The Magazine for the Bee-Keeping Association of Harrowwww.harrowbeekeepers.co.uk

Vol 66 Autumn 2011

Forager

Published by the Harrow Bee-Keeper’s Association by whom this magazine was founded in the year 1946

Editors

J Moore & M P Davey (Consultant)

All correspondence and literary contributions intended for Forager, which goes topress on the 2nd Saturday of each month, should be sent to:

The Forager Editor, 4 Endymion Road, Hatfield, Herts AL10 8ASe-mail: jem2102@mac.com - Tel: 07801 691 265

Association SecretariesHARROWMrs Aline Bowers, 12 Larkfield Ave, Kenton Harrow, Middlesex HA3 8NFTel: 020 8907 9832PINNER & RUISLIPMrs Sue Ryan, 31 Hazeldene Gardens, Hillingdon UB10 9DJ.Tel: 01895 464108EALINGAndy Pedley, 36 Ferrymead Gardens, Greenford, Middlesex UB6 9NF.Tel: 020 8578 7997NORTH LONDONElizabeth Jack, 2 Rookfield Close, London N10 3TR.Tel: 020 8883 2835LONDON BKAJulian Lush, 97 Larkhall Rise, London SW4 6HR.Tel: 020 7622 9407ENFIELD BKAMrs Mary Hunter, 18 Slades Gardens, Enfield EN2 7DR.Tel: 020 8367 8452

Middlesex Federation SecretaryMrs J Telfer, Midwood House, Elm Park Road, Pinner HA5 3LH.Tel: 020 8868 3494

Whilst care is taken to verify the material published, the Editors do not accept responsibility for theaccuracy of all statements made by the contributors, nor do they necessarily share the views expressed.

Forager

Diary Dates Vol 66 Autumn 2011

Nov 12th HBKA AGM

Nov 13th No Meeting

Dec 11th Mead & Mince pie Fun Quize

Jan 2nd Oxalic acid treatment. 50p per colony, bring a secure plasticcontainer for this. Work Party day as well

Jan 9th Bee diseases. Acarine,EFB and AFB, Nosema. It will also beanother chance to buy Oxalic Acid

Jan 16th Disease and pests talk

Feb 12th Saturday 10am -12am Meeting of members who wish to takemodule exams in March on the 19th

Feb 13th Bee health check. Bring a sample of 30 bees

Feb 26th The Federation of Middlesex Beekeepers Associations DayAt Perivale the charge for the day will be £6 pdf withinformation

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Forager

Inspired by a series of articles in BBKA News on ‘Sustainable and Bee-friendlybeekeeping’ I bought and read Abbe Warre’s ‘Beekeeping for All’ and P JChandler’s ‘The Barefoot Beekeeper’ - second book a very good read, AbbeWarres I am still in the middle of. It does, modestly, outline in the beginningsome of the benefits of beekeeping - ‘Furthermore, beekeeping is a moralactivity, as far as it keeps one away from cafes and low places and puts beforethe beekeeper an example of work, order and devotion to the common cause’ -how things have changed.

News in Beelines of the seasonal variations, plus ‘Bards’ (not the poets), and thebeginning of a gripping series from Matt Marsh.

Happy reading

Jeremy MooreEditor

Editorial

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IN THIS ISSUE

Page 3 Harrow NotesPage 4 Bad Beekeeper Part 1Page 6 Bee tonguesPage 9 Urban BeekeepingPage 10 Beelines

Please note that allcontributions intended

for inclusion in theWinter issue of Forager

must be with theeditorial office by the

15th of Nov,at the latest.

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Articles and Notes

HARROW NOTESAUTUMN 2011

SOMETHING TO LOOK BACKON…

…is the splendid cheese and wineparty organised by the indomitableMoira and Judy held at the apiary.Numbers were slightly down on lastyear, but those who did attend had asociable time and some excellentcheese.

COMMITTEE MEETING, 10THAUGUST 2011

Matters discussed included:

- Harrow in Leaf show

- The decision was made to hold a'taster' beekeeping course for 12 on8th October, cost £35.

- All members should be aware ofpossible allergic bee sting reaction, andshould carry a mobile phone andappropriate medicines when near bees.

- Pinner and Ruislip are hosting aquiz supper in the autumn.

- Liz Rowan's son has made a benchfor the bower at Hatch End Apiary.

- The next meeting is on 15thOctober.

Don't forget - if you're an HBKAmember, you're entitled to come toany committee meeting.

And if you're interested in being anofficer of the committee, make yourinterest known at the NovemberAGM.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGAND KNEES-UP

Well, perhaps not exactly knees up,but certainly a good meal and a goodchat, on 12th November, at the samevenue as last year, St Lawrence'sChurch Hall, Eastcote.

PRINTED COPIES OF FORAGER

As most copies of Forager aredelivered electronically, only a feware now printed. If you wish tocontinue receiving your copy inprinted form, you will need to opt inby indicating this on yourmembership form.

WORKING PARTIES

…on the apiary are invaluable forkeeping the whole place clean, tidyand functioning. It looks great.

So don't forget, first Sunday of eachmonth, stout gloves, gardening tools,brooms etc and it's heigh ho, heighho...

Susan Kelly

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Distributionof the Forager

The HBA committee would like toencourage members to receive thequarterly edition of of the Forager ine-mail form, which will result in aconsiderable saving in terms of paperand postage costs.

The few members who have expressedthe wish to receive paper copy will doso as well as those with no access tocomputer.

Should other members of Harrowwish to continue receiving theForager in a booklet form pleasecontact the distributors Alan andDanuta Loveday on 0208 866 3864 ordanutaloveday@hotmail.com

Danuta

How I Started To Be ABad Bee Keeper – Part 1

When I was about 6 and the summerswere hot and long (without thembeing blamed on climate change andgreenhouse gases!), and sometimesnot much fun time was spent in myparent’s garden causing, as my parentswould no doubt recall plenty ofmischief. My mum had a thing forflowers, especially lavender and in ourlarge garden there was a lavender bush

which throughout the summer bumblebees happily gathered around.

I became fascinated by these tinycreatures and over the next few dayswhenever time permitted and with theaid of my trusty pond net, caught andcarefully studied and made the odddrawing and sketch of them. (I’m sureI still have them somewhere in mypossession).

I bombarded my parents with questionafter question not realizing that theycould not provide a suitable answerand in the end I presume that theybecame frustrated or fed up at theconstant inquisitive nature of their sonand the barrage of why, if, how andwhat happens emitting from him. Iwas eventually marched a few doorsdown to a neighbor who had two largewooden white things in his backgarden with these creatures buzzingaround.

The adults spoke, had some funnytinted drink and came to a mutualagreement, I could call in a few timesa week to see this man and watch himdo his stuff with these creatures.

I can’t remember his name but Icertainly remember him answering myquestions without a hint of annoyance.I was allowed to get close and helpalthough the adult sized protectivegear I had on sometimes got in theway – I loved using the smoker. Overthe next 4 or 5 weeks I would happilyvisit the man with the bees and I thinkhe was happy to have the companyand have someone so interested.

That was 35 years ago and on lookingback now something must havetriggered my bad bee keeping brain

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into wanting take up the craft when Iwas older, but of course whengrowing up other things take up one’stime, although I knew that maybewhen I retired this was the thing thatwould keep me ticking over until thegrim reaper came to visit. Butsomething strange happened…..

(Next issue Part 2)

Matt Marsh

National Honey Show– St Georges College, Weybridge,

Surrey

27th to 29th October 2011

Danish queen rearing expert KeldBrandstrup, Thomas Seeley fromCornell University, USA and EricOsterlund, editor of the Swedishbeekeeping journal ‘Bitidningen’ willbe among the international expertspresenting lectures at The 80thNational Honey Show in October.Speakers from nearer home includeMichael MacGiolla Coda, ProfessorRobert Pickard and Dr Nigel Raine.The show will also feature anextensive programme of workshops.The Show Schedule and programmewill be published in Early August andthis year you will be able to bookworkshops on line.

Every year the show grows bigger.Following the success of last year, thetrade stands will again be together inthe brighter gymnasium hall and therewill be a wide selection of equipmentand books to buy.

Ready to extract your honey? Don’tforget to keep some of your best asidefor the show. Seems like a long wayoff but it’s only 3 months away. Withso much to do at this time of year it’seasy to put off thinking about showentries – but a little time spentplanning now will pay dividendslater. Look critically at your framesbefore uncapping them. If you find areally good one, keep it for the show.You can always extract it later. Keepyour cappings wax separate. Youcould make it into an award winningblock or a superb pair of candles.

If you receive this message before the2011 programme and show schedulehas been published, have a look at lastyear’s schedule on the NHS websitewww.honeyshow.com to get a feel forthe categories you could enter.

Where is the show?

The show is at St Georges College,Woburn Hill, Addlestone, Weybridge,Surrey, KT15 2QS

Opening times: Thursday 27thOctober 1.45pm to 6pm

Friday 28th October 9.00am to 6pm

Saturday 29st October 9.00am to4.30pm

How much does it cost?

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You can become a member of theNational Honey Show for £12 (or £13via PayPal) and then entry for theduration of the show is free.Accompanied children of 16 years andunder are free and additional familymembers over 16 years living at thesame address can come in for £6 each.Admission for non-members is £15per day. On Saturday admission fornon-members after 12 noon is £5. Youcan join by contacting the membershipsecretary, Mrs Sandra Rickwood, 19Kenwood Drive, Walton-on-Thames,Surrey, KT12 5AU. Alternatively,email srhoneyshow@googlemail.comor telephone 020 33 55 8716 and leavea message. You can also pay on thedoor but it is better to get an advanceticket and avoid the queue. Aprogramme and show schedule will beavailable on request.

The official closing date for showentries is 1st October but late entrieswill be accepted until 22nd October onpayment of a £5 late entry fee.

Dipping tongues allowbees to drink the sweetest

nectarBy Leila Battison

BBC Science reporter

US mathematicians have worked outwhy the flowers pollinated by beeshave sweeter nectar than those visited

by butterflies.

When it comes to drinking nectar, themost important factor is whether theinsects dip their tongue in, or whetherthey suck the liquid up.

The sweeter the nectar, the thicker itis, and research found that the dippingmethod of bees is ideal for drawing upthe most viscous liquid.

They published their results in PNAS.

By making mathematical models thattake into account how the thickness,or viscosity, of nectar changes withincreasing sugar concentration, theresearchers were able to find out whatfeeding method was best for drinkingnectar with varying sweetness, testingthe idea that plants and theirpollinating insects have co-evolved.

It has been seen in the past that theflowers that bees visit haveconsistently sweeter nectar than thosethat butterflies target, but scientistshave been unsure of why this is thecase.

Thickly sweet

Butterflies and moths drink nectar byactively sucking it through a narrowproboscis, whereas most bees have atongue which they can dip intoshallow nectaries on a flower.

For bees and butterflies alike, there isa constant threat of being eaten whilethey are feeding at a flower, so theymust eat in the most efficient waypossible.

While a sweeter nectar will containmore calories and energy, it will alsobe more viscous and difficult totransport.

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A nectar-drinker will therefore seekout a flower with an optimal sugarconcentration, which can deliver asmany calories as possible withoutbeing too difficult to extract.

The mathematical models combinedwith laboratory observations foundthat the ideal sugar concentration forbees who dip their tongue into nectarwas 50-60%, whereas for butterflies itwas much less, around 30-40%.

This pattern matches closely with theobserved sugar concentration of theflowers visited by bees and butterfliesin the wild - around 35% and 20-25%respectively.

While the pattern is the same, thesugar concentration in the wild nectaris considerably less than the optimalconcentrations shown by themathematical models.

Scientists believe this may be becausethe flowers prefer to keep theirpollinators hungry, so that they willfaithfully return for more food,pollinating more plants in the process.

Optimising together

The results are suggestive of the co-evolution of flowers and theirpollinators, a pattern that is seenthroughout nature.

Prof John Bush from the departmentof mathematics at MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT) in theUS, who led the research, explained:"Biological systems are optimised, butto an outside observer it is not alwaysclear what they are optimised for."

"This research has opened up thescope of the optimisation problem, aswe're looking for the situation that isideal for the flowers and for thepollinators," he said.

From a plant's point of view, makingsure the same kind of creature visits aparticular kind of flower makes itmore likely that pollen will betransferred between plants of the samespecies, allowing successfulreproduction.

In addition to the sugar concentration

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of nectar, other features of a flowercould be designed to appealspecifically to a certain kind ofpollinator.

For example, it is believed thatpatterns on petals that are only visiblein ultraviolet light are designed toattract bees, whose eyes areparticularly sensitive to the blue andultraviolet end of the light spectrum.

Drinking mechanisms in nectar-feeders provide a good naturalanalogue for more general studies ofsurface tension in liquids.

"Surface tension is important forthings that are small," said Prof Bush."On scales smaller than a raindrop,surface tension is more importantthan gravity."

Prof Bush's research group plans touse lessons learnt from these thenatural analogues to developnanotechnology that can deliverfluids on a small scale.

This research into nectar drinking,conducted by engineers andmathematicians, is part of a widerproject to categorise, and potentiallyutilise, the range of drinkingtechniques in nature.

For example, Prof Bush described theremarkable drinking ability of theNamib Desert beetle. "In the desert itnever rains, but this beetle still needsto drink," he explained.

"On its back there are bumps whichattract water from the morning mist,and depressions that repel water.When enough water accumulates onthe bumps, the droplets are repelleddown to the beetle's mouth."

Such a technology has already beendeveloped by MIT researchers intoso-called "super plastic", which isused to collect water from the air inthe driest regions of the world.

Apparently in France, rooftop honeysells as "concrete honey", and doesnot taste wonderful!

National Portrait Gallery beehives

NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERYBEE PROJECT

Last Thursday saw the arrival of fourbeehives on the roof of the NationalPortrait Gallery offices. We startedthis project in response to news of theUK bee population being in decline.The Gallery are working with theLondon Honey Company and nextyear we hope to have our own honeyfor sale in the Gallery shops.

It is said that urban honey can bemore flavoursome than rural honey,due to the diversity of plants in thecity - and with the beautiful St Jame'sPark right next door we hope this willbe the case!

Eileen Boden

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The Beemasterof London Town

Urban beekeeper Steve Benbowproduces honey for Londoners fromthe heart of the capital. Anna Sbuttonimet him at his Bermondsey studio totalk honey, hives and ‘Harvey Nicks’

Steve wouldn’t be seen dead with asqueezy bottle of supermarket honey.A Vespa-riding beekeeper with a‘nomadic lifestyle’, he splits his timebetween the city and his nativeShropshire, camps out with his beesin summer, and is an artisan producerfor some of London’s most iconicstores.

A photograph of his grandmother onthe wall of his studio is a nod to thewoman who introduced him to beesas a child. The 42-year-old formerphotojournalist decided that hewanted to keep bees in the capital 15years ago, but there was a problem:he lived on the sixth floor of an ex-council block near Tower Bridge,

with no garden. The only outsidespace was a flat roof, accessedthrough a fire escape.

But this didn’t put him off. Steve tookthe radical move to keep bees in theheart of the city, with just one hive –that’s 50,000 bees – on his TooleyStreet roof. Five years later, he gaveup his day job and set up The LondonHoney Company.

“As a photojournalist I travelled theworld,” he says. “I went to visitbeekeepers in New York, Rio andTokyo to see how they went about itand realised there was no reason itcouldn’t work here. So I gave up myjob to become a commercial beefarmer.”

When he first started, he recounts, noone really got what he was trying todo and it was difficult to get spacesand homes for bees. “Now there are alot of people trying to emulate what Iam doing and it’s lovely that peopleare keeping bees in London.”

continued on page 12

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Writing these notes in the firstweek of August seems runningahead of time, but for most beesthe first week of this month meansthe start of winter preparations.This year has seen a very mixedweather pattern., the early monthsvery cold weather, this rid thehives of wax moth also killed offmany hibernating queen wasps.This was Followed by very drywarm days which tied in with thespring flow. This cold/hotchanging weather pattern seemedto be the stimulus for a swarmingexplosion. The bees outed theirhives despite whatever thebeekeeper did to prevent it, be itartifical swarming or splitting thehive. The good weather followedinto the main flow in July so thosewith ‘stayput’ queens had fullsupers, even swarms gave somereturns. To steady one swarm, anew Harrow member, used a snipup plastic food bag, filled withsyrup, this was laid on top of theframes, with several slits foraccess. The method gave instantnews of uptake of food.

This year I observed one colonywith a bard (beard) on the front ofthe hive above the entrance. No

fanning was seen and it remainedthere for a week. In the book by H.Storch ‘At the hive entrance’printed in 1985, still availablefrom booksellers, gives a resumeto quote ‘how to know what ishappening inside the hive byobservations outside’s. It coversseasonal doorstep activity, alsothe use of the ‘building frame’. Awindow is cut through the wall ofthe brood box and fitted with aglass panel. A frame fitted with apiece of foundation is inserted inthe box against the window. Thedevelopment of the nest is signposted by what is happening onthe frame. An added interestingplaying the your bees withoutdressing up. His comment on thebarb of bees is thus... ‘Overpopulation, outside temp. too hot,honey box full, or some othertrouble. The first three causesfanning, the fourth the bes haveleft the hive to hang outsideleaving the boxes cold and empty’yes, it was the lack of room thatcaused my barb.

We stress the bees and ourselvesin many ways, working throughone hive I decided to change thefloor board. Left side for a few

Beelines

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minutes, a glance revealedunusual disturbance, eight beeswere balling my queen! Sevenwere pushed aside by me, theeighth had its sting stuck into thesuture of the queen. The ‘Splinter’would not budge. The worker wasdispatched. The queen and ‘stuck-on’ bee was returned to the hive.Another swarm came my way andintroduced to the hive, so I wasunable to confirm the demise orotherwise of the queen.

Dr D Favre of Switzerland reportsthat if a mobile phone is allowedto ring for 2 rings under a hive thebees respond, piping as if theywere about to swarm. This showsthat bees are sensitive to themobile phone i.e. could partly beblamed for the CCD. Proofremains unsolved. Our N. Carreckthought it was an interestingexperiment but did not prove thatthe phone harmed the bees. Beeswill give the same result if youknock on the side of the hive oropen the hive. I have only heardpiping when the bees are in the actof swarming. Still, it is anotheruse for the mobile.

The Chemistry World Magazinereports that honey bees could pickup lethal doses of insecticidessuch as Neonicotinoids. These areused to coat the seeds of Oil Seed

Rape and Corns. These chemicalswork their way up the growingplant and appear within dropletsof water on the surface of theleaves. The late Beowolf Cooperobserved bees on corn in very dryconditions collecting moisture.Bees would not need this sourceearly in the year with the springnectar flow and April showers.Does this tie up with rainfall in thelast three months in our area...

April Rainfall - .4”

May Rainfall - 1.8”

June Rainfall - 2.9”

July Rainfall - 1.8”

The Metoffice gives the rainfallaverage of the year... LondonBasin 27-31.5”. Quite enough forbees not to be bothered with verydry conditions.

Did you know that a bee landingon your hand sugars wealth andgood fortune.

May it be you.

SOURCES: DAILY MAIL, CHEMISTRY

WORLD AND MET OFFICE

M.P.D.

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It turns out that, contrary to popularopinion, bees can thrive in cities, farfrom the treatments used bycommercial farmers and with plentyof green space to forage. And to proveit, honey, honeycomb, lip balm andcandles are just some of The LondonHoney Company range, which is soldat the likes of upmarket retailerHarvey Nichols, and at farmers’markets in Pimlico and Blackheath.

Benbow’s rooftop skills are alsobehind the beekeeping at some ofLondon’s biggest names. He isbeemaster for Fortnum & Mason,which has its own roof-top hivesproducing honey for the iconic store.The Tate Modern and Tate Britainhave also signed up, with the honeysold in their gift shops. And theNational Portrait Gallery will have itsown roof-top hives serviced byBenbow from June.

The capital produces a number ofdistinctive honey types that depend onthe individual areas in which the beesforage. Honeys from the roofs of theTate Modern and Tate Britain, forexample, are quite different.

The current beekeeping renaissancecan’t come too soon, with beenumbers in decline. But the picture ismore complicated than is oftenportrayed says Steve. “They are underthreat from pesticides andinsecticides, but,” says Benbow, “thepopularity of bees has surged and lotsof bee breeders and manufacturershave been inundated. Those problemsdon’t really affect my bees in Londonbecause there are no major cropsnearby.”

So what advice does Steve have for

anyone looking to keep bees in thecapital? “Just because you live in aflat it doesn’t mean you can’t havebees,” says Steve. “A flat roof, anallotment, a shared space, acommunity garden, are all optionsnowadays. But join your localbeekeeping association and work witha mentor, because you have to learnabout it correctly.”

Steve’s book, The Urban Beekeeper -a hands-on guide to city beekeeping -will be published by Random Housenext spring.www.thelondonhoneycompany.co.uk