It was with great sadness that we received the news that Brian Holtom passed away on 11^th June. He underwent a routine hip operation in March which apparently caused an existing cancer to flare up. Brian was a member of NCBKA until very recently and kept bees for over 25 years. He started by helping Bertie Timms at Condicote and then took over the stocks and built up to some 15 hives. Brian sold his honey as far as Cheshire and Bournemouth as well as to local hotels. I am sure that all members join in sending sympathy and best wishes to Brian’s wife Pat and the rest of the family.

 

Our committee held a meeting last week to discuss details of our own Freebees scheme. You may have seen the recent publicity in the local press following the award of a grant from Cotswold District Council. We learned a great deal from involvement in last year’s County scheme and hope to make this a permanent means for newcomers to beekeeping to be given a good start. We are in touch with several prospective members who we hope will be coming to our meetings. At least two newcomers have made introductory visits to our apiaries.

 

There have been stories in the press of this being a bumper year for honey. There is certainly a good show of white clover, although I waited over two weeks before I saw a single honeybee working it. I suspect that the drought was restricting water uptake and reducing nectar production. Honeybees have relatively short tongues and so can only reach nectar once enough has accumulated in the corolla tube. Some are saying that foot and mouth has reduced grazing and allowed ‘wild flowers’ to flourish. This certainly cannot be the case for one of our number who has enjoyed an abundance of honey well away from FMD areas. Other perhaps wiser suggestions are that the wet and therefore cold Spring held back the grass and allowed deeper rooted clover to fill the gap. The drought has then encouraged flowering. With luck the present wet weather will be followed by warmth to maintain the flow.

 

Swarming has again pre-occupied many beekeepers while I hear persistent stories, even from experienced beekeepers, of curious queenlessness and colonies not building as expected. One suggestion is that queens poorly mated due to adverse weather conditions last year have failed. If the queen survives then the colony “thinks” all is well until it is impossible to raise a replacement. Dwindling brood affects foraging and the colony scrapes through the season. Other causes may be varroa-related. I have recently heard of several beekeepers who thought they need do nothing about varroa. Most of them ceased to be beekeepers, just keepers of empty hives! Those worried about using chemicals in their hives must adopt alternative strategies. How many of us sample our colonies to monitor varroa numbers, thereby ensuring that treatment is started early enough? All this is leading up to an early reminder to prepare colonies for Winter. Egg laying is now declining and worker numbers will soon start to diminish. (Hopefully) the swarming tendency is reducing. We should be assessing our colonies to decide which are in good shape and should be taken through to next season, and which are too weak.