Meetings are held on second Monday each month (except January), at above venue

PRESENT: Richard Hatfield (Pres.), Mary-Ann Lindsay (Treas.), John Burnet (Sec.) and 33 members and visitors as listed in the attendance book.

APOLOGIES: Andrew Beach, Andrew Yeung, Bernie Cox.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Minutes of previous monthly meeting held 8 June were read and confirmed.

MATTERS ARISING: James Scott confirmed the Club’s new Web page was now accessible (Address - www.beehive.org.nz). Members’ ideas and material for the site would be appreciated.

GENERAL BUSINESS:

Tony Buder advised on a recent visit to Europe he had discovered beekeepers in Crete were receiving crops of 10 kilos per hive and in Austria 10 - 15 kilos. This compares with the New Zealand average of 20 - 30 kilos per hive.

Camp Rangi field weekend was now fully booked with a good turnout from Wellington Club members. Warm coats, sleeping bags and gumboots would be required in addition to normal B/K gear.

Seasonal Management: The mild winter had already produced good crops in many areas - supering up may be required already. Queen breeding dependent on presence of adequate numbers of drones.

Following a member’s suggestion the new membership list will be distributed. Objectors are to advise James Scott prior to distribution.

Swarm List : Members willing to collect and those willing to receive swarms should contact Mary-Ann Lindsay to have their names added on this seasons list

Wasp Nests : Recommended solutions - Borer bomb & rubber tube (not plastic), Carbaryl, petrol and diesel (outside use only).

PRESENTATION:

Frank Lindsay spoke about his recent six week visit to UK & Ireland and showed his video which covered in detail various UK beekeeper procedures and practices.

Meeting closed at 9:30 p.m. with supper.

Tips on health - if you are not used to being stung take some vitamin C tablets to boost your immune system. Have some sort of first aid (including anti-histamine) handy. Wash your gear after it has been used. Old stings on clothing attract stinging bees.

Don't store gear in or near living areas. Children take in the air-borne venom and can develop allergic reactions around puberty. At some time you can have a very bad reaction, even after keeping bees for many years - be prepared.

For a full range of Ecroyds Beekeeping Supplies

Phone 0800-5BEEHIVE (0800-523344) or 06-324 8224

We will trade Honey, Beeswax or Pollen for Gear

Contact Marjorie or Kevin Kibby
for further details or to place an order

SH1, RD 3, Palmerston North (24kms north of Foxton on SH1).

The Buzz Weekend at camp Rangi on the 14^th to 16^th August was a great success for the 50 plus participants. The organising committee had done a wonderful job in preparing a programme which covered just about everything in basic beekeeping and had arranged for this to be presented by a wide range of experienced and practical beekeepers. The result was an opportunity to learn from local beekeepers and to understand more about all aspects of beekeeping. The weather was great too - it didn't get too cold, and even stopped raining on Saturday afternoon long enough for all groups to get to look through a number of hives which had been brought into the adjacent camping field.

The first session on Saturday was on the "Biology of the Bee", presented by Robin McCammon who made what sounds like a really dull topic into an interesting and absorbing 45 minutes. This quality of information presentation continued through the later sessions, with lots of overhead slides and items of equipment used to provide detailed examples and illustrations of the material. The speakers were all willing to answer questions, and succeeded in the most part in handling all questions thrown at them (except those from Harry Brown).

In addition to the lecture and practical sessions, the camp was extremely well managed by Mary-Ann Lindsay and her numerous helpers. Everyone was expected to assist with the meals and washing up etc, but some people did more than the minimum required so ensuring that the weekend passed without problem. The meals were ample and were well prepared, though not everyone made it to breakfast on Sunday (rumours about too much whisky in some instances).

If you missed this one, make sure you register early next year. Don't miss two in a row!

You have read all the books and are as keen as mustard to get bees. It can be an expensive hobby, but is very rewarding. If you are doing it just for the honey, it's cheaper to just buy honey from the shops. There is generally a love affair / fascination with the insect. Although you think you know what to do, and when to do it, the bees will fool you and do the opposite (they haven't read the books). If possible, work alongside another beekeeper for a season to get the hang of it.

Can you handle stings? They all hurt but what sort of a reaction do you get? Some beekeepers develop allergic reactions after a while (most beekeepers need to be stung once a month to keep their immunity up). If you have significant reactions you should reconsider your desire to keep bees.

Is it possible to keep bees in an urban area? MAF requires that all hives be registered under the Biosecurity Act. Council by-laws? Will your neighbours object (some people just don't like bees). Is your property suitable, with morning sun, dry, sheltered, away from main activities (high hedges are most suitable). Get a fellow beekeeper to check out your garden and advise you on the best location. The positions of nearby swimming pools and clotheslines are very important. Flight paths have to be determined.

Number of hives? Max 2 in urban areas (remember you get up to 40,000 bees flying from a strong hive). This provides one to learn on and one to produce honey. The second also gives a backup if anything goes wrong with the other.

Gear required? Is there a someone who can sew in the family? This can cut down the costs considerably as some items can be made. Also a lot of items can be purchased second hand if a beekeeper is selling all his/her hives. You need:

• smoker - essential; stainless steel if possible; galvanised ones rust quickly.
• Hive tool - purchase or make from old file, car spring, etc (use screwdriver if lost).
• Hat (not felt), Veil, Boiler Suit, Gumboots. Alternatively, purchase a full suit.
• Gloves - purchase or make (lots of alternatives - rubber gloves, leather driving gloves and sew-on parka nylon armlets).

Hive woodware? Do you make or purchase it? You can make everything but I recommend you purchase frames as these are the heart of modern beekeeping and must be accurate. Use untreated timber and protect it with a non-toxic wood preserver (Metalex or other). Larger beekeepers dip hive parts in paraffin wax.

How do you acquire bees? Trade & Exchange or other local newspapers and the National Beekeepers' magazine advertise bees for sale. Clubs advise of bees for sale, and queen breeders sell queens and nucs. Some beekeepers sell hives or nucs or give away bees to start a new person off. Do you purchase a hive or a nuc? Depends on a lot of things: money, knowledge of working bees, how old the boxes and frames are (showing rot, dark frames, etc), how high the hive are (3 or 4 supers). Or you can catch a swarm or

put out a bait hive. In all cases you need to fill in the MAF form and register your apiary.

Evaluating a hive. Take along an experienced beekeeper. Look at condition of the woodware - has the hive been opened recently? It should have clean, tidy, and easy to remove frames. Is the comb light colour, with minimum drone comb. What are the honey supplies and brood laying pattern like? Bees must be flying well and bringing in pollen.

Purchase agreement. Get a bill of sale - it’s the law and the only way of settling any disputes. States in writing who is the seller, that they own the bees, who the purchaser is, description of hives and any brands, and when moneys are due. It should also cover what will happen if disease is found within 2 or 3 months of purchase (or by November if you brought the hives during the winter). Options include replacement or a refund of your money. The chances are very low (0.5% of apiaries have disease) but it is worth covering yourself. Money. It is best to pay half up front and rest after a good disease inspection. Depends on the time of year. It should be signed by both parties and dated. The seller must have a permit from MAF in writing before - not after.

Sale price. Expect to pay about $100 for a hive 4 supers high. This can be higher or lower depending upon condition of the hive and on and supply and demand. You should pay about $15 for boxes of drawn frames.

Problems with purchasing hives. If a beekeeper is giving up, the hives will not normally be in very good condition and will require a bit of work, including replacement frames and woodware. Quarantine bees and equipment for at least one season to make sure it doesn't have BL. A trick to find out if there is any BL in stored equipment is to spray frames with sugar syrup and put them on hives to be cleaned out. Disease will normally show up within a month if present.

Best time to start. October - it’s the beginning of the season, hives are just starting to expend, early swarms could be issuing. You grow in confidence as the bees grow in strength. Bees have come through the winter and are easier to inspect.

Collecting swarms. Some bee clubs have a list of beekeepers wanting swarms, the nearest beekeeper is sent. If not, contact your local council, police, regional council, SPCA, pest destruction firms and leave your telephone number. Remember, once you agree to collect swarms you should continue to collect them that season even though you don't need them. Best to use old gear, as there is a very slight chance of a swarm having BL. Bees don't usually sting when swarming, but some do so don’t take chances. Don’t take risks - don’t work above your head - bees in a swarm are heavy!!!. Tie ladders where possible if you are on your own. Hire lifting equipment for tall swarms or ask the fire brigade if they want a training exercise. Catching a stray swarm. They will come to you!! Put an old box on a shed roof, with one or two old frames inside (the rest foundation), and an entrance no wider than 2.5 cm. Care of swarms. Requeen and feed for at least a week or until the flow starts.

Equipment needed to collect swarms. Large bag (woolsack) or box (2 ft x 1 ft); rope to tie bag or throw over high branch (or a long pole with a hook); tape to secure bees into box; secateurs or loping shears; all of your protective gear; smoker and fuel; box with frames just in case you can't get the swarm; 6 ft extendable step ladder; etc.

What is beeswax? Beeswax is a secretion of the worker honeybees used for building combs and sealing stores of honey. Four glands on the underside of the abdomen produce it. The glands become active when the bee is 8 to 17 days old. Comb building is a communal process rather than individual. The temperature of the hive must be 33 - 35^oC, there must be a surplus supply of food and enough bees of the right age for secreting wax. The bees need to eat from 8 to 13 Kg of honey to produce 1 Kg of wax. The bees also need pollen in their diet.

Worker bees about to secret wax gorge themselves with honey and hang together in clusters or chains across the space to be filled. After about 24 hours the glands produce wax. A liquid at first, the wax soon hardens to a small white flake. Using a spine on the hind leg, the bee removes each flake in turn and passes it to the mandibles (jaws) where it is chewed and mixed with glandular secretions. The manipulated wax flake is normally passed to other workers who mould it into shape and push it into place on the growing comb. A single flake takes about 4 minutes to process.

Bees wax is always white when first secreted regardless of the food consumed by the bees. Pigments of pollen incorporated with the secreted wax change the colour to yellow. Brood rearing darkens the wax after each brood cycle. This colouration comes from used pupal cocoons and accumulated larval faeces in the cell. Beeswax is a very stable substance and does not alter significantly with storage. The melting point of beeswax is 64oC, the highest of any known natural wax. Its specific gravity is 0.96, which means that it floats on water.

Sources of Beeswax. There are three main sources of beeswax for a beekeeper - cappings, scrapings, and old or damaged combs. Wax from old combs should be kept separate from other types of wax. Lighter wax is worth more than dark wax.

Cappings: The uncapping of honeycombs provides the beekeeper with the greatest quantities of wax - approximately 14 - 18 Kg per tonne of honey.

Scrapings: beeswax can also be scrapped from the hive parts, such as burr comb from frames, queen excluders, or the insides of boxes. Two good reasons for removing the wax:

1. If allowed to accumulate it is difficult to manipulate frames and hive management becomes time consuming.
2. Wax should be salvaged from the hive as it is a valuable product. About 1/2 kilogram of wax can be scrapped from a hive. Wax scrapped from the hive should not be discarded in the apiary as it could spread disease and provoke robbing.

Cull combs: Old black brood combs with frames in bad disrepair. Frames with broken lugs and frames full of old pollen. Old frames also act as a reservoir for nosema apis spores - by replacing old combs regularly this helps to control the disease. As a rough guide replace 3 combs / frames per year per hive. The average yield of recovered wax is 1.6 Kg per 10 full depth frames. Beeswax must not be rendered out of diseased frames because of the dangers of robbing. The old Apiaries Act, and now the Biosecurity Act require that all diseased frames be burnt and then buried.

Processing cappings: The cappings contain honey also. Firstly as much honey as possible must be removed. Drain or strain most of the honey from the wax through a basket mad of cheese cloth or nylon mesh. Not all the honey will drain out. Some beekeepers wash out the remainder and make mead with the honey-water mixture, or feed it back to the bees. Never feed the honey with cappings in the open as this causes fierce robbing and can spread disease.

Feeding cappings: put wet cappings into a large dish/pan inside an empty box (super) on a hive. Turn the cappings occasionally. A second method is similar to the first but requires boxes of wet cappings placed above a large tray/dish/pan on chicken mesh/queen excluder. The bees gain access through the above removing the honey - the dry wax falls down into the removable tray. Remove wax when dry.

Next month, the various methods for melting wax and subsequent processing will be discussed.

Free supply at meetings. Please phone Richard on 528 7780 for availability

A list of all current members of the association is being compiled for distribution to members. If you are currently a member and do not want to be included on such a list, please advise James Scott on 565 0789 (editor@beehive.org.nz) before 30^th September.

Please advise Mary-Ann Lindsay if you are interested in collecting swarms this season. Remember that the mild winter means that swarms may start earlier than usual this year.

The September issue of Reader's Digest has a substantial article on wasps in New Zealand. Several members of the New Zealand Beekeepers e-mail list, including 'Christchurch entomologist Dr Barry Donovan' and 'beekeeper Nick Wallingford' are quoted in the story. World famous in New Zealand!

A proposal that pollen and royal jelly bee products should carry a compulsory health-warning label (following some recent incidents) has now been dropped. This is a result of arguments that these are natural products and present less risk of allergic reaction than many other common foods or therapeutic products widely available (eg dairy products).

Subscriptions, at $20.00 for the 1998/99 year are now due. Please complete the membership form included with the July issue (or available from the web site), and send to the treasurer, Mary-Ann Lindsay.

The committee is currently planning some interesting sessions for this year. Please mark these dates in your diary and come along.

Contact John Burnet on 232 7863 (or secretary@beehive.org.nz) with any suggestions.