Date: Thursday
16 November 2006
Venue: The Church Rooms, Stow-on-the-Wold
The Devon
Apicultural Research Group (DARG) held a meeting in Exmouth, devon on 8
February 2004. One of the DARG members’ wives produced a table decoration for
the meeting that contained 41 garden species picked the previous day!
In 2004, the
Meteorological Office moved their Head Quarters from Bracknell to Exeter. Devon
is therefore fortunate to have the worlds’ experts on meteorology “on tap”.
Staff from these brand new facilities have delivered two lectures to Devon
beekeepers. The HQ also includes The Hadley Centre where a dedicated team are
working on global warming.
Ø What is the evidence?
Ø What are the causes?
Ø The impact on bees and beekeeping?
Ø A speculative discussion……
Glyn shared with us a photograph taken on 13 February 2004 in Ashburton, Devon. It was taken at around noon when the temperature was 12-degrees Celsius and there was no wind. It showed a frame of brood inside an over-wintered 5-frame nucleus on an open-mesh floor. Is this unusual?
The Queen had
been in lay for at least 2 weeks and there were several frames of brood.
Significantly,
a very cold period followed of about 10 days from around 17 February. During
this time, the bees would undoubtedly have clustered again.
In 2003, the
highest temperature ever was recorded in the UK.
Research at
the University of Bern shows that the last 10 years in Europe have been the
hottest summers since 1500AD.
Is the climate
really changing?
Ø Fact or fiction? Man-made change or
natural climate cycle?
Ø For better or worse, for warmer or
colder, for sickness or for health? (re-bee health!)
Ø Agricultural crops &natural flora:
What changes will there be in species and the time of flowering?
Ø Will there be seasonal changes? Early
& late flowering species are important to bees and beekeeping.
Prediction: Cool, wet winters
Hot,
dry summers
Arctic Ocean:
Ice thickness has decreased by 1.2 metres (4ft) in 40 years. 40% reduction.
In the UK, the
warmest temperature ever recorded occurred in 2004.
In Finland,
the growing season is longer by 10 days since 1900.
In the Caucasian
Mountains, Russia, glacial ice has halved in 100 years.
In Portugal,
the average spring air temperature has increased by 0.6 degrees Celsius in 10 years.
This is the
study of the time of recurring natural phenomena e.g.
Ø Oak leafing
Ø Swallows, Swifts & House Martins
arriving & departing
Ø Snowdrops flowering
Ø Orange Tip Butterfly flight period
All dates are becoming earlier, year on year.
Ø Carbon dioxide
Ø Water vapour
Ø Methane
Ø Ozone
Ø Chloroflurocarbons (CFCs)
Ø Nitrous oxide
These can all
be expressed together as Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2E)
The changes give positive and negative feedback, e.g.
Ø Increased Carbon Dioxide gives
increased plant growth reducing Carbon Dioxide – negative
Ø Increased water vapour gives more low
cloud – reducing radiation – positive
Ø Radiation from space is reflected by
high Cirrus clouds – negative
Ø Ice-albedo effect: Polar ice reflects
radiation: land & water absorbs it – positive
Ø Atmospheric dust from desertification –
negative
Glyn shared three interesting references to the impact of
global warming:
1. The Skeptical Environmentalist B. Lomburg (2001)
2. The New Scientist: http//:www.newscientist.com
If we do
nothing, then in 2145 carbon emmission will peak at 500 billion tons per annum
then decline as there will be no carbon fuels left.
Article by
Fred Portch “Mean Annual temperature and Honey Yield, Wiltshire 1982-1992
Fred Portch ran c.100 colonies. He was convinced that the temperature was affecting honey yield. He had a friend who was an amateur meteorologist. The 2 of them compared honey yield with various climatic parameters. Tjis demonstrated that it was the temperature that mattered. This is demonstrated by a graph showing
Ø Mean yearly temperature for Wiltshire
Ø Annual total honey yield for Wiltshire
The lines
mirror each other. However, more significant is the continuous upward trend in
the former.
The Stern Review (31 October 2006)
The review mapped predictions of what will happen as the Global Temperature Change (relative to pre-industrial) rises between 0-Degrees Celcius and 5-Degrees Celsius.
|
|
0
Degrees Celsius |
|
5 Degrees Celsius |
Food |
Possible
rising yields in some high latitude regions |
Falling crop
yields in many areas, particularly developing regions |
Falling
yields in many developed regions |
Water
|
Small
mountain glaciers disappear. Water
supplies threatened in several areas. |
Reduced
water availability in many areas e.g. Mediterranean & Southern Africa. |
Sea level
rise threatens major cities |
|
Ecosystems |
Damage to
coral reefs. |
Increased
number of species face extinction. |
|
|
Extreme weather vents |
|
Storms,
droughts, fires, flooding, heat waves. |
|
|
Abrupt, major, irreversible changes |
|
Increased
risk of dangerous feedbacks and abrupt, large scale shift in climate system. |
|
The Stern
review outlines that with 400 parts-per-million CO2E, there will be a
Ø 5% chance of a 1-Degree Celsius rise
Ø 95% chance of a 2.8-Degree Celsius rise
in temperature (relative to pre-industrial).
Currently, in
2006 we are increasing by 3.2 parts-per-million per annum.
The Hadley
Centre say that 550 parts-per-million is the most favourable prediction. This
gives a temperature rise of 4.5 – 4.7 Degrees celsius.
Colony
development: Life cycle changes & changes in forage (see time-table chart
for Devon bees)
Bee breeding –
What bee characteristics will be needed for survival & productivity?
Natural
adaptation or artificial selection?
Better Queen
rearing conditions or importation from similar climes?
Bee Health:
Impact on diseases and parasites?
Chalk Brood
& Viral Infection
Brood diseases
Acarine
Varroa-The extent
of the virus contamination could be much more serious
The Cape Bee:
Apis capensis
Letter from
DEFRA Plant Health Strategy & Bee Health Branch to BBKA, Bee Farmers
Association & Council of National Beekeeping (CONBA) 10.11.2006
Reports
probable outbreak of Small Hive Beetle (Athena tumida) in Portugal. Refers to
the movement of
Ø Bees, bees wax or honeycomb - unlikely
Ø Fruit - significant potential
as possible
pathways.
Small Hive
Beetle doesn’t need to be in a live colony of bees. Just needs old stored comb.
The standard of hive and apiary hygiene must improve. Old combs stored away in
sheds must be rendered and destroyed immediately.
So, as the
temperature rises, the cleanliness of stored equipment and apiary hygiene will
become more important.
Deaths Head
Hawkmoth Acherontia atropos
An ancient
honey robber. 10-13cms long. It is adapted to resist bees. It has:
Ø A thick coat
Ø The cuticle has a wax composition
similar to the cuticle of the honey bee so it doesn’t smell unfamiliar to bees
Ø Feet that enable it to walk over combs
Ø Short sharp proboscis to break open
cells
As the
temperature rises, it may become a
resident breeder.
If you hold
the moth, it squeaks. This sounds rather like a Queen Bee piping. When the
Queen pipes, this causes all the workers to become motionless. This function is
linked to swarming.
Bee eaters: In
2002 a pair were seen exhibiting courtship displays in County Durham.
The Bee Wolf:
This species is increasing in southern UK. It is established less than 1 mile
from Glyn’s apiary in Devon.
And finally…………
Should we be
monitoring beekeeping changes now? How? And what?