East Waterford Beekeepers' Association

Lecture: The National Honey Monitoring Scheme with Prof Richard Pywell
2021-10-06 19:30 - 21:30 (Europe/Dublin) | On-Line
Next in the Scotish Beekeepers Association series of free, online lectures is Prof Richard Pywell, who will be sharing more information on the National Honey Monitoring Scheme.

Working in partnership with UK beekeepers, this scheme aims to use honeybees to monitor long-term changes in the condition and health of the UK countryside.

Prof. Pywell is the Senior Principal Scientist & Biodiversity Science Area Head at the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Apiary Practical Demonstration for EWBA Members and Presentation of FIBKA Prelim Certs
2021-10-02 10:30 - 12:00 | Dunhill Apiary
A Practical demonstration for members will be held at our Dunhill Apiary on Saturday 02/10/2021 starting at 10:30am.
The demonstration is about ‘Preparing your Hives for Winter’
This will be followed by the presentation of FIBKA Prelim Certificates to our 22 exam candidates.

Dr. Dewey Caron, "Reading the Hive" Hosts: Bo Sterk & David Westervelt by Bees Beyond Borders..Note Time..12am-1:30am
2021-10-02 00:00 - 01:30 | On-Line
Dr. Dewey Caron, Professor, Author, Legend

About this event

“Reading the Hive” – How to move beyond the debris (monitoring) board and hefting without opening to read the hive. Moving to action central, the brood area, to examine and how to read brood frames to understand what is happening in the hive during the season. A hive is like a mystery novel – turn the page (i.e. remove and read another brood frame) to solve the mystery of what the bees are attempting to tell u
Dr Dewey M. Caron is Emeritus Professor of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology, Univ of Delaware, & Affiliate Professor, Dept Horticulture, Oregon State University. I enjoyed professional appointments at Cornell (1968-70), Univ of Maryland (1970-81) and U Delaware 1981-2009, serving as entomology chair at the last 2. I spent a sabbatical year at the USDA Tucson lab 1977-78. I helped establish graduate Entomology degree Univ of Panama and had Fulbright in Panama and Bolivia working with Africanized bees. Wrote Africanized bees in the Americas (2001). I retired from Univ of Delaware in 2009 and moved to Portland, OR to be closer to grandkids. I am principal author of HBHC Tools for Varroa Management and Best Management Practices and Identifying and Mitigating Foulbrood in honey bee colonies; Information for Beekeepers and Veterinarians.
In retirement I remain active in bee education, writing for newsletters, giving Bee Short Courses, assisting in several Master beekeeper programs and giving presentations to local, state and regional bee clubs. I am author of Honey Bee Biology & Beekeeping, major textbook used in University and Association bee courses and have a new bee book (my 10th) The Complete Bee Handbook published by Rockridge Press in 2020. I wrote 2 book Chapters in recently released Honey Bee Medicine.hive like a text book. Opening it page by page.

Lecture: Beekeeping through the camera lens - a talk by Simon Croson
2021-09-22 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
Simon’s talk will be a balance between inspiration, techniques and technical aspects of photography to help improve knowledge and success.

About this event

The talk involves providing some technical detail about the photos, the equipment used, the way in which the equipment is used in composition to make average photos better and to give confidence to those who take photos to be better prepared the next time that “once in a season” photo opportunity presents itself, and we all get those. Simon will also recount instances of why and how he came to take some photos, how he uses photographs to capture memories and to help absorb information. A photograph can help recover a certain moment in time when the photograph was taken – it has helped him in many beekeeping examination situations and has helped to build his personal educational library and inspired him to be a more observant beekeeper by looking that much deeper into all aspects of the craft, bees, equipment, activities, people – almost everything we do is amplified through pictures and good pictures seem to hold in peoples memories, especially if they have taken the photos themselves.

About the speaker
Simon is from Lincolnshire, UK, and began beekeeping in 2006 as an extension of his hobby of photography and also as a therapy for a desk bound managerial position within the Royal Air Force. Acknowledgement soon grew for the photographs he took, which he did to help him learn about bees, and soon he had photographs published and awarded, two Apimondia Gold medals and a Silver followed along with numerous National Honey Show (London) awards at shows for honey and related exhibits across the range from Honey, Wax, Mead, confectionaries and of course photographs. Simon has travelled to America , Ireland and up and down the UK sharing his photography passion with beekeeping groups, many as a returning guest. He was the education officer and is still an examiner for the British Beekeepers’ Association and has recently opened up a small school to share his craft of beekeeping whilst running 300 colonies with his wife, Caroline, for honey, Queens and nuc production.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/02/photographing-bees
https://www.theartisanhoneycompany.co.uk/index.php
Simon has travelled far and wide to study and photograph bees including several trips to Nepal, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, USA, Morocco, France and enjoys sharing his adventures as a respected and valued public speaker. He enjoys inspiring people to take more photographs which in turn will help get a better understanding of beekeeping as a treasured craft.

Lecture: Breeding for Hygienic Bees
2021-06-23 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
Breeding for Hygienic Bees – a talk by Jack Silberrad

by Cambridgeshire Beekeepers Association

To treat or not to treat?

About this event

Cambridgeshire Beekeepers’ Association are delighted to welcome back Jack Silberrad to talk to us about his latest beekeeping research.
It’s a contentious question in beekeeping, but one thing we can all surely agree on are the benefits of breeding hygienic bees.
So what constitutes hygienic behaviour, what are its benefits and how can we identify and perpetuate it?
With such a growing interest in hygienic traits, Jack will talk to us about industry standard methods of tracking Varroa and hygienic traits that are simple and fast for any skilled beekeeper. He will speak about queen rearing for specific traits with minimal equipment and expense.
This talk promises to be a whirlwind tour of many key beekeeping disciplines, to encourage attendees to rear their own queens, and includes methodology compatible with any perspective on Varroa management.

Photo credit: Jack Silberrad

About the speaker
Having worked variously as a microbiologist, teacher, and medical sales representative Jack completely changed direction, from suits to boots, and is now a qualified honey bee farmer. Over the last five years he has managed ~400 colonies with the London Honey Company, and 750 double queen colonies seasonally with Manuka Island Honey, and he now works as a beefarmer and Seasonal Bee Inspector in and around Cambridge. Most recently he represented the NBU for this year’s Invasive Species Awareness week, speaking on Asian Hornet monitoring and reporting.

Committee Meeting
2021-06-14 20:00 - 21:30 | On-Line
If members have any questions or items for the committee meeting please send an email to waterfordbees@gmail.coom

Lecture: Checkerboarding for Swarm Control
2021-06-09 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
John White will talk about a method of swarm prevention that means you don’t have to open the brood nest

About this event

Checkerboarding is a simple swarm management tool that prevents swarming. It uses the bee’s natural swarm and survival impulses. When the basic seasonal brood nest behaviour is understood, bees can be easily managed to prevent swarming and produce an exceptional honey surplus.
Checkerboarding does not inhibit, diminish or disturb the colony. Empty drawn comb frames are alternated with frames full of honey directly above the brood nest. This breaks up the solid band of honey that rings the top of the brood nest and encourages the bees to fill the empty spaces rather than swarming.
In this talk John will explain in simple terms how to perform Checkerboarding and some of the aspects of colony behaviour that relate to this method of swarm prevention. Checkerboarding will prevent swarming, increase the hive population and lead to a larger crop of honey. Time and questions allowing we will look at some other aspects of colony behaviour and an early indicator that a colony is about to swarm.

About the speaker
John has kept bees for 11 years and is a keen advocate of chemical free beekeeping. He keeps all his bees without the use of chemicals by rearing small cell bees. He likes to experiment with differant forms of beekeeping in order to try and understand first hand what works for the bees and the beekeeper. He has tried and still has colonies with top entrance hives and for the last two years has been, along with other local beekeepers, experimenting with a form of swarm prevention beekeeping – Checkerboarding.

Lecture: The Genetics of the Irish Honey Bee
2021-05-20 20:30 - 22:00 | On-Line
Thursday May 20th, 8pm
The Genetics of the Irish Honey Bee
Jack Hassett BSc(Hons), PhD
Jack received his BSc. (Hons) in Pharmaceutical and Forensic Analysis from Limerick Institute of Technology
in 2013. During his degree he studied a wide variety of scientific practices and has experience with an array
of various instrumentation.
Following the completion of his degree, he undertook a Ph.D. in the “Genetic Analysis of the Irish Honeybee”
under the supervision of Dr Mike Geary and Dr Liz Moore. The aim of the research was to determine the
population and level of hybridisation of the Irish Honeybee in Ireland. Through his research, Jack has expertise
in a diverse range of DNA extraction, amplification and visualisation techniques.
Currently Jack is a lecturer at the Limerick Institute of Technology

Lecture: Biosecurity & Apiculture
2021-05-13 20:30 - 22:00
Thursday May 13th, 8pm
Biosecurity & Apiculture
Nicolas Vidal Naquet DVM, DIE d’apiculture-pathologie apicole
Nicolas graduated in veterinary medicine from the Alfort Veterinary Faculty in 1987. Since then he has worked
practice (pets) in Paris and currently works as an emergency vet for VetoAdom, an “at home” veterinary
emergency service. In 2007, he started to specialize in honeybee medicine and set up a veterinary blog dedicated
to honeybee pathology www.apivet.eu. In 2008 he obtained a diploma in “Apiculture-pathologie apicole” from
the Veterinary Schools of Nantes (Oniris) & Alfort. In 2011, he contributed to the book “Invertebrate Medicine”
by Gregory A. Lewbart (Blackwell-Wiley), one of the most comprehensive works on invertebrate husbandry and
veterinary care. Since 2009, he has been a member of the beekeeping commission of the GTV (Groupement Technique Vétérinaire) and since January 2012, he has also chaired the FVE (Federation of Veterinarians of Europe)
working group on honeybees. Nicolas also teaches honeybee biology and pathology to students in the Veterinary
School of Alfort and to veterinarians in the Veterinary School of Oniris in Nantes
Book: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/
WN_icfhetV2QmmoOfRqS6NQ7w

Committee Meeting
2021-05-10 19:00 - 21:00

Lecture: Diagnosing Queen Problems
2021-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
Diagnosing queen problems with Professor David Tarpy

Is it the queen, the colony, both, or neither?! This talk is packed with practical advice based on empirical research

About this Event

Diagnosing queen problems: is it the queen, the colony, both, or neither?!
Practical advice—based on empirical research—looking at different symptoms and attributing whether or not the problem is the queen’s fault. A lesson in showing how we blame the queen way more often than is actually her fault.
David R Tarpy
David Tarpy is a Professor of Entomology and the Extension Apiculturist at North Carolina State University since 2003. As Extension Apiculturist, he maintains an apiculture web site dedicated to the dissemination of information and understanding of honey bees and their management, spearheads numerous extension projects (such as the 2005 New Beekeeper Cost-sharing program that created hundreds of new beekeepers within the state), and launched the Beekeeper Education & Engagement System (BEES)—an exciting online learning resource for knowledge and understanding of bees and beekeeping.
His research interests focus on the biology and behaviour of honey bee queens in order to better improve the overall health of queens and their colonies. Specific research projects include understanding the effect of multiple mating on colony disease resistance, using molecular methods to determine the genetic structure within honey bee colonies, and the determining the regulation of reproduction at the individual and colony levels. His work has provided some of the best empirical evidence that multiple mating by queens confers multiple and significant benefits to colonies through increased genetic diversity of their nestmates, particularly through increased tolerance to numerous diseases. More recently, his lab group has focused on the reproductive potential of commercially produced queens, testing their genetic diversity and mating success in an effort to improve queen quality.

Lecture: Diagnosing Queen Problems with Prof. David Tarpy
2021-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
About this Event

Diagnosing queen problems: is it the queen, the colony, both, or neither?!
Practical advice—based on empirical research—looking at different symptoms and attributing whether or not the problem is the queen’s fault. A lesson in showing how we blame the queen way more often than is actually her fault.
David R Tarpy
David Tarpy is a Professor of Entomology and the Extension Apiculturist at North Carolina State University since 2003. As Extension Apiculturist, he maintains an apiculture web site dedicated to the dissemination of information and understanding of honey bees and their management, spearheads numerous extension projects (such as the 2005 New Beekeeper Cost-sharing program that created hundreds of new beekeepers within the state), and launched the Beekeeper Education & Engagement System (BEES)—an exciting online learning resource for knowledge and understanding of bees and beekeeping.
His research interests focus on the biology and behaviour of honey bee queens in order to better improve the overall health of queens and their colonies. Specific research projects include understanding the effect of multiple mating on colony disease resistance, using molecular methods to determine the genetic structure within honey bee colonies, and the determining the regulation of reproduction at the individual and colony levels. His work has provided some of the best empirical evidence that multiple mating by queens confers multiple and significant benefits to colonies through increased genetic diversity of their nestmates, particularly through increased tolerance to numerous diseases. More recently, his lab group has focused on the reproductive potential of commercially produced queens, testing their genetic diversity and mating success in an effort to improve queen quality.

Lecture: European Foul Brood
2021-05-05 20:00 - 21:30 | On-Line
Wednesday May 5th, 8pm
European Foulbrood
Dr Chris Palgrave BSc(Hons), BVM&S, PhD, FHEA, FRCPath, MRCVS
Chris graduated from the University of Edinburgh, where he also intercalated a PhD in immunogenetics and
comparative pathology at the Roslin Institute. He worked as a practicing vet in the UK and USA before attending
the anatomic pathology residency program at North Carolina State University. Chris returned to the UK as a
Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and has also held Senior Lectureships at the Universities of Bristol and
Surrey. Chris spent two years at a diagnostic pathology laboratory in Bristol (Bridge Pathology) and is now
Veterinary Anatomic Pathologist for IDEXX Laboratories Ltd. He has been with IDEXX since June 2018, where
their exclusive use of digital pathology allows him to work remotely. Chris has been keeping bees for several
years and currently has 10 colonies, with plans to increase to 15 in the coming season. He has recently launched
a fledgling business, Three Hares Honey, from his home in rural Hampshire.

Book: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dB38Yj3cRG-jdX5TQOPPqw

Lecture: The Magic and Mystery of Drone Congregation Areas - with Stephen Fleming
2021-05-05 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
Drone Congregation Areas – the place to be or the last-chance saloon?

About this Event

Fascinated by the idea that there might be specific meeting and mating places for drones and queens, Stephen Fleming started looking for them around his apiaries but found one where he least expected. As he discovered more, a pattern seemed to appear but it didn’t match findings in other parts of the world. What is going on? How can drones who do not live from one year to the next find the same locations year after year? How can queens who so rarely leave their nest find them? He still has more questions than answers but his fascination with drone congregation areas (DCAs) is undimmed and the thrill of discovering new ones undiminished. In his talk he will discuss his methods, some prevailing ideas plus videos and audios of a few DCA discoveries.

About the speaker
Stephen Fleming became a beekeeper in 1994 just as the varroa mite started to change British beekeeping and has seen the change of the public perception of the craft from eccentric pastime to enironmental sentinel. He became co-editor of Bee Craft magazine in January 2020. With a degree in land use, beekeeping has kept him in touch with environmental issues throughout his career which has focussed on other subject areas. Today, he has seven overwintering colonies across three apiaries ( including an observation hive in his home office) so that he can observe the fascinating diversity of honey bees in different habitats. He lives in north Hampshire, in sight of Watership Down – which just happens to be a fine example of a drone congregation area.

Virtual Bee Health Workshop 2021
2021-04-22 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line
Virtual Bee Health Workshop 2021
Workshop Speakers:
Tom Williamson – Senior Bee Inspector (DAERA). Overview and Update of NI
Bee Health and Current Challenges
Megan Seymour – Master Beekeeper. How to Make Healthy
Increase. Practical Hints and Tips for Queen Rearing
Date / Details
Thursday 22nd April at 7:30pm via Zoom
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.usmeetingregistertZIofuyqqTovG9X2OLx7KSc56JOmbaaGtcjl
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information
about how to join the meeting.

Lecture: Practical Queen Rearing
2021-04-21 20:00 - 21:30 | On-Line
In this IBAclg webinar, PJ Curran will give guidance on rearing queens.
Covered in the webinar
Why rear Queens?
Best time to start?
Equipment needed?
Methods, Ben Harden system, Cloake Board, Jenter- Cup Kit, Grafting, Incubator, Apideas
Timetable and Planner
Hive Records & Selection

EWBA Facebook page to book..limit of 100 places

Lecture: Reactive Swarm Control: Wally Shaw
2021-04-15 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
About this Event

Re-active Swarm Control
This talk covers the methods of management that can be used to deal with colonies that have started queen cells ie when pre-emptive swarm control has failed. Artificial swarming is the method that can be used if the colony has not already issued a prime swarm. If the prime swarm has already departed there are other methods that can be used to prevent cast swarming and further loss of bees. The talk includes an explanation of the Snelgrove II (modified) method.

Introduction to Beekeeping Course: Lecture 6
2021-04-06 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Pre-Emptive Swarm Control
2021-04-01 19:00 - 20:30 | On-Line
Get ready your colonies ready before swarm season and keep your bees!

Introduction to Beekeeping Course: Lecture 5
2021-03-30 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Lecture: Setting up an Apidea...Jim Agnew
2021-03-24 19:30 - 21:30 | On-Line
Our next webinar is with Jim Agnew who will speak on the subject of Apidea mating hives on 24th March at 7:30 pm. This virtual talk is designed for everyone, from those just thinking about queen rearing to those with years of experience. Jim will talk on how to set up the Apidea, how to manage it, and even how to use it for subsequent queens. As many of you know, a number of queen-rearing groups have been set up across the country with the goal of spreading good quality native Irish bee queens, which will hopefully produce a large number, so this is a golden opportunity to learn how you might take advantage of a virgin queen or a queen cell from these groups.
https://www.eventbrite.ie/…/jim-agnew-presents-managing…

Introduction to Beekeeping Course: Lecture 4
2021-03-23 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Lecture: Reading the Combs. Randy Oliver
2021-03-18 19:00 - 20:30 | On-Line
Reading the combs; Understanding the Biology over the course of the season

Introduction to Beekeeping Course: Lecture 3
2021-03-16 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Lecture: Rearing Queens better than those you buy. Jonathan Getty
2021-03-10 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Lecture: Freebees - bait hives for profit and pleasure - talk given by David Evans
2021-03-10 19:00 - 20:30 | On-Line
About this Event

Starting with a brief overview of honey bee colony reproduction David will cover the role of scout bees in identifying a new nest site, the process of swarming, bivouacking and then relocation to the chosen location. After a brief digression into capturing swarms he will discuss setting up bait hives, the choice of box, its location and contents. This covers both scientific studies and how these findings can best be applied to practical beekeeping. Discussion of the contents of bait hive necessitates another digression into building and using foundationless frames, which offer particular benefits for bait hives. The talk closes with a discussion of what you can expect to observe when scout bees find and favour your bait hive, and the things you need to do having attracted a swarm – these include moving it somewhere else and managing the Varroa that also arrive with the swarm.

About the speaker
David Evans is Professor of Virology at the University of St Andrews and has held previous academic posts in Warwick, Glasgow and Reading. He is a member of Fife BKA, the East of Scotland BKA and Lochaber BKA and also currently writes the monthly Q&A column for the BBKA Newsletter. He has been a beekeeper for more than a decade and manages about 20 colonies for research and pleasure. David writes a weekly blog post The Apiarist . In this he covers a diverse range of topics from the principles and practice of beekeeping to the science behind the biology of honey bees and their pathogens. His beekeeping interests include very amateur DIY and queen rearing. His honey bee research includes studies of the biology and control of deformed wing virus, rational Varroa control and the emergence and management of chronic bee paralysis virus.

Introduction to Beekeeping Course: Lecture 2
2021-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 | On-Line

Committe Meeting
2021-03-08 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line

Lecture: Understanding Varroa Resistant Bees. Professor Stephen Martin
2021-03-04 19:00 - 21:00 | On-Line
Understand the evolution of natural Varroa-tolerance mechanisms in various beekeeping populations.

About this Event

Since the arrival of the Varroa mite from Asia, millions of honey bee colonies have died. For decades, beekeepers have continued to control Varroa populations by the use of chemicals and other invasive methods. However, throughout Africa and most of South and Central America mite-infested colonies survive without any form of mite-control. This has been linked with poor mite reproduction, although what causes this has remained unknown. Throughout, Europe the USA and Wales an increasing number of naturally evolved, mite-tolerant colonies are been discovered. The talk will discuss the various tolerant mechanisms and how honey bee populations in Brazil, Africa, USA and UK all appear to have evolved similar ways to combat the Varroa mite.
Professor Stephen Martin of the University of Salford
Stephen has studied social insects (bees, wasps, termites and ants) for most of his career. His areas of specialisation are the ‘hornet ecology’, ‘pest and diseases of honeybees’ and ‘chemical ecology of ants’. He holds a Chair in Social Entomology in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences at Salford University, Manchester. Prior to that he spent 12 years working at Sheffield University, 7 years with the National Bee Unit and 7 years in Japan conducting research into hornets.
Stephen is best known for his work on the Varroa mite and its association with viruses, especially the Deformed Wing Virus, but more recently his expertise in hornet biology is in demand, both nationally and internationally. His team of researchers at Salford, funded in part by beekeepers, are using the very latest molecular methods to read the genetic code of the DWV virus. The aim is to understand why some honey bee colonies have become naturally tolerant to Varroa and see if this information can provide beekeepers with a long-term solution to the problem.

Lecture : Its all in the Jelly! Richard Noel
2021-03-03 19:00 - 20:30 | On-Line
A talk about Queen Rearing and the Cell Builder with Richard Noel
