the poverty). An interesting observation about the beekeeping infrastructure in Brazil is the number of researchers that they have and the standard of their work. There are 85 full-time researchers, specialising in genetic engineering of bees (they have produced a strain which cannot sting but no-one wants it because if the rifling) compared to 4 in the UK.