Present: Andrew Beach (Pres), James Scott (Vice Pres), John Burnet (Tres), Richard Wickens (Sec) and 23 others.

Apologies: Ivan Pedersen, John Robson, Mary-Ann Lindsay, Amor Walters

The Chairman moved that apologies be accepted. The motion was passed unanimously.

The Minutes of the Special Meeting held on 11 October 2004 contained the amendments to the Association's Constitution were read out by the Secretary.

Noted that Kent Morrell would not be presenting the cooking with honey presentation proposed for December.

Ken Breden moved that the minutes be accepted and Wrae Duncan seconded the motion.

• Strips Bayvarol and Apistan: Now found to have different components and could be used alternately (Spring and Autumn) to avoid building up resistance.
• Thymol: The crystals had been approved for use but the liquid was still awaiting approval. The crystals are very expensive. No thymol should be used until the honey had been taken off the hives. One dose of thymol would be effective for three weeks. The crystals had not been approved for use with the FGMO cord treatment.
• FGMO: Vicky commented that she had been able to dip 50 cords with the recommended quantity of the recipe but suggested that it would be difficult to dip 100 cords. One metre length of cord was sufficient for each box. If thymol was approved for use with the cords then it could contaminate the honey if they were left in place during the honey flow.
• Burgess Foggers: John Burnet had found someone in the US who could supply Burgess Foggers for US$70 plus US$30 freight. Neil Farrar in Wanganui was bringing in 3 Burgess Foggers at a time and could supply them at the same price.
• Oxalic Acid: Frank recommended using oxalic acid per the Varroa Handbook. If applied as a liquid, 50 mils per box per hive should be dribbled on the top bars. It was quicker in Frank's view to spray oxalic acid. Andrew showed a measure that he had produced to ensure that the correct dosage was applied.
• South Island: The South Island was still regarded as being clear of varroa. A levy of $2 per hive was proposed for beekeepers, representing 25% of the cost of varroa monitoring, with the balance being met by Regional Councils.
• North Island: There was still some areas of the Wairarapa believed to be free of varroa and it was spreading slowly in Taranaki owing to the lowness of feral colony numbers.
• Losses: Frank reported losing 2 hives to varroa at McKays Crossing.

Ivan was very busy catching swarms in both Upper Hutt and Wairarapa. Frank recommended that members go through their hives and ensure that swarms cells are removed, taking care to check all boxes even if only a single queen cell was initially found.

Thomasz Swinarski reported receiving a letter from MAF about having his hives checked for the presence of AFB. The requirement to have a DECA Certificate holder check his hive was explained to him. As the closest DECA holder to where Thomasz lived, Richard offered to check his hive for him.

The merits and costs of purchasing a projector were discussed. The approach to the owners of the hall with a suggestion that a joint purchase be considered resulted in the discovery that the Church had purchased one to be mounted in the ceiling and it would therefore not be practical for WBA use. For the Association, the cost was considered an obstacle and it was recommended that the availability of grant moneys be investigated.

A reminder was given of the details of the field day.

Ann Morton had been approached to speak at the December meeting about cooking with honey. She was reluctant to simply talking about cooking with honey and preferred to give practical demonstrations. She also charged for this kind of service. It was decided not to proceed with her as a guest speaker. Instead members were invited to bring along examples of their own recipes for those attending to sample. Mary-Ann was to be asked to prepare the punch.

John Burnet, who is not only the treasurer of the WBA but also the Convenor of the Guides and Hosts of the Kelburn Reservoir Wildlife Sanctuary made, using a data-show projector, an excellent presentation on the history and goals of the Sanctuary. Where does the man find the time? The members showed their appreciation with a round of applause.

Close of Meeting: 9.10pm

TWO hives. Full depth, mix of plastic and wooden frames. About 5 or 6 boxes per hive, some honey still on. $100 ono per hive. Phone Jim, 472 6533 (Wadestown)

It has been suggested that the special qualities of Stradivarius violins may in part be due to the type of propolis available to the bees of Cremona, where the violins were made.

Egyptian embalmers used beeswax to cover the eyes, ears and noses of the people they mummified, and the Greeks and Romans fooled unwary buyers by using beeswax mixed with marble dust to conceal cracks and chips in marble statues, or by selling "solid" statuettes that were actually packed internally with the wax.

The English word "sincere" – which translates as "without wax" – stems from this practice.

But perhaps the most interesting historical symbolism attached to beeswax was that which Christianity attached to its beeswax candles.

The church’s reverence for bees and beeswax came partly from a misunderstanding of the reproductive process of bees. Early Christianity mistakenly thought that the queen bee was a virgin. An Italian fifth century Easter hymn even extolled the virtues of the virginity of bees who "produce posterity, rejoice in offspring, yet retain their virginity".

The beeswax of church candles represented the body of Jesus, the flame the "light of the world".

BEES COMB: Continued from November Newsletter…

WAX …

Wax is produced by the bee at a great expenditure of labour, material and strength. One pound of wax has been observed being moulded into 35,000 worker cells, while 50,000 have also been made from that amount.

From the raw material the sculpture bees make 3 kinds of cells. When a new queen is needed, they build a few large almost perpendicular, peanut shaped cells. The two other kinds, drone-cells and worker cells, are practically the same in form, the drone cells differing in being larger. Both kinds of cells are nearly horizontal, slanting upward slightly from centre to the exterior of the comb. Both kinds are used for the storage of honey, and this slight inclination facilitates the filling of the cell, and prevents the honey from running out before the cap is added.

All three forms are primariliy cylindrical. The queen cells, isolated from the others, always remain cylindrical. All solitary bees (not honeybees) make such cells. The hexagonal form is due largely to mutual pressure, and partly to optical illusion. Cells near the edge of the comb, where it is attached to some support, are either circular or elongated circular.

A soap-bubble floating in the air is circular in every direction – that bubble is a sphere. Let it fall on a table and it becomes flattened on one side. Let there be pressure on every part, and the outlines are no longer circles but polygons. Let a mass of soap bubbles be confined, one layer between two sheets of glass, and they become short polygonal tubes. If sizes are equal and pressure from every direction is the same the outlines will be regular hexagons, the same as those of worker-comb cells. If these conditions vary, the outlines will be irregular polygons but mostly six-sided. Worker cells seem to be more closely crowded together than drone cells, and thus have their angles, in most cases, more sharply defined. In drone comb some cells are almost without angles, the spaces between the tubes being filled in by a thickening of the cell walls greater than is customary. In such parts a casual glance shows them to be almost as hexagonal as is the usual type. But close examination or magnifying shows many cells that are cylindrical tubes. The more one studies comb, the more firmly is he impressed by the belief that the original "intention" of the bee is to produce a hollow cylinder, and that the hexagonal result is due solely to the force of circumstances, and is entirely "unintentional".

A correspondent recently told me that, after her house was burned down, workmen in clearing away the ruins, found in the cellar, amid the debris, a box of glass "marbles" that had belonged to her young son. Under the heat and the pressure the marbles had become a solid mass; they had "run together." A workman, in knocking off the clinging cinders, broke the mass in two. The interior presented an almost perfect honey-comb effect, each marble being a spherical polygon. So cylinders or spheres, pressed together uniformly in every direction, and submitting to that pressure, become hexagonal in outline.

Actual measurements of the angles show that they vary greatly in size and form, but comb is none the less a wonderful structure, with all its parts arranged for the greatest strength, the largest storing capacity, and the most perfect adaptation to circumstances.

In its best form Mead is made as follows:

12 gallons of pure, sof water (clean rain water is, next to distilled water, best) are mixed with 30 gallons of expressed honey in a big caldron, 4 ounces of hops added, and the whole brought to a boil. The boiling is continued with diligent skimming, for at least an hour and a half. The fire is then drawn, and the liquid allowed to cool down slowly. When cold, it is drawn off into a clean barrel, which it should fill to the bung, with a little over. A pint of fresh wine yeast or ferment is added, and the barrel put in a moderately warm place, with the bung left out, to ferment for from 8 to 14 days, according to the wather (the warmer it is the shorter the period occupied in the primary or chief fermentation). Every day the foam escaping from the bung should be carefully skimmed off, and every 2 or 3 days there should be added a little honey and water to keep the barrel quite full, and in the meantime a pan or cup should be inverted over the hole, to keep out dust, insects, etc.

When fermentation ceases, the procedure varies. Some merely drive in the bung securely and let the liquor stand for a few weeks, then bottle; but the best German makers proceed as follows, this being a far superior process:

The liquor is removed from the barrel in which it fermented to another, clean, barrel, being strained through a haircloth sieve to prevent the admission of the old yeast. A second portion of yeast is added, and the liquid allowed to pass through the secondary fermentation, lasting usually as long as the first. The bung is driven into the barrel, the liquid allowed to stand a few days to settle thoroughly and then drawn off into bottles and stored in the usual way. Some add nutmeg, cinnamon, etc, prior to the last fermentation.

Not applicable to a pot of honey

A key change as honey will require a nutrition information panel. See table below for suggested format. Also consult the ‘Nutrition Panel Calculator’ provided by FSANZ. It is also recommended you consult the ‘industry guide’.

9. Legibility Requirements:

Labelling must be legible, prominent and in English. Warning statements must be minimum 3mm

10. Characterising ingredient:

Not applicable for a single ingredient food. However, if honey is blended then the percentage of the stated type must be given, eg Manuka Blended Honey (contains not less than 20% manuka honey)

2. Substances Added to Food:

Not relevant to honey

3. Contaminants and Residues:

Set maximum levels for certain substances in certain foodstuffs – no labelling implications.

1. Microbiological Limits for Foods:

Not applicable

8. Food Product Standards:

Honey is to contain not less than 60% reducing sugars and not more than 21% moisture.

Serving size: g (or mL or other units as appropriate.

Quanty per serving: Quanty per 100 (g or mL):

Energy kJ (Cal) kJ (Cal)

Protein g G

Fat, total g G

Saturated g G

Carbohydrate g G

Sugars g G

Sodium Mg (mmol) Mg (mmol)

(insert any other nutrient or biologically active substance to be declared)

g, mg, etc or other units as appropriate.

… Two Gisborne beekeepers are questioning why MAF did not give beekeepers the choice to use all available treatments to manage the varroa mite. The hard chemicals being used have the potential to destroy the NZ bee industry, they say. The two, Gisborne beekeeper Don Simm and Rueben Stanley, a fellow Gisborne beekeeper before recently moving to Switzerland, are frustrated with the 14-month delay in getting organic chemical free varroa treatments registered for use.

"When varroa hit NZ in April 2000 MAF had an arsenal of treatments at their disposal. They chose the hardest chemicals they could use. The registration process for these hard chemicals happened following emergency legislation within a short time, and MAF gave the chemicals out free for their monitoring. Now this is happening in the South Island.

They did not give beekeepers a choice. They just said this is what you use. This is registered and anything else is illegal and will incur a fine."

MAF’s answer to controlling the mite has been the hoice of a pyrethoroid based chemical product or an acid, they say.

"These guys (MAF) are pushing chemicals, chemicals, chemicals, and they know it is not going to work. They know it is a non-sustainable road. It has the potential to destroy our bee industry" says Mr Simm.

Since moving to Switzerland, Mr Stanley has attended a lot of conferences throughout Europe and Asia.

"The trend overseas is to go away from these synthetic pyrethroids because they are not working and are causing a collapsing industry. Pyrethroid resistance is rampant. Canada, Europe and America have lost 30 to 50% of their bee industry through chemical resistance" says Mr Stanley. He says alarm bells should be ringing in NZ – there is no funding or monitoring for chemical resistance here.

Overseas they are now using natural organic products to beat chemical resistant mites.

Mr Stanley has been trying for the last 14 months to introduce a chemical free product to NZ to control the varroa mite but he believes it is being buried. He says the registration is now sitting with ERMA.

The product is registered as an organic product in Italy with research backing from scientists in Spain, Italy and Canada. It is made up of thymol, an extract of thyme, eucalyptus, mentol and camphor oi. It has been quoted and promoted as "the saviour of the American beekeeping industry".

Organic beekeepers on the Poverty Bay flats have lost their organic status because they were forced to use chemical treatment in their hives against the mite. But it is not too late for the South Island to be able to remain chemical free in their hives, the men say.

"A lot of South Island bee keepers that have been in the industry for 30 years have admitted they will turn their back on the industry rather than use chemicals" says Mr Simm. "We are in the business of selling natural products – it is a multi million-dollar export for NZ. Honey has crossed over from being solely for eating to being a medical product. People using the medical products do not want chemical residues in them". Cont’d…

The men have spoken to a major exporter of NZ honey products based in Tauranga and the company have admitted they are picking up chemical residues in their products.

"We are lucky at the moment that no one overseas is giving us a hard time about these residues" says Mr Stanley.

Dr Peter Molan and his research team have been investigating the anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties of honey for more than 15 years. They consider active manuka honey, which contains UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) as well as the usual hydrogen peroxide anti-bacterial activity, to be a more effective anti-bacterial agent than other honeys. Levels of UMF activity in manuka honey are found by laboratory testing. Research shows that the UMF and hydrogen peroxide found in active or UMF-rated honey kills bacteria and fungi found in wounds and stomach ulcers. The rating of a UMF honey is on a par with the standard potency reference for antiseptic (phenol) – a honey with a rating of 4 would be equivalent in antiseptic potency to a 4% solution of phenol (carbolic disinfectent). As for honey’s anti-oxidant properties, the Vitamin E in honey is considered to absorb the free radicals responsible for cell damage in the human body.

-Honey can be eaten straight from the comb, but the wax contains no nutritional value.

-Nectar turns into honey via evaporation. The finished product consists of near-even quantities of fructose and dextrose with nearly 20% water plus traces of pollen, wax acids, proteins, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and pigments

BEEKEEPER’S SPICE CAKE

75g butter 1 cup honey

½ cup yoghurt ½ cup sour cream

1 egg ½ tsp ground cloves

2 cups flour 1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt 1 cup walnut pieces

1 tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds

icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Butter a 20cm square caketin & line it with paper. Beat the butter and honey until smooth & creamy. Beat in the yoghurt, sour cream and egg. Stir in the spices, flour, baking soda, salt & walnuts. Continued over …

Pour the mixture into the tin & place in the oven. Bake 35minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, cool, dust with icing sugar, then serve with a dollop of honeyed mascarpone. Serves 8

Honeyed Mascarpone:

200g mascarpone

3 tablespoons honey of choice

Mix together, until just blended. Mascarpone is basically cream, so if you beat it too much, it will turn buttery.