Category Archives: Previous Articles

From Bee Craft: July 2009 David Dennington A chance to find out about beekeeping and sheep shearing EARLY START The pick up is at 7.00 am. There is light rain and it is a damp misty morning. The temperature is about 10 °C We reach the first set of 25 hives at about 7.30 am. He uses [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Andy Pedley We conclude our look at the regulations associated with producing honey HEAT TREATING HONEY Heating leads to the production of HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural) and a reduction in diastase activity, for which there are legal controls. It is best to avoid heating the honey at all but if this is [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Sanna Burns Welsh Beekeepers’ Associations were out in force at the Smallholders’ Show Overcoming small problems like flooding with supplies of straw, boards and carpet, Swansea and District Beekeepers’ Association, plus volunteers drawn from across Wales, did their best to accommodate the crowds who were eager to suit up and [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Beekeeping Associations are reporting record numbers of new beekeepers attending courses IF EXPERIENCES in Somerset are anything to go by, we appear to be on the brink of something of a renaissance in British beekeeping. For decades, beekeeping in this country has been in steady decline, with each year showing [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Steve Alton Bees and beekeepers get involved in saving wildflower meadows The weekends will form part of the Vanishing Meadows exhibition, organized by Kew and the Weald Meadows Initiative, which runs from 1 May until 4 October 2009. MEADOWS The exhibition aims to highlight the vanishing landscape of traditional Wealden [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Dewey M Caron, PhD, University of Delaware (retired) A summary of Dr Caron’s presentation to the National Honey Show 2008 CCD, Nosema and mites are significant factors in the downward trend in numbers of honey bee colonies both in the US and Europe, raising deep concerns for crop pollination, (see [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Natural England conservation partnership launches a rescue mission jor the short-haired bumblebee A NEW project to re-introduce the short-haired bumblebee to England was announced on Monday 1 June by Natural England, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Hymettus Ltd, the premier source of [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Emilia Fox and David Bellamy are among the high profile patrons of this exciting project ON 4 JUNE, the impressive new 27-acre Future Gardens visitor attraction near St Albans was unveiled by actress and patron Emilia Fox. The pioneering conservation project, open from 5 June to 4 October, represents a [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Mathieu Molet, PhD, Professor Lars Chittka and Nigel Raine, PhD School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London Bumblebees use flower scent to guide their nest-mates to good food sources and use pheromones to encourage their nest-mates to go foraging BUMBLEBEE PHEROMONE Honey bees use their waggle [...]

From Bee Craft: July 2009 Nigel Raine, PhD Bumblebees that learn rapidly are able to fight off injection bt more slowly BUMBLEBEE COLONIES which are fast learners are also better able to fight off infection. Dr Nigel Raine from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, and Akram Alghamdi, Ezio Rosato [...]