Please note that unpaid PBKA membership renewal subscriptions for 2021 are now overdue. For details about how to renew your membership, please follow this Link
Note that there is now a 40 day waiting time for membership renewal before BDI insurance cover activates.
Just to remind everyone that the closing date for articles for the Summer edition of the Welsh Beekeeper magazine is this coming Friday 30th April. Also Friday is last opportunity to send entries for for the summer photo competition (see Spring edition for details). Please send articles, letters and photos to editor@wbka.com.
Just a seasonal reminder for beekeepers concerning American Foul Brood (AFB).
We have been advised to direct you to the National Bee Unit (NBU) factsheet ‘Apiary Hygiene and Quarantine’, plus ‘Foulbrood Disease of Honey Bees and other common brood disorders’. These are available on Beebase at: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
All beekeepers have a duty to keep healthy, disease free bees and the PBKA strongly recommends that beekeepers sign up to Beebase in order to ensure that they receive any warnings and can obtain advice etc. in the event of a disease outbreak.
Beekeepers within 3km of an AFB outbreak, with a current email address on Beebase, will receive an emailed alert from the NBU. All beekeepers within 5km of an outbreak should exercise vigilance as per the above factsheet, which also covers swarm collection and we strongly recommend that all swarms caught are quarantined for a period of 6 weeks with any concerns advised to your local Bee Inspector.
Please note if PBKA members see any hives in their area which appear to be abandoned, or are of unknown origin, contact the PBKA with details.
The next WBKA webinar will be at 7.30pm on Thursday 29th April when Professor Gareth Wyn Jones will be talking about Climate Change.
Climate Change is a topic we focussed on in a recent edition of the Welsh Beekeeper Magazine. It affects us all in so many ways and, as beekeepers, we are also keenly aware of its impact on our colonies, and on bees and pollinators generally.
We are therefore delighted to welcome Professor Gareth Wyn Jones to speak on the subject.
After graduating in Biochemistry and Soil Science, Gareth went on to the Universities of British Columbia, Oxford, and UC Los Angeles, before returning to Bangor. He worked for many years on soil-plant relations and plant eco-physiology, especially the mechanisms for plant adaptation to drought and salinity stress. This led to a growing and continuing interest in the sustainable welfare of the affected communities, as well as their environment.
In 1983 he was awarded a DSc by Oxford University and a personal chair by the University of Wales. With Dr Tony Chamberlain, he also established the Centre for Arid Zone Studies. In 1989 Gareth became manager, and later, chair, of the Strategic Plant Science Research Programme of the UK Department for International Affairs.
He was appointed Chief Scientist and Deputy Chief Executive for the Countryside Council for Wales on its establishment in 1991. Gareth has chaired the scientific committee of the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in Aleppo, Syria and numerous other overseas projects and roles have benefited from his involvement.
Nearer home, Gareth has been involved in the Amlwch Industrial Heritage Trust, the Wales Rural Forum, Coed Cymru, and the Bardsey Island Trust.
He co-authored the 2010 report to Welsh Government on “Land Use and Climate Change” and, in 2019, published a book “Energy – the Great Driver: Seven Revolutions and the Challenges of Climate Change”.
Please use the link below to register for Climate Change – Professor Gareth Wyn Jones on Apr 29, 2021 7:30 PM BST:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7175835509531879184
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
We have been approached by a local school which is trying to get a project off the ground to make Beeswax wraps with primary school children, to teach them about the benefits of natural ingredients and to reduce single-use plastic.
If anyone has any beeswax available (they are looking for 2.5kg if possible) please advise us and we will pass on the school contact details to you.
Many thanks.
