This is just some of the slides in our presentation. It may assist your new army of National Trust Beekeepers.

This is just some of the slides in our presentation.

It may assist your new army of National Trust Beekeepers

Health and Safety around Honeybees

Living creatures will defend their home, only defence is sting

Minimise– Wear correct PPE– Know what you are doing– Bring required equipment

Neighbours, children, pets– Do not inspect during neighbour’s BBQ – Face hive away from neighbours/toward fence or hedge– Erect fence? Out apiary,? Allotment? Involve them?

Avoid– Annoying bees– Bad weather– Jerky movements, vibration– Strong fragrance

Stings– Cannot be avoided, you are invading their home– Flight path– Swarming (very unlikely to sting)

• Normal Reaction - local pain, swelling, itching, and redness around the sting site.  • Mild Allergic Reaction - Some people will experience swelling in a larger area, not

just immediately around the sting site,• Severe Allergic Reaction - "anaphylaxis" or anaphylactic shock. Symptoms may

appear immediately or within the first 30 minutes. The symptoms include:

– hives, itching and swelling in areas other than the sting site,– swollen eyes and eyelids,– Wheezing,– tightness in the chest and difficulty breathing– hoarse voice or swelling of the tongue– dizziness or sharp drop in blood pressure– shock– unconsciousness or cardiac arrest

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Hive tools and other equipment

Smoker

3 Hive tools

Porter BeeEscape

Gloves

Drawing pins

Butler cage2 queen marking cagesQueen cell cageMatchesScissorsUncapping toolMouse guardMarking fluidSpacersMesh

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Honey bee - Development of Castes

W

Q

D

Egg

Fertilisation Unfertilised

Royal Jelly - 3days Royal Jelly until emergencethen

Pollen and Honey

Royal Jelly - 3daysthen

Extra Pollen & Honey

Female larva(Diploid)

Male larva(Haploid)

Laid in drone cellLaid in worker cell

(Parthenogenesis)

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Laid in Queen Cell

21 days

24 days18 days

Queen bee lifecycle• Laid as a fertilised egg in queen cell• Fed royal jelly by worker nurse bees• Cell packed with royal jelly and sealed• 16 days after egg laid queen emerges• Stings/fights any other queens in hive• Within days leaves hive on mating flight• Returns to hive and begins to lay• Lives approx 5 years – rate of

lay deteriorates over time

Worker Lifecycle• Laid as fertilised egg in worker cell• Fed 3 days royal jelly by worker (nurse) bees• Cell filled with pollen/nectar mix and sealed• 21 days from egg laid worker emerges • Cleans own cell • Begins as nurse bee and wax maker• Moves onto cell cleaning, feeding larvae and drones• Hive cleaning continues, packing nectar and pollen• Drying off nectar• Becomes guard bee or forager• Specialise in nectar, pollen, water or propolis• Usually dies in the field

The Bee Keeper’s Year

January – bees clustering, little activity;

<1 hour for the month

February – queen starts to lay; beekeeper prepares for the year ahead <1 hour

March – risk of starvation, rate of lay increases, workers collect pollen; feeding maybe, <2 hours

April – early blossom, workers gather pollen and nectar, rapid increase in lay rate; find queen, mark, q excluder and super, dust <3 hours

May – drones increasing, watch for swarming, inspect weekly; dust

<6 hours

June – highest occupancy, lay rate decreasing; swarm control, feeding maybe, dust <6 hours

July – main nectar flow, lay rate decreasing; add more supers, swarm inspections, unite colonies? <6 hours

August – activity level starts to drop, lay rate drops; restrict entrance, wasp traps, take a holiday, dust <3 hours

September – drones expelled, pop decreasing, q stops laying; harvest honey, give winter feed <3 hours (bottling could add an hour or so)

October – bees and bee keeper preparing for winter, remove QE <2 hours

November – bees start to cluster, clean/store equipment, oxalic acid treatment <1 hour

December – bees clustering; beekeeper no work to do!

Parasites Pests and Diseases

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EnvironmentalProblems

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UK losses 2006 – 2007 8,000 colonies (30%)

UK losses 2007 - 2008 6,000 (25%)UK losses 2008 – 2009 3,000 (20%)

No wild colonies left - some escapees – not sustainable

USA losses 2007 – 2008 800,000 colonies (30%)USA losses 2008 – 2009 1,000,000 If bees continue disappearing at this rate, it is estimated that by 2035 there could be no honeybees left in the USA.

France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Brazil and Argentina reporting losses too

Honey bee losses

Pollination is necessary for most plants to bear fruit, vegetables, and seeds. Upon fertilization, the flower begins to form fruit and seeds. In the case of apples or tomatoes, the seeds are inside the fruit. In the case of beans and peas, the “fruit" is the seed. In the case of many flowers, edible fruit is not the goal. Instead, a pod may contain a few or many dozens of seeds.

Pollination – sex for flowers!

Why does it matter?