Reminder – WBKA Seminar on Apiary Security this evening (Thursday) at 7.30pm

apiarymanager Events, Stories of Interest, WBKA

The next WBKA webinar will be on Thursday 15th April (next week) at 7.30pm when PC Dewi Evans of the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team will be talking on Apiary Security. 

To register for the event please use the link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4660369508968848400

PC Dewi Evans has been part of the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team since 2013 and has investigated honey bee thefts.  In 2018 he received the WWF UK National Enforcer Award in recognition of his work to tackle wildlife crimes. Dewi was also the scriptwriter and main character of the popular S4C children’s program, ‘Dewi a’r Ditectifs Gwyllt’, (Dewi and the Wildlife Detectives). Recently he was seconded to a project looking at affordable security for farms.

Dewi’s talk will explore ways in which a beekeeper can make their apiary and equipment more secure from vandalism and theft, as well as covering what information a beekeeper can give to assist the police to investigate any reported incidents.  

Reporting Varroa

apiarymanager Varroa

On 21st April, 2021 an amendment to the Bee Diseases and Pests Control (England) Order 2006 comes into force requiring beekeepers and or officials to report the presence of Varroa in any of the hives that they manage. This amendment will allow England to comply with the Animal Health Law which is necessary for future working relationships with the European Union. Similar arrangements are being made in Wales and Scotland. To make this simple, a tick box will be introduced to BeeBase, the voluntary register for beekeepers managed by the National Bee Unit. This will allow beekeepers and inspectors to report the presence or absence of Varroa. Although Varroa is known to be widespread, it continues to be one of the most serious pests faced by beekeepers. Reporting Varroa will contribute to the overall pest and disease surveillance work of the National Bee Unit and we are grateful for your assistance with this new simple measure.

 

WBKA Seminar on Apiary Security

apiarymanager Events, WBKA

The next WBKA webinar will be on Thursday 15th April (next week) at 7.30pm when PC Dewi Evans of the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team will be talking on Apiary Security. 

To register for the event please use the link:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4660369508968848400

PC Dewi Evans has been part of the North Wales Police Rural Crime Team since 2013 and has investigated honey bee thefts.  In 2018 he received the WWF UK National Enforcer Award in recognition of his work to tackle wildlife crimes. Dewi was also the scriptwriter and main character of the popular S4C children’s program, ‘Dewi a’r Ditectifs Gwyllt’, (Dewi and the Wildlife Detectives). Recently he was seconded to a project looking at affordable security for farms.

Dewi’s talk will explore ways in which a beekeeper can make their apiary and equipment more secure from vandalism and theft, as well as covering what information a beekeeper can give to assist the police to investigate any reported incidents.  

Starvation and Foulbrood warning!

apiarymanager Feeding Bees and Starvation, PBKA

The BBKA has issued a warning to beekeepers to check their bees for starvation and European Foulbrood during this cold snap.

Emergency feeding may be needed. It would be advisable to check the food levels by opening the hive and making a very quick observation of their store levels.

It is also important to check that hives have small entrances as Foulbrood is about in some areas and small colonies or those suffering disease may not be able to defend themselves from infected intruders if they have a large opening to defend. 

Editor wanted by WBKA

apiarymanager WBKA

The WBKA is still looking for an editor for the quarterly Welsh Beekeeper Magazine.  See the WBKA Editor Role Description for details and if interested in the post, contact Jenny Shaw, General Secretary on secretary@wbka.com.  Please note that the WBKA has the resources to train someone in the use of InDesign and that there is a lot of support available for a new editor.  We are looking for someone who is keen and enthusiastic and a lack of experience need not be a major drawback.

Also please remember that articles for the summer edition of the magazine and / or photos for the summer competition should be sent to editor@wbka before the end of April for consideration.  Authors are asked to send articles as word documents and illustrations as jpeg files, to facilitate uploading them into the magazine.  If an author has a particular layout in mind for their work they should also attach a pdf of their finished article.  For more details about the Photograph Competition please see the spring edition of the Welsh Beekeeper which is available on the WBKA website.