Our charitable aims are to promote and further the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment.
For full details of our organisation click here…
Market Rasen is a District of Lincolnshire BKA which is a registered charity (reg. charity no. 500360)
Dear Members
Although we like to be happy and cheerful as we enter a new year and do indeed wish everyone a Happy new year I am afraid that the old year ended on a sad note. Our member, Marie-Claire Baines sadly died on the 15th December. Her loss is deeply felt by her husband Richard and those of us who regarded her as a friend.
Claire was one of the kindest and most generous people I have had the privilege to know. In her quiet way she did so much to help our District so her passing is a loss to us all. For many years she helped in the apiary; nothing was too much trouble. I think the words, ” I’ll do that” or something similar are ones I most associate with Claire. She also always volunteered to help at the shows in which our District was involved, often taking full responsibility for the wax side of things especially the candle rolling. Our group greatly benefitted from Claire’s love of candle making. She would take away a block of wax and return with a box of beautiful candles – all donated for the District to sell – after the necessary polishing with her little soft brush of course. Did you know that candles improve with polishing? I didn’t until Claire explained about removing the bloom that naturally occurs on wax.
These are just a few examples of why I want to say with great affection,”Thank you Claire, you will be greatly missed”.
Celia Smith
Happy New Year!
Our next meeting is Thursday, 2nd January, 2025.
It is a Nibbles and Natter Session.
We will have an informal get-together where we can talk about our past seasons successes and disappointments and our plans for the next year over a cup of tea/coffee and something to eat.
Please come along and bring something to eat and share.
Regards – Sue Heron
This is advance notice of our AGM, on Thursday 6h February, 2025, at the Church Hall, Middle Rasen (LN8 3TR). Meeting starts at 7.30pm.
2024 AGM Agenda:
Any suggestions for inclusion in the agenda should be with me (mrbksec@gmail.com) by 2nd January in order to be circulated before the meeting.
Regards
Sue Heron
Everyone enjoyed the evening very much.
Dale Gibson from Louth District Beekeepers was our judge. The informality of it meant that we could talk more and ask questions.
Three people entered honey, and Sue Heron entered mead and cake.
Entries were made by me – Sue Heron, Celia Smith and Richard Fowler.
Our District Apiary at Legsby is a very important asset to our club, providing an area to train and give experience to new beekeepers.
Jamie Jackson has kindly been giving his time to keep the grass under control at the district apiary but we feel that we need to do an end of year tidy-up. Please can you let me know if you are able to join a group to lend a hand in this task.
Also we have an amount of equipment that needs cleaning. Again if you can offer some time to help, this would be gratefully received.
Contact Sue Heron
2024 has seen a very busy year for Statutory Notifiable Bee Diseases across England and Wales with over 600 cases of European Foulbrood and 50 cases of American Foulbrood identified and dealt with by the National Bee Unit’s Bee Inspectors.
The North Eastern Region of which Lincolnshire is part – has been no exception to this with a total of 129 Cases of EFB and 33 cases of AFB across the Region.
Within Lincolnshire itself 43 cases of EFB have been dealt with , no AFB has so far been discovered within the County, but inspection work continues whilst the weather is suitable.
Please would members follow this link which shows each of the 10km squares where disease has been identified : Live EFB Report » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase within the County and also surrounding counties where EFB has been identified such as Nottinghamshire, Norfolk and Yorkshire. We are looking at twelve x 10km squares in the County with confirmed disease plus some adjoining squares in other counties.
Beekeepers who have apiaries in these 10km areas should please register their apiaries onto Beebase : Register » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase
Our data policy is shown here: Personal information charter – Animal and Plant Health Agency – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
The only way we can hope to control levels of disease is to work together to ensure that our own and our neighbours’ bees have been inspected by the National Bee Units Inspectors in the high risk areas and this applies to members of the Lincolnshire Beekeepers Association and those who are not members – we treat everyone alike. Please be mindful that membership of the Association does not mean that your apiary sites are registered on Beebase. There is still a fair amount of brood present in colonies so please reference the information below and then have a good look at your colonies before the close of the season.
There are three Bee Inspectors who currently work in Lincolnshire that is Adrian Kennedy, Barry Perkins and Myself – Andy Wattam – Contact for all inspectors can be found here: Contact Us » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase please do not hesitate to make contact with us if you are concerned about possible brood disease within your colonies
Finally, here is some useful information and publications:
Foulbrood » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase
Foulbrood_2017_Web_version.pdf (nationalbeeunit.com)
Diseases, pests and hygiene » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase
As we are in Varroa Treatment time our managing varroa booklet is a useful reference: Varroa » APHA – National Bee Unit – BeeBase please remember to keep a record of the treatments purchased and used – this handy record sheet can be used: Veterinary_Medicine_Administration_Record-3.pdf (nationalbeeunit.com)
Kind Regards.
Andy Wattam.
National Bee Inspector – Head of Bee Health Field Inspectorate for England & Wales.
| October 3rd | Stewart Maher – Asian Hornets – Up-to-date information. |
| November 7th | Edward Cook – From Meadow Makers – He will talk about Native Re-wilding. There will be a short quiz plus information about pollinators and time for questions. He will also bring some plants to sell to you. |
| December 5th | Fun Honey Show – info to follow |
| January 2nd | Nibbles and Natter – a chance to discuss together problems and successes. Your choice of topics. |
| February 6th | AGM |
| March 6th | James Fearnley – Talk content to be confirmed. |
| April 3rd | Gerry Collins – Swarm control and prevention. |
On 28th May our speakers will be Richard and Diane Harrison. As many of you will know Richard (with Diane’s unstinting support) have been the organisers of the Bee/Honey show at the annual Lincolnshire show, one of the largest agricultural shows in the country. They have a wealth of knowledge about both showing and organising shows. So if you want to enter a honey show or are thinking about setting one up this is a great opportunity to learn from an expert.
As an additional bonus Dale Gibson is joining us as well so we can get an insight into the future direction of the Lincolnshire Bee & Honey Show.
Meeting at the Barge and Bottle Pub, Carr Street, Sleaford, NG34 7TW starting at 19:30. There is free parking across the road from the pub from 18:00 onwards.
Do you like the idea of developing your beekeeping skills and knowledge a little further?
Have you considered challenging yourself by having a go at the BBKA Basic Assessment?
If anyone is interested and would like some support with the learning there is the opportunity for 3 or 4 sessions at the apiary in late May \June (dates and times to be arranged to suit members involved)
The syllabus is available on the BBKA website and if you would like more information then please contact Celia by email : smithlbka@yahoo.com
How confident do you feel in the task you are about to take on? Are you confident in understanding and recognising what you are looking at?
Would you like a mentor – Bee Buddy – to help you: A phone call, a photo, visit a mentor’s apiary to observe different scenarios?
Would you like to become a mentor – Bee Buddy to offer help and offer guidance to a new or inexperienced or unconfident bee keeper?
Richard Baines (richardbaines58@btinternet.com) has offered to help set up a scheme, pairing up Buddies to help.
