This is where our members live. Click on the map to see

Dear viewer,

Beekeeping is fun. Beekeepers, like bees, are sociable animals who enjoy each others company, comparing ideas and helping each other out.

We have an association apiary where you can come and find out about beekeeping with some experienced beekeepers

If you are thinking of taking up beekeeping, read the 'beekeeping' pages and then contact Trixie or Ernie Dix on 01485 601076 so that we can help you get started.

If you are an existing member then you will find features about the association and its members - you are welcome and encouraged to use the website to share your experiences of beekeeping.

Our events are open to everyone so do come along and see us in action. The events page has a list of all the events for the year.

See you soon,

Ernie Dix (chairman)

Welcome to new members...

We welcome new members in the last year. Member 's areas are shown so that existing members in the locality can help out if needed

• David & Kim Arlott, Sutton St James
• Mr. Michael Bobbins, Burnham Thorpe
• Mr Joe Callaghan, Ingoldisthorpe
• Mrs B. Church, Watlington
• Mrs Rosemary Fordham, Felthorpe
• Mr S. Grant,  Heacham
• Mr Mike Hutchinson, Downham Market
• Ms Sara Kedge, Outwell
• Mr S. Keymer, Walpole Highway
• Mr. N. Lawrence, Ramsey
• Mrs Pam Loveless, King's Lynn
• Mrs M. Lewis, Hilgay
• Mrs J. Martin Smith, Ringstead
• Mr L. May, Ashwicken
• Mr Jon Miller, Wisbech
• Mr David Rutty, King's Lynn
• Mr Lucio Salas, Emneth
• Mr. Mike & Terry Sealey , Ashwicken
• Mrs. Lynn Seville, Pott Row
• Mrs Maria Spink, Brancaster Staithe
• Mr Ian Sherwood, Swaffham
• Miss K. Thrower, Setchey
• Mr M. Titterton, Holbeach Fen

An Inspector Calls...

No, not J. B. Priestly, but Keith Morgan resident Seasonal Bee Inspector. Here he comments on the winter and issues of the day.

Eastern Region now comprises the following counties: Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Rutland & Lincolnshire. The established Lincolnshire Seasonal Bee Inspector Bob Mould joining the Eastern Team led by Regional Bee Inspector Andy Wattam. Andy incidentally moved home in early May.

Over-winter losses appear to be higher than average (a straw poll of committee members showed losses between 0% and 60%) with poor queen performance evident – a legacy from last year's weather and also cases of starvation in the early spring.

I am doing a survey on behalf of the Bee Unit and would like each member to contact me in confidence on 01485 518540 and let me know your percentage losses.

Varroa control continues to be a real source of concern. Notwithstanding autumn treatments, varroa have been much in evidence over the mild winter months and it has proved impossible to rely on treatments giving consistently good results. In the case of Apiguard, re-infestation after treatment is not unusual and in the case of Oxalic the amount of brood in December mitigated against the full effectiveness of this treatment. Please do check mite drops and treat with Apiguard if necessary. Another method in use is ‘drone culling'. Place a drawn super frame near the middle of the brood chamber – the bees will tend do build drone comb under the frame. As soon as a significant number of cells have been capped, scrape off the drone comb and replace it. Varroa prefer drone cells and this method removes them. Whatever you do, don't let the drones emerge because you will be letting even more varroa get into the hive!. This method also reduces the likelihood of swarming.

Inspections started in April, with follow-ups to those folks who had Notifiable Diseases last year. Numbers have been down last year, largely due to the poor weather in April – we expect to find more now that the bees are starting to build up again. Do call me if you have any concerns over the health of your bees.

Crop Spraying. If you have bees on or near farmland then please take the trouble to know the spray contractors. This year the large amounts of rape in the area and the adverse weather up to early May meant that it was very difficult to get spraying done in bees ‘non-flying' hours. If spraying in combination, particularly fungicides added to ‘bee friendly' insecticides, bee kills can easily occur. Although this should not happen, we should be aware of the pressures on agriculture too. You can block entrances when spraying is in progress (or throwing a pile of straw in front of the entrance to confuse the bees if you prefer not to block).

Queens. Finally, there is likely to be a shortage of queens and nucs this year, several well known retailers having closed their books. If you import queens then not only must you ensure you have the correct documentation but please be aware that there have been instances of imported queens/attendant workers which, despite being certified disease free, have been found to carry life threatening viruses when tested.

Research Studentships

Each year a ‘Bee Forum' is held in our region at which one or two representatives from each association get together and discuss issues of the day. This year's event in Bedford was a lively affair, with representation from six counties in the region, and the National Bee Unit represented by Mike Brown, head of the Unit, Dr Giles Budge, Research Coordinator and Andy Wattam, Regional Bee Inspector. We heard about latest progress in many research projects – which are and will be covered in Beecraft and BBKA news. We also talked about Research Studentships and the fact that ‘seeding' a project with a relatively small sum can attract other funding from industry. Several associations expressed concern that monies sent to BBKA for research either did not get spent or was spent on projects they felt unsuitable. We agreed that direct funding of an ‘Eastern Region Studentship', working on something that would directly benefit us as beekeepers, would be a wholly worthwhile step. At the most recent WNKLBA committee we agreed unanimously to support this scheme.