What's new
Please e-mail the webmaster with links to interesting beekeeping related articles and news.
08/12/2008
About us - Information about the new Branch committee members.
Beekeeping course - Information about the 2009 'Introduction to beekeeping' course is now available.
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18/07/2008
Reminder! - Members of the Branch will be attending the Green Fayre at
Beacon Country Park
in Skelmersdale on Saturday 19th July.
Events - Members of the Branch will be attending Southport Flower Show
between Thursday 21st August and Sunday 24th August.
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04/07/2008
Events - The Branch BBQ planned for Sunday 6th July has been cancelled and the event
will now take place in August.
Reminder! - Members of the Branch will be attending
Westhead Carnival
on Saturday 5th July.
Beekeeping exams - Good luck to those people taking their basic beekeeping exam tomorrow.
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23/06/2008
Events -
In celebration of National Insect Week
2008, which runs from 23-29 June, The
Ormskirk and Croston Branch of the Lancashire & North West Beekeeper's Association are inviting
insect enthusiasts to a Honey Bee Open Day on Saturday 28th June 2008 at
Fir Tree Farm, King's
Moss, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 8RG.
The Open Day is a celebration of all things honey bee related, but also covers other types of insects
too such as bumble bees, moths and dragonflies. There will be something for everyone, young or old.
Even the most nervous of people will have the chance to peer into the fascinating realm of these
extremely important insects, with ease. An observation beehive will show honey bees close up. Visitors
can taste honey and make candles. They can also hunt along Fir Tree Farm's beautiful woodland walks
for imitation "swarms" and learn what these are really about. They will be amazed to see that, under
the microscope, pollen is anything but "dusty". They can take tours of both a virtual and working
beehive and learn how beekeeping enables people in developing countries to earn a living and benefit
their communities.
Entry is free and most activities are without charge. The tour of the working beehive requires a donation
of £5 per person to support charities working with beekeepers in developing countries.
Events - Members of the Branch will be attending
Westhead Carnival on Saturday 5th
July.
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15/05/2008
Reminder! - The members only sale of beekeeping equipment will take place at this Saturday's
Branch meeting. Please bring along any spare equipment that you wish to sell.
Beekeeping course - The practical session planned for Sunday 18th May has been cancelled.
Beekeeping exams - There are still some places left on the BBKA Basic Beekeeping course. To take the final exam
candidates must have kept bees for 12 months. If you joined the Branch after attending this year's Introcuction to beekeeping course you can
still attend the basic course to improve your beekeeping knowledge.
Bee health - Check on the Varroa mite drop count at our out apiary hives here.
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10/04/2008
Bee health - An article in the Guardian newspaper about the consultation launch on Tuesday
entitled 'Stinging rebuke for government minister over plight of country's bees'.
A podcast of the event including interviews with Martin Smith (BBKA chairman), Doug Jones (seasonal
bee inspector), Edwina Abbott and Lord Rooker can be found here.
The MP3 audio file can be downloaded here (this is a large file at 27M).
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09/04/2008
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Bee health - DEFRA launched a consultation on a draft strategy
on protecting and improving the health of honey bees in England and Wales yesterday. The consultation
was launched by Lord Rooker at our Branch's out apiary.
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Martin Smith and Lord Rooker |
Events - The BBKA Honey Show
takes place at The Royal Show from Thursday 3rd to
Sunday 6th July 2008. The show is organised by The Royal Agricultural Society of England and takes
place at RASE, Stoneleigh Park,
Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ.
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29/03/2008
Events - The Lancashire County Honey Show will be held on Saturday 11th October.
Beekeeping course -The syllabus for the 'Introduction to Beekeeping'
course's practical sessions held at the Branch's out apiary is now
available.
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06/03/2008
Events - The dates of all the Branch meetings are now available.
Beekeeping course - The dates of the course's practical sessions are now available.
Events - The BBKA Spring Convention 2008 Programme is available here (1.90MB PDF).
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19/02/2008
Reminder! - The next Branch meeting on Wednesday 20th February will be held at the The Red Lion Hotel, Ash Brow, Newburgh.
Contact - The latest membership/course application form is available for new beekeepers.
Existing members of the Branch will be contacted by the Treasurer as per normal.
Beekeeping exams - The dates for the BBKA Basic Assessment course are now
available.
Events - Members of the Branch will be attending the Green Fayre in July.
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17/02/2008
Events - The next Branch meeting on Wednesday 20th February will now be held at the The Red Lion Hotel, Ash Brow, Newburgh.
Newsletter - The December and February newsletters are now available.
Reminder! - The deadline for paying your Branch membership fee is fast approaching. If you miss Saturday 1st March you will incur a £10 surcharge to cover the additional administration overheads incurred.
Beekeeping course - Places are still available on the 'Introduction to Beekeeping' course.
Annual Convention 2008 - The Lancashire & NW BKA Annual Convention
information is now available.
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20/01/2008
Contact - New Branch Secretary details.
About us - Information about the new Branch officers and committee members.
Beekeeping course - Information about the 2008 'Introduction to beekeeping' course is now available.
Events - The first of the Branch's 2008 events are available.
Beekeeping exams - The closing date for those wishing to take modules is Sunday 10th February.
The current course fees are here
and the application form here.
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20/11/2007
Events - The AGM on Thursday 22nd November will now be held at the The Red Lion Hotel, Ash Brow, Newburgh.
Newsletter - The October newsletter is now available.
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21/09/2007
Reminder! - Lancashire's beekeepers are having an open day for adults and children to come along
and have a closer look at bees and beekeeping tomorrow (Saturday 22nd September) at
our out apiary in King's Moss near St Helens starting at 2:30 PM.
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18/09/2007
Shows - Download a (244K PDF)
schedule
for the Lancashire County Honey Show.
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17/09/2007
Annual Convention 2007 - The Lancashire & NW BKA Annual Convention
information now includes a brief description of the morning and afternoon lectures and also what's
available in the 'exchange and mart'.
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14/09/2007
Events - Lancashire's beekeepers are having an open day for adults and children to come along
and have a closer look at bees and beekeeping on Saturday 22nd September at
our out apiary in King's Moss near St Helens. The event begins at 2:30 PM
and as part of British Food Week, our hosts Fir Tree Farm will also have :-
- Food tasting.
- Willow weaving demonstrations.
- An organic vegetable growing tour.
If you wish to take part in the beekeeping please bring a pair of Wellington boots and thin gloves. e.g. Marigolds.
Beekeeping suits will be provided.
Reminder! - Mawdesley Family Fun Day will be taking place at 2:00 PM on Sunday 16th September
at Mawdesley Village Green, Hurst Green Road, Mawdesley.
The following events will be hosted :-
- Beekeeping.
- Leyland Church Brass Band.
- A wild dog show.
- Hawks and owls.
- Farm animals (unless stopped by the latest foot and mouth outbreak).
- Skateboard display.
- C of E's tombola.
- U3A (Universe of the 3rd Age) promotion.
- 50 : 50 Club promotion (free tea and cake for 50 : 50 Club Members).
- Raffle.
- Refreshments with BBQ.
Beekeeping exams - Would Branch members interested in taking the BBKA Intermediate Theory and Advanced
Theory certificates (modules 1 to 8) please
contact the webmaster for
more information.
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01/09/2007
Newsletter - The September newsletter is now available.
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02/08/2007
Newsletter - The August newsletter is now available.
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28/07/2007
Television - Watch the BBC1 television programme Country File on Sunday 29th July at 11:00 AM entitled 'Honey Bee Research - Where to Next and How'.
Tim Lovett BBKA Chairman, Rusty Wise from North Yorkshire, Mike Brown from the National Bee Unit
and Professor Francis Ratnieks continue the debate.
Beekeeping exams - Good luck to all our Branch members taking their Basic Beekeeping exams.
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19/07/2007
Events - Added the dates for the Lancashire Honey Show and Lancashire Annual Convention and the National Honey Show in October.
Events - Members of the Branch will also be attending the Southport Flower Show in August and the Mawdesley Fun Day in September.
Community - Added "My first..." areas for honey and swarms.
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12/07/2007
Newsletter - The July newsletter is now available.
Community - The photographs taken at the 2007 'Introduction to Beekeeping' course are now available.
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10/07/2007
Reminder! - The next Branch meeting on Saturday 14th July will be held at the out apiary in King's Moss.
There will be a demonstration of stocking Apidea and Warnholz
mating hives. Could members also bring along a jar of honey, wax cakes, candles etc. for an informal discussion about what is required when showing.
Events - The date for the Branch BBQ has moved to Saturday 25th August and will now be held at Mainswood, Cranes Lane, Lathom.
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07/07/2007
New beekeeper practicals - The practical session scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday 8th July) has been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
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05/07/2007
Events - The visit to the National Wildflower Centre in Huyton on Saturday 14th July has been cancelled and a meeting entitled 'Introduction
of queens into nucleus boxes' will be held at the out apiary on the same day instead. With the honey showing season upon us could any members intending to show their honey this
year please bring a sample to the meeting for demonstration purposes.
Reminder! - Don't forget Thorne's sale this
Saturday 8th July in Wragby.
Tea break read - An interesting report entitled 'Bees Face a Bleak Future' from the BBKA.
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18/06/2007
Newsletter - The June newsletter is now available.
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03/06/2007
Newsletter - The April and May newsletters are now available.
Equipment & Bees - New prices for nucleus colonies and some hives are available.
Bee Health - Monitor the Varroa levels at our out apiary.
Links - Information from the Netherlands about Varroa control.
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01/04/2007
Beekeeping course - The syllabus for the 'Introduction to Beekeeping'
course's practical sessions held at the Branch's out apiary is now
available.
Events - The programme for the 2007 BBKA Stoneleigh Spring convention can be found here.
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18/03/2007
Events - The next meeting on Thursday 22nd March will now be held at
The Red Lion Hotel, Ash Brow, Newburgh, WN8 7NG. A map to the venue can be found
here.
Reminder! - The next Branch meeting on Thursday 22nd March will
be the talk and slide show given by Pam Gregory NDB from the charity "Bees Abroad".
Raffle tickets (£1 each) will only be available on the night and the raffle itself will be held after the talk.
Any prize donations for the raffle would be welcome as would cash donations for the charity.
Events - Members of the Branch will be attending the Green Fayre, Beacon Country Park,
Up Holland, Lancashire on Saturday 21st July and Sunday 22nd July.
Events - Members of the Branch will be attending the Country Craft Fayre at Haigh Country Park,
Copperas Lane, Haigh, Wigan on Sunday 12th August.
Beekeeping course - The dates for the 'Introduction to Beekeeping'
course's practical sessions are now available.
A schedule for the practicals will be available shortly.
Beekeeping exams - The dates for the BBKA Basic Assessment course are now
available.
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12/03/2007
Newsletter - The March newsletter is now available.
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23/02/2007
Reminder! - The next Branch meeting on Monday 26th February is the
Quiz Night and also the raffle in aid of the charity "Bees Abroad".
Raffle tickets (£1 each) will only be available on the night and the raffle itself will be held after the quiz.
Any prize donations for the raffle would be welcome as would cash donations for the charity.
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11/02/2007
Community - The photographs taken at the 2006 Honey Show are now available.
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04/02/2007
Newsletter - The February newsletter is now available.
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01/02/2007
Queen Rearing Workshop - A one day queen rearing workshop
will be lead by the committee chairman of BIBBA
at our out apiary on Saturday June 9th. Places
are limited and members within Branch's of the Lancashire & North West Beekeepers Association will
be considered first.
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01/02/2007
Events - Many thanks to Geoff Critchley for his interesting talk on 'Queen Rearing'. The meeting
was well attended on Monday night. We were also joined by members from other Branches in the Association.
Events - The Quiz Night has now changed to Monday February 26th.
Charity - Prize donations for the 'Bees Abroad'
charity raffle would be much appreciated. Please contact Mike Beazer if you have a prize to offer.
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22/01/2007
Newsletter - The January newsletter is now available.
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12/01/2007
Events - Programme of Branch events for 2007.
Reminder! - Please pay your member subscriptions ASAP.
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01/01/2007
Happy New Year to all the Branch members and web site vistors.
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27/12/2006
Tea break read - A virtual tour
of the Prokopovych Beekeeping Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Tea break read - The Phillips' Beekeeping Collection at Cornell University's
Albert R. Mann Library in New York is one
of the largest and most complete apiculture libraries in the world. At present
'The Hive and the Honey Bee'
consists of the full text of thirty rare books from the Phillips Collection.
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18/12/2006
Community - Updated with pictures from the Annual Convention 2006 and also the 2005 and
2006 'Introduction to Beekeeping' course held at Rufford Old Hall.
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03/12/2006
All change! - At the Branch AGM Martin Smith stood down as Branch Secretary and Mike
Beazer was elected to the position in his place. Yvonne Collinson also stood down as a committee
member. Mark Ball was elected as a committee member.
A brief profile of Mike Beazer :-
Mike Beazer attended the Branch's beekeeping course in 2004 and has since become an established
beekeeper, taking an immense interest in Branch activities; initially as a committee member and as
Publicity Officer/Show Co-ordinator.
After accepting the position of Branch Secretary, Mike later stated "In accepting the nomination as Branch
Secretary I hope to consolidate and capitalise on the aspirations of the outgoing Secretary, Martin Smith.
Martin should be applauded for his efforts in making our Branch one of the most forward looking in the
region."
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20/11/2006
Reminder! - The Branch AGM is this Wednesday November 22nd at
the
Eagle and Child,
Bispham Green (near Ormskirk) starting at 7:45 PM. Download the agenda for the meeting
here
(63K PDF). The AGM allows all Branch members to express their
ideas on how the Branch is run and what activities it undertakes. Martin will be bringing along a few
BBKA Enterprises items if you want to purchase bee related items for Christmas.
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15/11/2006
Bee health - A date for your diaries next year. Dr Max Watkins the head of research at
Vita (Europe) Limited, will be giving a lecture on 'Developments in Honeybee health' at
Bebington Civic Centre,
Civic Way, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 7PN on Friday 16th February 2007
starting at 7:30 PM.
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09/11/2006
Privacy statement - We now have a privacy statement that
informs visitors to this web site what data we collect from them and how it is used.
Membership form - A new membership
application form
(57K PDF) is available that offers family/associate
membership and offers a tax refund to the Branch via HM Revenue and Customs
Gift Aid
scheme.
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06/11/2006
Tea break read - The following article from edition 443 of the 'Nature' journal entitled
'Insights into social insects from the genome of the honeybee Apis mellifera'
(also available as a 4.54MB PDF)
reports that the genome sequence of the honeybee was sequenced using DNA from multiple drones derived
from a single, slightly inbred queen.
Tea break read - The October 2006 edition of the 'Insect Molecular Biology' journal has a series of
articles relating to the honeybee genome available here.
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03/11/2006
Community - The community page is now open for business. Please e-mail the
webmaster
with your bee related photographs, stories, recipes etc.
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30/10/2006
Events - The Branch AGM will now be held on Wednesday November 22nd at
the
Eagle and Child,
Bispham Green (near Ormskirk) starting at 7:45 PM. Download the agenda for the meeting
here
(63K PDF).
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30/10/2006
Annual Convention - The Annual Convention (on Saturday)
was a great success, attracting Branch members from throughout the Association. The guest speakers
Graham Royle and Dr Dorian Pritchard talked about a range of topics from record keeping and over
winter clustering through to pheromones, communication, queen rearing and genetic selection. The
trophies that were won at the Lancashire County Honey Show on October 14th were awarded. BBKA examination
certificates were presented to members that have taken exams throughout the year. Many thanks to
Barbara Roderick and everybody else involved in organising the venue, guest speakers, catering and stalls.
Tea break read - If you are interested in computer simulation models of bee activities
then have a look at
'Bee foraging'
and
'Bee thermoregulation'.
These two Java based simulations have been developed by the students of the Department for Zoology at the
University of Graz in Austria.
Tea break read - A team of scientists headed by Professor George Poinar
at Oregon State University have identified the oldest known bee. Its a
100 million-year-old specimen preserved in amber.
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23/10/2006
Reminder! - The Branch Annual Dinner is tomorrow (Tuesday 24th October).
Please be at the
Eagle and Child
in Bispham Green (near Ormskirk) for 7:30 PM. No formal dress required.
Reminder! - The Lancashire & NW BKA
Annual Convention is this Saturday
(28th October) at Scarisbrick Village Hall. Please contact
Barbara Roderick if you want to attend.
Tea break read - If you are interested in skeps or mediaeval and Tudor beekeeping practices then
visit Mike Reddy's Skep FAQ.
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14/10/2006
Lancashire County Honey Show - The Croxteth show had around 120 entries this year. We were
soundly beaten by the Liverpool
& District Branch on points. Ian Molyneux's lecture entitled 'Honey - its tastes, colours and
aromas' was informative and interesting. The lecture was followed by a honey taste and identification test in which
the audience could taste honey from around the UK and guess its source. Honey from around the globe
was also available for taste testing.
Annual Convention 2006 - The Lancashire & NW BKA Annual Convention
information now includes a brief description of the morning and afternoon lectures and also what's
available in the 'exchange and mart'.
Reminder! - Can you let Barbara Roderick
know if you are going to attend this years Annual Convention
so that she can estimate the catering requirements.
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13/10/2006
Community - Ray Dowson, Mike Beazer and Barbara Roderick (Regional Education Officer)
produced an excellent display for the
St. John the Baptist, Burscough
Harvest Thanksgiving Service
(62K PDF) which was held on Sunday 8th October 2006. The focus this year was on the "Harvest of Honey" project which
aims to support beekeeping and honey production in Chile and Paraguay.
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10/10/2006
Reminder! - Its the Lancashire & North West Beekeepers Association Annual show this
coming Saturday at Croxteth Hall
on Croxteth Hall Lane in Liverpool. Exhibits must be staged between 12:00 PM and 12:45 PM.
Reminder! - Can you let Martin know if you are going to attend the Branch's Annual dinner
at the Eagle and Child in Bispham and also what you might like to
eat?
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25/09/2006
Bee information -
Dower House
in Heaton Park, Manchester (click here
for a map) is open to the public on Sundays from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM in the winter and from
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM in the summer. The Manchester Beekeepers Association has an observation hive,
displays and out apiary there. You can also purchase Heaton Park Honey which has been extracted
and bottled on site!
National Hive equipment - Thornes have a special offer on a
complete flat pack kit for a National Hive Super this month. The kit includes the Super and Frames for £34.35 (including VAT).
Beekeeping equipment - If you need a new tool box for your hive tools and sundry beekeeping
equipment then Lidl are currently selling a
14" plastic tool box for £1.99 (including VAT). Its called the "Keter Titan" and it's dimensions are 35.3 cm x 17.4 cm x 13.7 cm.
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19/09/2006
Newsletter - The September newsletter is now available.
Events - The annual dinner menu is here
(this image opens in a new browser window). Please let Martin know if you are going to attend by
Sunday 15th October. Bring your partners because its our only social event left
this year (after the BBQ in August was cancelled).
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17/09/2006
Beekeeping course - The venue for the 2007
'Introduction to Beekeeping' course will be Rufford Old Hall in Rufford
(near Ormskirk in Lancashire). The course spans the weekend of Saturday March 31st
2007 and Sunday April 1st 2007.
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10/09/2006
Tea break read - Information about the "tooting" and "quacking" of queen bees can be found
in this article entitled "The Signals: a Description of Queen Piping" by Dave Gilley.
The site may not display the pictures (browser dependent) because of problems with incorrectly formed
links in the site's HTML. You can listen to the sounds
here (this is a large audio WAV
file at 6.85MB and you might also need a browser plug-in to hear it).
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09/09/2006
British National Hive plans - The construction details and plans of the British National Hive can be found
here (1.1MB PDF file).
Langstroth and Modified Dadant Hive plans - The construction details and plans of the Langstroth and Modified Dadant Hives can be found in
the following PDF files :-
Smith Hive plans - The construction details and plans of the Smith Hive can be found in the
following PDF files :-
WBC Hive plans - The construction details and plans of the WBC Hive can be found in the
following PDF files :-
Tea break read - Out in the wilderness and need to extract your honey? This article
entitled "The Bush Mechanic - Make your own Honey Extractor" by Dr Garth Cambray explains how African beekeepers constructed their own honey extractor from
scrap parts. Apparently honey makes an effective grease in the extractor's moving parts!
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03/09/2006
Events - The Saturday 28th October Lancashire & NW BKA
Annual Convention 2006
will now be held at Scarisbrick Village Hall, Scarisbrick.
Events - The Tuesday 24th October Branch annual dinner will be
held at the Eagle and Child, Bispham Green, Bispham.
Shows - Download a (147K PDF)
schedule
for the Lancashire County Honey Show.
Beekeeping course - Updated to include the new course fee for 2007.
Contact - Updated the Branch Secretary's contact details and added membership benefits.
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18/08/2006
Website - We now display all our web pages correctly in the
Opera 9.x
browser.
Events - The Saturday 19th August BBQ evening has now been cancelled due to bad weather.
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16/08/2006
Tea break read - Did you know that bees can hear sounds? This article originally from Scientific
American entitled
"The Sensory Basis of the Honeybee's Dance Language"
has more information about how bees use sound to communicate.
Tea break read - An article entitled
"Listen to the bees"
by Rex Boys is about the work of the late Eddie Woods. His pioneering research work in the late
50's and early 60's involving bee sounds enabled him to develop a 'scientific' instrument called the
Apidictor
which was used to predict swarming.
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15/08/2006
Links - New beekeepers might be interested in Graham's bee & beekeeping FAQs
page. Graham's site answers beginners Frequently Asked Questions about beekeeping.
Events - The Tuesday 3rd of October Branch meeting will now start at 6:30 PM and not
7:45 PM as previously reported.
About us - Explained the role of our visiting advisors and added a map and directions to the
out apiary in King's Moss.
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