Author: edbka

Bee inspector advice on usage of oxalic acid and MAQs

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Ealing member Brian Mitchison recently received advice from National Bee Unit Regional Bee Inspector Julian Parker on the use of OXALIC ACID if you’ve used MAQs strips. 

“It is unwise for beekeepers to use oxalic acid treatments if they have already treated the same (winter) bees with formic acid (MAQS – Mite Away Quick Strips) as this would effectively be a double dose of organic acid. It matters little that one is formic and the other oxalic – the method of action is the same and a second application of either applied to the same winter bees risks high adult bee mortality through a double dose of organic acid burning the bees. The bees can only tolerate so much acid treatment before it burns them lethally, much like the mites. Queen loss would also be a concern.

Any treatments applied to a colony should be recorded on a veterinary medicines record card as bees are considered to be food-producing livestock.”

Julian Parker
Regional Bee Inspector, South Eastern England, National Bee Unit

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) regularly review their position regarding bee medicines and treatments. While this is currently the correct interpretation of their guidance, it may change as other products come to the market. Please keep updated on current usage and guidance on the VMD website.

Story sent by Brian Mitchison.

The Queen’s Beekeeper on Christmas Day

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Ealing beekeeper John Chapple, the Queen’s beekeeper, appears on ITV’s The Queen’s Garden on Christmas Day at 3.10pm. Both Andy Pedley and John took part in filming, and we’re looking forward to watching John with his hives at Buckingham Palace. Tune in after the Queen’s speech.

The Queen’s Garden
Thursday 25th December at 3:10pm on ITV
Queen’s Garden, Episode 1: The first of two programmes in which Alan Titchmarsh gets exclusive access to the royal gardens at Buckingham Palace for a whole year. He watches the garden change over the four seasons and reveals its hidden treasures that have evolved over five centuries. In the first part, he arrives along with 8,000 others to attend the Queen’s summer garden party, but unlike the other guests, he has a different itinerary. He begins by venturing into the garden’s wilder spaces where nature has been left to rule. He meets the Queen’s bee keeper John Chapple, delves into the history of the garden and finds its oldest tree. Late summer is the ideal time to visit the rose garden with its 18th-century summer house. Later, as Christmas arrives, Alan helps royal florist Sharon Gaddes-Croasdale bring in plants to decorate the palace.

bee on thumb of queen beekeeper

Caption: A bee rests on the thumb of the Queen’s beekeeper John Chapple.

Stocking fillers for beekeepers

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A great idea for stocking fillers as Christmas fast approaches is making candles, polish, beer, soap, lip balm and more. Bee Craft Magazine is hosting a #BeeCraftLive on Hive Products on Wednesday 17 December.

Pop Bee Craft Magazine a question ahead of #BeeCraftLive here: http://bit.ly/1yQ7zZD

Want to try to make a lip balm ahead of the chat? A simple recipe for honey and lavender lip balm:

Ingredients:

  • 40 ml olive oil
  • 10 g beeswax
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 10 drops lavender essential oil

Method:

  1. Heat the oil gently in a saucepan over a low heat.
  2. Add the beeswax, stirring till completely melted.
  3. Mix in the honey then pour into a warmed bowl.
  4. Add the lavender essential oil and stir quickly before the balm starts to set.
  5. Pour the warm balm into small pots and leave to set, then lid and label your honey and lavender lip balm.

Enjoy! Emma

What can we learn from insect societies?

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A great topic talked about at this week’s Commonwealth Science Conference: ‘How can we use insect societies as a mirror to reflect on our own?’. The talk by Professor Raghavendra Gadakar, President of the Indian National Science Academy, asked what we can learn from insect societies and started by looking at bees. Read more notes on the talk at the Commonwealth Science Conference blog. Story sourced by Emma Sarah Tennant.

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Neonics: driving declines in biodiversity

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An interesting film by bumblebee ecologist Dr David Goulson who speaks about the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides on biodiversity declines in farmlands. Goulson’s pioneering research on the impact of neonicotinoid exposure on bumblebees shows that treated nests produce 85% fewer new queens than control nests.

“We essentially have somehow been railroaded by agrochemical companies into relying entirely on their products,” he says. “We depend on bees to pollinate our crops and worms and other organisms that live in the soil to keep the soil healthy. If we wipe them all out then ultimately we will wipe ourselves out.”

Watch on LinkTV:

http://bcove.me/uufq329t

Dr Goulson is a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, UK.

Story sourced by Emma Sarah Tennant.