BRAMBLINGS - the occasional newsletter of NCBKA

No doubt I am not the only one whose autumn feeding was disrupted by the fuel "crisis". I had to make very careful calculations to ensure that I could reach all my colonies. As a result I have a last feed to give some of them. It has been interesting to compare my town bees with their country cousins, the townies bringing in significant amounts of nectar well into September, but the hill-top country bumpkins collecting no nectar for some time. All seem well and it was pleasant to see all seven of the latter bringing in pollen earlier this week. I totally failed to find one queen to unite a stock so I am hoping for an Indian summer and feeding the colony in case they have to stay as they are for the Winter.

I tried some queen rearing during the summer and have kept two mini-nucs going with queens that would otherwise have been killed. Despite their size, both seem well able to deter wasps and were in good heart a few days ago. I will use these to develop my skills in bringing mini-nucs through the winter. If successful, I shall be ready for any queenlessness early next year, and will be better equipped to "store" spare queens in this way in the future.

By now Eric should have been in touch with all our new members regarding a series of beginner's meetings. Details have yet to be agreed, but this should be very useful to all who are new to beekeeping. If you haven't been contacted, talk to Eric.

After the AGM, our next meeting will be the Skittles evening on 13th October. To my mind, skittles is an excellent activity for a beekeepers' social since it leaves ample time for chats about - beekeeping! If you have any preferences for subjects for our winter meetings, please make your ideas known to any member of the Committee.

I bought a second-hand solar wax extractor the other day. I collected it the day before the weather broke, but was delighted by last Saturday's heat. It is very satisfying to place a piece of old comb under the glass and watch the wax moth larvae wriggle out as the temperature rises! Some people say that this is a very good way of killing wax moth eggs hidden in frames that are due to have new foundation fitted. Wax moth doesn't seem to be so troublesome as last year but I want to do all I can to keep this pest at bay. PDB crystals worked well last winter. Does anyone have experience of Certan? Apart from all this, I have a huge quantity of wax to process so still plan to book a day at the wax room at Hartpury. Let me know if you want to join in.

A short while ago someone told me that the Death's Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) is becoming a problem in hives. This moth raids hives for honey and emits a squeak that is thought to subdue the bees, making them defenceless. It is native to Africa and migrates North to Britain in most summers. Perhaps this is "one to watch" if changing weather patterns increase numbers. I was recently given a little book on beekeeping in Ghana. This describes Acherontia as a serious pest able to lay in the hive where caterpillars consume the comb and cause it to decay. However, all is not lost. Ghana has developed a modified Tanzanian Top Bar Hive in which the entrance consists of a series of V cuts. These notches prevent entry by large moths such as Acherontia. Perhaps it would work against the Large Wax Moth? Now where did I put my tenon saw?

Will Messenger.