Notes from FIBKA Spring Tour Lecture with Dr Kirsten Traynor 24/03/18

Background

Dr.Kirsten Traynor of Flickerwood Apiary. Maryland, U.S.A. was invited by FIBKA to speak to beekeepers in Ireland. Dr. Traynor has a doctorate in Bee Biology and is the editor of the American Bee Journal. She has studied differences between European and American beekeeping and has published a number of books and has done many other studies. She was invited to speak in each of the provinces and had different lectures in each one. The Munster Lecture was held in The Horse and Jockey Hotel. Thurles on Saturday 24/03/18. This was a great venue, even though parking was at a premium. The lecture was held in a theatre hall which made it easy to see her and her presentation. There were approximately 80 people there, some of whom were travelling to hear all her lectures. The topics for the afternoon were ‘Halting the Unstoppable Swarm’ and ‘American Foul Brood’

Dr. Traynor was introduced by Gerry Ryan, President FIBKA. She told us she manages 40 hives organically and sells 150 Nucs and 200 Queens annually.

Read More

Notes from Bea Flavin’s Lecture on Swarming 14/03/18

We had an excellent talk from Bea and received very useful information on how to try and stop our bees from swarming and what to do if we get a swarm. It was a very interactive session with lots of questions.

I have tried to give as much information as I had made notes on and I have taken the liberty to add video links which I have found useful.

Prevent Swarming

Why do bees swarm? Swarming is the bee’s natural method of reproduction so its always going to be difficult to control it. Imagine if we were to try controlling human reproduction?

When? Weather dependent. Early summer. Bees on Oil Seed Rape. Hive becomes congested. Lack of ventilation.

Signs: Strong Colony, Increase in drone brood, queen off lay, queen cells.

Read More

Report from Bee Health Workshop with Eleanor Attridge 10/03/18

A Bee Health Workshop  was held at Teagasc Thurles on 10/03/18. There were 11 participants which included four of us from East Waterford..Mary Madigan, Hanora and Caoimhin O’Leary and myself. The course was given by Eleanor Attridge Bee Health Committee FIBKA,

We were all asked to bring a sample of 30 bees. This was the first drama..how to collect same sample and then worse still to have to freeze the little creatures, But as Eleanor said..”Better to loose 30 bees than your full hive“.

We arrived in Thurles armed with the bees. The room was set up so that we all had a microscope to work with. The theme for the day was learning to identify Acarine and Nosema in our bees. Firstly we had to learn how to use the microscope and tweezers, then pin our bees through the thorax and remove the head with a scalpal. There was then a  collar to remove to expose the trachea which is where acarine mites reside. Eleanor did think that for all of us that used Apigard in the Autumn we were unlikely to find Acarine which indeed turned out to be correct. It was a fascinating piece of work as we saw the bee in great detail and appreciated the working parts of our bees much better. Visible signs of Acarine could include crawling bees or bees with deformed wings or lots of dead bees at the entrance in Spring.

The afternoon was given to looking for Nosema. Nosema is where there is a spore  in the bee gut and you may see yellow/brown streaking on the outside of the hive or on the frames inside. If not monitored and dealt with it could kill your colony. Testing involved mixing 1 ml of water per bee and squashing the mix. One drop of the liquid was placed on a glass slide and magnified x 400. Nosema spores look like little rice grains. We also were shown different pollen types in this mix. Some people did have Nosema and the recommendation was to perform a Shook Swarm or do a Bailey Frame Change ( both methods are in March Beachaire). One person on the course had brought samples from 4 of his bee hives and it turned out that he had Nosema in one hive but not in the other three even though the hives were side by side in his Apiary. Anyone with access to a microscope could easily do this at home.

The importance of having bees tested was stressed. Its a free service but still only 10% of beekeepers are doing it. It is easy…enough…to collect 30 bees(they must be older bees..not nurse bees) in a match box, freeze them and send samples to Dr Mary Coffey, Teagasc, Oak Park Carlow….the form necessary to send with the bees is on FIBKA website…. use the following link https://irishbeekeeping.ie/education/application-forms/. You will have to sign in. This is a totally confidential service.

Eleanor is a very interesting and entertaining lecturer and while we learned a lot we also had fun.

I will try to add some pictures to the gallery..I say try as using the website is very much an experiment also.

 

2019 Introduction to Beekeeping Course

Introduction to Beekeeping Course

Date: Wednesday 20th & 27th March & 3rd April 2019
Time: 7 – 9pm each night.
Venue: The Roanmore GAA Centre, Cleaboy. Waterford. X91 EC92.

Fee: €80

The course fee of €80 covers the following:

  • Lectures x 3 (inclusive of practical demonstrations).
  • Visits to the Association Apiary x 4 for actual demonstrations in May/June/July/August.(Weather Permitting)
  • Membership of the EWBA and Federation of Irish Beekeepers until 31/12/19.
  • A copy of An Beachaire (the Irish Beekeeper’s Magazine) monthly until 31/12/2019.

To register for the course download the Membership Form in the Membership Tab on the Home page or you can email Anne Marie EWBA Secretary at waterfordbees@gmail.com for a form or phone 086-2064919 for further information.

This Course facilitates a hands-on approach right from the start.

The course comprises of 3 x 2hr sessions , covering the practical and theoretical aspects of the craft.

The course will cover subjects like:

The Hive and its Occupants
The Honey Bee Colony
What Bees Collect
The Hive and all its parts
Setting up an Apiary
Protective gear and Equipment necessary
Summer Management of Bees
Swarming
Harvesting Honey
Preparing bees for the Winter
Spring Management of Bees
Honey Bee Products
Bee Diseases and Treatment
Record Keeping
There will be practical components to the course e.g showing you an actual hive and all its parts and showing you how to make frames etc.

There will be at least 4 visits to the Association Apiary  from April – July where the real practical experience of opening hives, identifying the hive occupants,  handling bee frames, finding the Queen, seeing where nectar, pollen and honey is stored, doing hive inspections, becoming familiar with all hive parts and much more.