No 27, February 2011 Send your news to: beemail@bee-craft.

com Editor: Chris Richmond

☞ Keep abreast of this year’s beekeeping events! Visit the 2011 Bee Craft calendar by clicking here
‘Out of the eater came forth meat...
...and out of the strong came forth sweetness’. The words of Samson’s
riddle have long been familiar as the motto on tins of Lyle’s Golden
Syrup, accompanying the logo of bees issuing from a lion’s corpse.
Now some erudite honey bees have taken the biblical tale to heart,
setting up home in the wall of St John’s College, Oxford, and using the
mouth of this lion mask as a very grand hive entrance.

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Asian honey bees invade Australia

ALREADY struggling to cope with
floods and fires, Australian beekeepers
now face a new threat – an invasion
of Asian honey bees.
The bees, dubbed ‘cane toads with wings’
by locals, originated in Indonesia but have
hitched rides on shipping, spreading through
Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and
Torres Strait and first arrived in Australia on a
yacht that docked in Cairns in 2007.
Since then, the bees (Apis cerana) have
spread inland as far as Innisfail, about 50
miles (83 km) south. They are more prolific
than European honey bees (Apis mellifera),
swarming up to five times each year, and
compete for forage and hive space, but are
not effective honey producers. Beekeepers in
Queensland fear the interlopers could threaten
Brush up on hygiene
Scientists at the University of Sussex
have already made a name for themselves
with their research into honey bee health,
breeding and the effects of Colony Collapse
Disorder (CCD), with the Laboratory of
Apiculture and Social Insects (LASI)
featuring in the BBC documentary Who
Killed the Honey Bee?
Now the LASI is opening its doors to
experienced beekeepers interested in queen
rearing and breeding with a workshop at
the unit’s base in Falmer, Brighton.
The workshop will be taught by Professor
Francis Ratnieks, Dr Karin Alton, Norman
Carreck and Gianluigi Bigio and will
demonstrate the technique of freeze-killed
brood bioassay to determine the most
hygienic colonies, which can then be used
in bee breeding and queen rearing.
Currently, it is planned to run the
afternoon workshop twice – on Saturday
21 May and Monday 23 May.
The course is free but is limited to 25
places per session so you need to register
with Dr Alton on 01273 872587 or email
Karin.Alton@sussex.ac.uk.
Beekeepers to march
on capital this week
the existing bee population, saying they are
aggressive, rob hives and may even introduce
Varroa destructor mites to Australia.
With the Australian bee industry worth
about A$4 billion (£2.47 bn) per annum, the
Australian government funded a A$3 million
eradication programme, which has already
dealt with 340 swarms since the initial colony
arrived, but has now seemingly accepted
defeat, after the Asian Honeybee National
Management Group declared: ‘It is no longer
technically feasible to achieve eradication’.
Outraged beekeepers and state authorities
in Queensland (the only state with Asian
honey bees) want to continue the eradication
programme and are campaigning for more
action to solve the problem.
They already have the support of beekeepers
and farming associations nationwide and are
‘Rent-a-Hive’ plan
up for award
WASHINGTON State beekeeper
Corky Luster’s determination to keep bees
thriving in America has put him in line for a
possible $20,000 prize.
Corky, based in Ballard, near Seattle, is a
finalist in the AMD Visionary of the Year awards,
sponsored by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
His scheme is similar to the British Beekeepers’
Association’s Adopt-a-Beehive programme –
and, indeed, the working practices of many
beekeepers – in that it encourages landowners
to provide space for hives, tended by Corky,
in exchange for a share of the honey.
So far, he has 60 hives dotted around
Ballard and he is hoping the prize will help
him expand the programme, take on interns
and teach others the art of beekeeping.
urging Aussies to support their cause by
writing to politicians, including Agriculture
Minister Joe Lugwig.
On Wednesday, 2 March, the campaigners
have organised a Honey Breakfast and
protest march to the parliament in Canberra.
They are demanding the government:
● Allocate A$10 million (£6.17 million) over
the next two years to eradicate the Asian bee
in Australia.
● Implement the recommendations of the
2008 More than Honey report by allocating an
additional A$50m annually to maintain healthy
bee populations to secure pollination services.
● Provide funding for the establishment and
operation of the Co-operative Research
Centre for Bee Research and Food Security.
Bees get new strip
to tackle varroa
BEEKEEPERS should soon have a new
weapon in their armoury against Varroa
destructor parasitic mites after Canadian firm
NOD Apiary Products obtained US federal
registration for its Mite-Away Quick Strips.
The strips are impregnated with formic
acid, an active component in bee/ant stings.
Formic acid is already used to combat
varroa, and is said to be particularly effective
against the soft-shelled male mites which lurk
inside sealed cells, but requires careful use
as it is volatile in high temperatures and is
potentially lethal to bees and humans.
NOD, which already markets Mite-Away
formic acid pads, claim the new gel strips are
more stable and may be used in temperatures
up to 93ºF (34ºC). The treatment period is
seven days and can be implemented during a
honey flow. NOD claims up to 95% mite kill.
There is currently no date set for Quick
Strips to go on sale in the UK, but NOD says
the product will be gradually available over
the next few months as production ramps up
and pesticide registrations are obtained.

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