PRESENT: Frank Lindsay (Pres.), John Burnet (Sec.), and 30 members as listed in the attendance book.

APOLOGIES: Mary Ann Lindsay, Andrew Beach.

NEW MEMBERS & VISITORS: Maurice Dellow (Otaki – member of the Manawatu Beekeepers Club), James Gellen (Levin), Sheila Moody (Hamilton)

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Minutes of meeting held 8 September were read and confirmed.

• The Hive Movement Line across central North Island had now been officially lifted however there was now a new line drawn down the Ruahine, Tararua & Rimutaka range preventing hives being moved into the Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa.

• There was no change to the situation concerning the use of Apiguard, the Thymol based treatment. Ministerial approval was still required before it could be used in NZ.
• The new PMS Hive Levy Act was currently being reworded by Parliament and would only become law 28 days after being gazetted (which happened on 20 October 03).

Field Day: This would be held at Malcolm Judd’s property opposite Britton’s House Moving Yard on SH58 Haywards Hill on Sun 19 Oct at 1pm. All of the basics would be covered such as lighting a smoker and opening a hive so beginners would be very welcome.

Southern North Island branch Field Day:

- Newsletter Editor had written an excellent report on this event which had been held on 20 Sept at Gary Tweeddale’s apiary.

• Careful mention was made of the safety precautions necessary particularly when handling chemical treatments – Bayvarol & Apistan.
• Members were reminded that a sloping bottom board allows formic acid gases to drain from the hive prematurely.

- Members were advised that swarm cells were now appearing (usually found along the bottom of the frames in the upper brood box).

- The main causes of swarming were: failing queen, overcrowding, poor ventilation, insufficient room to store food honey and absconding due to high mite numbers.

- Bees were also often seen "hanging out" on the outside of the hive – usually a sign of warmer weather, but often also swarm factors as mentioned above.

- Because of the continued wet weather often experienced at this time of the year, some hives will need feeding – November is often crucial for nectar & pollen supplies. Checking the hive weight without opening the hive can be misleading - if time allows a visual check is better.

Frank showed members digital photos taken showing the aftermath of the recent Paekakariki flooding. Several of his hives had to be dug out of the gravel landslides that had swept down the hill. In hives that remained standing, bees that were able to move up the supers survived, however brood in the bottom boxes were drowned. Some colonies were destroyed completely – either overturned or swallowed up by the flood debris. Apparently bees will not later re-colonise boxes that had been previously submerged in mud. However, if the frames are cleaned out within a day using a high pressure hose, shaken dry and then put on strong hives the bees will dry everything out.

BUT – if the mud dries in the frames the bees will understandably reject them.

Meeting closed at 9:00 pm.

Beekeepers are invited to attend the ERMA NZ Roadshow which is to be held throughout NZ during November. The purpose of the roadshow is to inform interested parties about how ERMA intends to implement the New Organisms and Other Matters (NOOM) Act. The public discussion (5:00-7:00pm) is aimed at providing neutral and accurate information about genetic modification in
NZ.
The ERMA NZ display gallery will be open from 3:30pm and the public discussion will follow on from this.

There are two sessions to this roadshow which will be held in the Wellington Convention Centre, 111 Wakefield St on 13 November

Session 1 - 8:30am to 3pm

Making It Work: The impact of amendments to the law (Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act)

This session focuses on informing those who will be directly affected by the legislative changes.

Aimed at those with an active involvement in HSNO including: scientists, researchers, universities, research institutes, CRIs, Environment and health agencies, farmers, organic farmers, beekeepers, companies involved with farming, forestry or fishing, agricultural and environmental economists, environmental lawyers central and government advisors, and biotechnology
firms.

Session 2 - 3:30pm to 7pm (public session)

Understanding the Issues:

This session focuses on understanding how HSNO works and how the Authority deals with the issues: listening to public concerns and answering questions. Aimed at parents, teachers, community groups, local government, farmers, organic farmers, environmental groups, anyone with an interest in the
management of genetic modification.

Public Discussion begins at 5pm

A programme is available on ERMA website at:

Cheers
John Burnet

AFTERNOON FIELD DAY – 1pm Sunday 19 October on the Hayward’s Road opposite Brittens. Yes, well this was quite an interesting day, beginning with the farmer whose property we were to use also allowing a local four wheel drive club in to play. Deciding that discretion was best, Frank reassigned the venue to his ‘dump site’ on the Hutt Valley side of the Haywards Hill. Here we were introduced to a variety of hives and different methods of treatment were discussed. Varroa was retrieved from drone brood and those who hadn’t previously seen it were made familiar with the ‘mobile pinheads’. Frank was even able to determine the sex of the individual mites! We were shown an example of a Fogger. This heats Food Grade Mineral Oil to a mist which is then pumped into the side of the hive entrance. For those who had not seen the Fogger in action before, it was a very impressive yet simple method of varroa combat and ideal for the hobbyist. Unfortunately, however, Food Grade Mineral Oil has yet to be approved for commercial use. After a couple of hours of ‘show and tell’ I felt far more confidant about dealing with the varroa fight, and I’m sure others who attended the Field Day felt likewise. Thanks Frank for your time and patience. We all benefited.

FOOD GRADE MINERAL OIL (FMGO) as a method of fighting Varroa: The most important thing to note is that "Food Grade Mineral Oil (FMGO) has not been approved by MAF for use in NZ bee hives".

Recipe given for cotton cords:

500mls FGMO 0.86 density

225 grams beeswax

300 grams honey

60 x 500mm long 8mm diameter natural cotton cords

Heat the food grade mineral oil in a metal container (electric frypan does a good job), add the beeswax and stir to dissolve and prevent from burning. Remove container from heat source. Add honey and cords to soak up the emulsion and then allow the emulsified cords to cool. Note: This recipe is sufficient for several cords.

Answer: It is possible that such sprayers would most likely emit oil sprays instead of a fog as the fogger does. The size of the particles of oil sprayed with such a sprayer could be too large, block the bees’ sphericals, and kill them.

Answer: I do not recommend it because of the possibility of killing your bees or contaminating your hive products if the fogger has not been properly cleaned.

Answer: Olive oil, fish oil, other vegetable oils & lard tend to oxidize and break down, leaving undesirable odours within the hive, a factor that may lead to contamination. FGMO does not break down, is non-toxic, tasteless & odourless. With FGMO, in addition to the fact that it is applied in very small dosages, the greatest part of the oil adheres to the surface of the honey bees & is taken out of the hive when the bees die… In my January 2003 ABJ article I stated that honey from hives treated with FGMO for three consecutive years had yielded zero residues for oils.

Answer: Our research has demonstrated that 8mm thick cotton cords are most suitable because they absorb enough emulsion to last 15-21 days. It has been found that bees tend to propolise the cords as soon as the emulsion is removed from the cords. Hence, thinner cords last less time before they need to be replaced. We find that cordage removed on time can be reused indefinitely (after redipping) thus lowering the cost of treatments. Plastic & other types of rope such as jute are undesirable because the bees bite them into tiny pieces that end up in the honey as contaminants.

Answer: Two for nucs for single brood boxes, three when bee populations are large. Remember, the purpose of the cords is to have FGMO available to the bees. In colonies with large populations, the bees wipe off the oil rather quickly.

Answer: FGMO has always been tested pure and unadulterated. Additives are not necessary, except for the ingredients specified for the emulsion (cords).

Answer: (a) Cords are customarily placed on top of the brood frames. They may also be placed on top of the honey supers in late Summer/Autumn when foraging bees might bring in mites from sick hives that they have been robbing

2. It has been found that cords can be used time and again if replaced every 2 weeks. Beyond 2 weeks, the bees clean the cords and begin propalising them. The purpose of the cords is to get the bees to walk on them and to get oil on their feet and subsequently on their bodies, when they comb themselves. The cords serve no purpose after they have been cleaned of FGMO and take effective work time away from the bees while they are propolising the cords. Therefore the cords should be removed on time.

He is going to look at a couple of suggestions for averting an imminent bee mortality crisis, one of which involves a sandwich comprised of two bricks

1. Secure the ladder and see that you can access the swarm.

2 Arm yourself with a large carton and push this up giving a few jerks to dislodge the bees so that they fall in, or else cut off the branch on which the swarm has settled and place the branch in the carton.

3 tie the carton to the ladder so the flying bees return to the carton. (About 1/2 to 3/4 hour).

4 once most of the bees are either in or on the carton prepare to carry it to the ground. Bring it down slowly without jarring it then coax the bees from the outside into the carton (continued …)

5 using an ungloved hand, slowly herd the bees up and over the edge into the carton and when most are in, cover the whole thing with a piece of windbreak cloth and tie.

6 transport home and leave in a shaded spot or somewhere convenient until evening. Transport to the apiary.

At the apiary set up a super and frames plus take a frame of brood and one of honey from another hive (after ensuring that the hive is disease free). Place the brood frame in the centre and honey frame on the outside. Interspace foundation frames with drawn frames.

7 upend the carton and after giving a sharp tap to dislodge the bees, pour some of the bees into the hive, over the top of the frames and gently put on the roof. (Give the bees time to move down so that none are squashed). Then pour the rest of the bees on to a piece of paper in front of the hive entrance. The bees should immediately start moving in. If not drive them in using a little smoke - just enough to get them moving slowly.

Continued …

After 7 days, order a new queen for the hive and despatch the old queen the day the new one arrives. The old queen will generally be on the brood frames where there are eggs. Don't use smoke when locating a queen. Despatch the old queen with a hive tool as soon as you see her and hang the queen cage in between the frames exit hole upwards. Leave for 10 days and then check that she is laying.

Next year you should have a viable colony.

Ivan Pederson was called to catch a swarm in Lower Hutt and arrived to find it had landed on a concrete drive. The resident was a musician and told Ivan he’d had bees in the chimney for years. Two days before they came out of the chimney in a big cloud and he played his clarinet and they all settled on the drive! (Pied Piper?) To date Ivan has collected three swarms, one his own.

SWARM CELLS: Ivan has found capped Queen cells in about 12 hives, and suggests the following as one method of dealing with this:

Move the original hive sideways and turn the entrance the opposite way. Then put a new box on the old site with the capped cells, after making sure the old Queen is not in this box. Check about 3 weeks later that there are eggs in the new hive box so you don’t end up with a dead hive too late in the season to do anything about it.

Things to do this month: check feed, check pollen, AFB check, raise

queen cells, supering hives, requeening hives, swarm control, cull out

old frames, fit foundation into comb honey frames. Remove strips before

the honey flow. Start experimenting with the organic treatments to

combat mite resistance to strips, and take time out to smell the daisies.