Conwy Beekeepers – Gwenynwyr Conwy

Tuesday 27th September – Secrets of the Showbench

Craig y Don Community Centre. Welcome tea and coffee at 7.20pm. Meeting starts at 7.40pm.
Geoff Critchley restarts our evening meetings by leading an informal evening on Secrets of the Showbench. Please bring jars of your best honey, light, medium, granulated etc. in 454g labelled jars, plus beeswax blocks, candles etc. We will compare our honeys and share tips and hints about how to reach Honey Show standard. We all have honey this year, and we hope the meeting will encourage you to support our Association Honey Show on Tuesday 18th October. More details are on the association honey show schedule 2011.

also on Tuesday 27th September – Conwy Rural Development Roadshow

Rowen Memorial Hall, Conwy Valley LL32 8YA, 2pm to 7pm.
Information on grants for farm diversification, rural business support, rural tourism projects and village renewal. All welcome.

New members

Welcome to Myfanwy and Geraint Roberts, Llanbedr y Cennin, Conwy Valley.

Apiguard

is still available from Chris Clarke. There are widespread supply problems elsewhere, but we have enough in stock for Conwy BKA members.

Conwy Honey Fair

Sorry, stall space is now full up.

Thornes

See Thorne’s interesting new Facebook page with some good pics of their new factory. Thorne’s winter online sale starts mid-November.

Beekeeping takes flight in primary school…

Learning to look after bees has transformed the behaviour of unruly pupils, says headteacher according to this article in The Guardian.

Looking ahead

The April 2012 BBKA Spring Convention will be held in a new venue at Newport, Shropshire. Much nearer than Stoneleigh!

Happy beekeeping.
Peter McFadden

Sunday 21st August—Apiary Meeting

Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm
Our last open apiary meeting of the summer. Assessing the hives for winter… queenright, healthy, well-fed?
Thanks to everybody who has supported the apiary meetings this summer, and many thanks to the team of instructors.

Apiguard—Please order from Chris Clarke for collection at the meeting.

Saturday 27th August—Taster Day 3

Rowen and Tal y Cafn
Spaces available, please spread the word. More details here.

Tuesday 6th September—Basic Beekeeping Course 6

Henfaes
Spaces available, please spread the word.

Tuesday 13th September—Conwy Honey Fair

High Street, Conwy 9am to 4pm
Our 22nd Honey Fair. See the fairs page for stallholders info and the history of the event. We need one more marshall to help control the traffic barrier please, from 2pm to 4pm.

Plus…Conwy Farmers’ Market on the Quay

We suggest a basic price of £5 per 454g jar of honey. Other sizes at your own price.
Please let the association secretary know if you wish to sell honey. We cannot accommodate sellers who just turn up without booking.

Tuesday and Thursday 16th and 18th August

Dolgarrog Aluminium Company archives on display at the Rowen Young Farmers Club hall, Ffordd Rowen, Ty’n y Groes, 6pm to 8pm. Free admission.

We regret to report that American Foul Brood (AFB) has been found in two hives of bees in two apiaries in St. Asaph belonging to one beekeeper. Both colonies have been destroyed by burning by Seasonal Bee Inspector David Hards.

If you have bees within 10km of St. Asaph, please contact the association secretary on 01492 650851 to arrange an urgent inspection.

AFB is the most virulent of all the bee diseases. North West Wales has a very good record of keeping AFB away, with only a handful of isolated cases in our area in the last 30 years. Other parts of the UK have outbreaks more or less regularly. Moving bees into our clean area is a surefire way to spread AFB.

We encourage all members to register on BeeBase (http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/)
See https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/downloadDocument.cfm?id=7 for info on AFB.

See schedules below for the honey classes at Llanrwst Show on Saturday 20th August. Do please support the Show.

• Llanrwst show schedule 1
• Llanrwst show schedule 2

The Wales Regional Bee Inspectorate have produced a summer update document.

Saturday 30th July—Apiary Meeting

Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm
Including special guest instructor Jonathan Garratt. Assessment of the summer honey crop, planning for autumn.
Dress code at apiary meetings: Clean bee suit, clean gloves, clean wellington boots.

Also on Saturday 30th—Car boot sale

The Playing Field, Tal y Bont, Conwy Valley from 1pm
Call in on your way to the apiary meeting!

Saturday 13th August—Eglwysbach Show

Please see the honey schedule part 1 and part 2 and tips on how to win prizes.
We urge you to exhibit your honey. Support for the local honey shows is usually pretty limited, but if you have honey this year, do please make the effort to show some. Everybody likes to see a well-supported Show.

Eglwysbach Show is one of the most popular local shows, always a great day out.

New Members

Welcome to new members all recruited from the June Taster Day: John and Jackie Cocker, Llandudno; Bill and Annette Lees, Rhos on Sea; Chris and Thelma Sayers, Conwy Spar Shop. We now have three Conwy High Street shopkeepers in Conwy BKA: Stilwell’s BonBon, Spar Shop and the Fish and Chip shop.

Welcome Mike Lax, Talwrn to the Tal y Cafn instructing team.

Basic beekeeping course 2011 / 2012

The course at Henfaes is now filling up.

Ghost bees

If you see white honeybees flying into your hives, don’t worry. They will have been working the Himalayan balsam, which flowers from early July until the first frosts. They come home covered in white pollen. Balsam is now the main late source of pollen and nectar in low-lying areas near streams and rivers, and a good honey producer.

Swarms

The bees are still swarming. Late season swarms can be flighty and difficult to entice to stay in a hive. These pictures show swarms I’ve tried to catch recently. Alas, both swarms flew away.

The June swarm shown entering a hive might have stayed if I had put a comb of sealed brood in the hive as an attractant.

The July swarm was about to be dislodged from a tree into a skep with my NHS walking stick (soon to be discarded).

It flew away from the skep before I could hive it.

Saturday 11th June—Apiary meeting
Tal y Cafn at 2.30pm.

Open to all who want to improve their beekeeping skills.
Please park with care. We’re running out of parking space.

Same day—Hog roast
Hazel and David Jones’ house Dwygyfylchi

From 5pm to late, with live music, magic and sketches.
£15 per person, in aid of St. David’s Hospice. Phone 01492 623371 for tickets.

Wednesday 8th June—Farmers’ Market
Conwy Quay

9am to 1pm.

Every summer, we receive frequent phone calls from householders concerned about what appear to be nuisance bees.

Our Nuisance Bees page explains what they may be seeing, and contains information on what action can be taken.