PRESENT: Frank Lindsay (Pres.), Mary Ann Lindsay (Treas), John Burnet (Sec.) and 19 members as listed in the attendance book.

APOLOGIES: Peter Radcliffe, Wrae Duncan, Ken Breden, Bob McCann, John Wallace, Les Solomon

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Minutes of meeting held 11 Feb as detailed in the March newsletter were read and confirmed. However Secretary advised that contrary to the minutes Treasurer Mary Ann Lindsay was not present at the meeting. Amendment to the minutes was proposed by Andrew Beach and seconded by Amor Walter.

MATTERS ARISING:

Visit by Trevor Tong, UK beekeeper – President advised that time restraints limited Trevor Tong’s Wellington visit to half an hour. Trevor however mentioned that owing to varroa his club in the UK (Whitstable & Herne Bay) had now less than 30 members and only three of those still had hives. Bees in the UK were now developing immunity to Apistan and a Resistance Test was now being applied.

Pauatahanui Incident: Using his new digital camera and video monitor Frank was able to show members photos he had taken demonstrating the use of "No More Gaps" in killing and sealing feral bee colonies. Frank had traced and killed all the feral colonies found within a 5 km radius of the sawmill. Using bee-lining and asking the local residents, a total of 21 colonies had been discovered in willow trees, macrocarpas, pines, poplars, old sheds and oil drums and subsequently destroyed. Only one resident resisted a request to destroy a feral colony and MAF powers could be used to over-ride this refusal to allow the colony’s destruction.

Overall the sawmill exercise was considered successful because the varroa had been identified within four good flying days. Only time will tell if the eradication was completely successful and it was suggested that the Club should offer to MAF to monitor bait jars in the sawmill area on a fortnightly basis for 12 months. Club members agreed to participate – Secretary will write to Paul Bolger and offer the Club’s services accordingly.

Varroa Update : Various varroa controls and monitoring techniques were discussed including Bayvarol strips, sticky boards. President advised that on Thurs 14 March organic acids will be officially gazetted by the Govt for use in NZ – formic and ascetic acid. The Canadian product "Mite Gone" was also now being advertised in NZ. These were pads containing formic acid and because of its potency the acid could not be pored onto the pads until just before placement in the hive. Full safety gear was required including respiratory masks, goggles and rubber gloves and preferably a double layer of clothing.

GENERAL BUSINESS:

Member’s Queries – Following a member’s question on the effect of varroa control acids on honey, President advised Apistan strips should not be applied until after the honey is removed. Bayvarol however had no effect on honey. While Bayvarol was absorbed by the wax however this was considered no worse than fly spray on house furnishings such as curtains etc. Because of the build up of Bayvarol toxins in wax, old dark frames should be discarded as soon as possible (other bee diseases such as nosema also accumulate in old dark frames) - bees preferred using light coloured wax anyway. Because of the possible presence of toxins, brood wax should not be retained or re-used and wax buyers were buying only wax from supers for this reason.

Wasps - Andrew Beach displayed a wasp nest he had recently destroyed (soccer ball sized) and this led to the discussion of the use of control methods. Apparently carbaryl is no longer available in NZ however an alternative called Stardust also Derris Dust were considered acceptable substitutes.

The first part of a video on beekeeping in England made by John Furski (given to the club by Trevor Tong) was shown, following which the meeting closed at 9:30 pm.