PRESENT : Richard Hatfield (Pres.), Mary-Ann Lindsay (Treas.), John Burnet (Sec.) and 42 members and visitors as listed in the attendance book.

APOLOGIES : James Scott, John Robson, Ray Baker, Wayne Wild, Marie Christoffel.

NEW MEMBERS AND VISITORS : Bernard Bouchereau and Nikki Snodgrass (Whitemans Valley), Jeff Pollard (Wainuiomata), Gary Murphy (Lower Hutt), Jill van Northwick (Akatarawa), Angela Chapman.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING : Minutes of meeting held 8 November as detailed in Dec newsletter were confirmed.

DISEASEATHON : 56 hives in 26 apiaries in Te Horo, South Manukau and Pekapeka were inspected by club members on 5 Dec. No AFB was discovered but many hives were obviously neglected. NBA’s policy on neglected, abandoned and unregistered hives was discussed.

DECA TRAINING : 3 of the 24 candidates failed the exam held 13 Nov - all in the photo identification section. Some questions would be rewritten to remove apparent ambiguity, confusion and double negatives. The procedure for remarking and recounting exam papers was discussed - details available through the NBA. It was pointed out the NBA was the first industry association to introduce nationwide examination testing with 85% expected to be the average passing rate nationwide.

MEMBERS QUERIES : Issues discussed -

• Resurgence of swarms recently due to variable weather conditions.
• Beekeepers can reduce risk of natural swarming by adopting artificial swarming i.e. dividing hives and introducing caged or replacement queens and then reuniting later in the season.
• Vicki Alexander produced some recently obtained unknown hive parts. These were identified as parts of a pollen trap.
• Frank Lindsay advised a new CD-ROM detailing all facets of beekeeping was now available. While made in Belgium, it was still very relevant to NZ and was available through Ekroyds at a cost of NZ$67.
• NZ manuka honey was currently being registered in Australia as a medicine because of significantly cheaper registration costs.
• A video on the importance of queen substance to the hive was shown.

Meeting closed at 9.10 pm with customary Christmas supper including Mary Ann’s punch.

John Burnet