Beekeepers should continue to monitor their colonies throughout the winter as temperatures in some regions of the UK have been unusually high for the winter months, allowing honey bee flight and forage of pollen. In some cases, small patches of brood are still being reared and the demand on the colony’s food resources ongoing.
Where temperatures do not allow for a sugar syrup feed, fondant icing can be placed directly on the top bars of the colony, above the cluster and fed as required.
Vale and Downland winter meeting – Friday 25th January 2019
In advance of sending out our full programme of events for 2019, and to give as much notice as possible for you to get the date in our diaries, here are the details of the first winter meeting on Friday 25th January 2019 at our now established venue at East Challow Village Hall.
Ahead of the start of the season for the possible emergence of queen Asian Hornets who managed to sneak in to England at the end of 2018, we have dedicated the theme of the evening to “The Asian Hornet”.
The first part of the evening will be a talk by our NBU Regional Bee Inspector – Peter Davies – on the Asian Hornet. Then, following the tea break, there will be a hands-on practical session where the association will fund and provide the materials and the tools for you to make an Asian Hornet monitoring trap. No special skills needed, there will be a demonstration and instructions.
By the end of the evening you will have a completed trap to take away ready for you to bait and use a few weeks later.
This year the emails will be sent out using the Government Notify system and you will receive an email from national.hive.count@notifications.service.gov.uk. Please make a note of this mailbox and mark it as a friendly to prevent it from being blocked by your email provider. Any replies to this mailbox should still reach us directly.
Asian Hornet Identified in Dungeness, Kent
15 October 2018, 22:41
The National Bee Unit is investigating a confirmed sighting of the Asian hornet in Dungeness. The hornets have been seen foraging on Ivy. Please keep up your vigilance by continuing to monitor for any hornet activity, especially on flowering forage. Further information will become available as and when the situation develops.
• by email to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk. Please include as much information as possible in your email; where you saw the sighting, your name and contact details and if possible an image.
Please direct all media enquiries to the Defra Press Office: 0330 0416560
Asian Hornet Identified in Guildford
04 October 2018, 22:41
The National Bee Unit is investigating the finding of a dead Asian hornet found between a car grill at a car dealership in Guildford. Further information will become available as and when the situation develops.
A new ‘Asian Hornet: UK sightings in 2018’ page has been published on Gov.Uk. This, along with BeeBase, will be updated with new developments as they occur.
• by email to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk. Please include as much information as possible in your email; where you saw the sighting, your name and contact details and if possible an image.
Please direct all media enquiries to the Defra Press Office: 0330 0416560
Asian Hornet Rolling News Page
01 October 2018, 22:41
A new ‘Asian Hornet: UK sightings in 2018’ page has been published on Gov.Uk. This, along with BeeBase, will be updated with new developments as they occur.
• by email to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk. Please include as much information as possible in your email; where you saw the sighting, your name and contact details and if possible an image.
Please direct all media enquiries to the Defra Press Office: 0330 0416560
Further guidance on the Asian hornet can be found on the Asian hornet pages of BeeBase including an Asian hornet ID sheet and Asian hornet poster . Bee inspectors from APHA National Bee Unit will be carrying out surveillance and monitoring in a 1-2 km radius around the initial sighting. Additional monitoring and surveillance will be carried out in the Boston area where the cauliflower was grown.
You can report sightings with your smart phone or tablet, by using the ‘Asian hornet Watch’ app for Androids and iOS. The app also uses GPS which allows the user to submit the exact location of their finding, allowing any confirmed sightings to be followed up quickly and efficiently.
Alternatively, you can submit your sighting by email. When doing so, please include as much information as possible, including where you saw the sighting, name, contact number/ address and if possible an image. Send your sightings to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk.
Finally you can also use the online recording form which can be found at:
Torbay BKA’s, Colin Lodge, introduces his national initiative to create an Asian Hornet Action Team (AHAT) network of beekeepers across the UK, whose training is based on guidance protocols. The teams are organised to speed up the AH verification process and aim to help reduce the number of incorrect reported sightings to the NNSS, thereby hopefully delaying the establishment of the AH in the UK.
Colin Lodge describes the aims and objectives of the Torbay AHAT at their website here:
Members Meeting Reminder: This is a reminder that we will be holding a member’s meeting on Friday 23 March at East Challow Village Hall starting at 7.30, the speaker is Chris Park and the topic is Making Mead and Traditional Honey drinks.
