LATEST NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS from RBKA
New Additions to RBKA Library
Please check out the Library Page for recent additions to our collection of books and leaflets available to members. These may be borrowed long-term.
New Contact Details
The following are the new email addresses for the Committee, Training and General Enquiries:
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- Chairperson – chair@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Treasurer – treasurer@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Secretary – secretary@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Training – training@rydalebees.co.uk
- General Enquiries – enquiries@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Library – library@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Swarms – swarms@ryedalebees.co.uk
- Asian Hornet Queries – ahat@ryedalebees.co.uk
AGM 2023
The 2023 AGM was held on Tuesday November 14th in Wombleton Village Hall. The Draft minutes are now available.
BBKA Basic Assessment
The syllabus for the BBKA Basic Assessment qualification may be found by following this link. Further information on how members can take this will soon be available on the Training page
Three RBKA Members recently obtained this qualification, Kay Stevens [Credit], Rick Colman [Credit] and Simon Lathlean.
You could try it too!
Deformed Wing Virus News
Jessica Kevill and colleagues have published a paper on the evolution of the A,B and C strains of dwarf wing virus. This may be viewed by following this link.
2024 RBKA Beekeeping Course
The Course – An Introduction to Beekeeping – for anyone who thinks they might be interested in keeping bees. The course is based around the BBKA Course in a Case and has been developed further over the last few years to incorporate the latest developments in beekeeping. It includes practical and outdoor work for those who wish to do it. Places are limited to 15 and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Further details and application form are on the Training page.
COLOSS Hive Survey
Letter from the National Co-ordinator…
RBKA has received the following letter from the National Co-ordinator of the COLOSS Hive Survey in England…
Dear Beekeeper.
In the last decade, elevated losses of western honey bee colonies have been observed, mainly in Europe and North America, but the underlying causes still remain unclear. In 2008, European and USA honey bee experts formed a network “COLOSS” realising that efforts by individual countries to identify the drivers of losses were unlikely to succeed, given the current consensus that causes are complex and can be different between regions and between the years. Now more than 1000 scientists are working together in this network in specific working groups.
The epidemiological working group have developed a standardised questionnaire to identify the underlying causal factors of losses and provide beekeepers sustainable management strategies.We now invite you to fill in the questionnaire for 2018 which you will find below. This will enable us to compare your answers with other beekeepers. With your data we can estimate the relative risk of colony losses for beekeeper decisions such as Varroa treatment, migration of colonies and comb replacement. We also aim to identify differences in relative mortality risk between regions. This will enable follow up research projects in specific regions.
At your option your personal details may be recorded however we undertake not to disclose them to any third party to protect your privacy.
Finally your help is much appreciated. Please can I ask you to promote this survey and the questionnaire link through this open letter to as many English bee keepers as you are able to do so. Feel free to share the link by email, word of mouth, newsletters or social media and to your local bee keeping organisations. In doing so you will be making a contribution to tackling the problem of colony losses and ensuring that English data is represented as an equal partner in the COLOSS European community.
The survey link : COLOSS Hive Survey
Thanking you
Dr Anthony Williams
COLOSS Survey Coordinator for England
De Montfort University
A Member of Leicester and Rutland Beekeepers Association and Rugby Beekeepers Association
Email: anthony.williams@dmu.ac.uk
Tel: 0116 207 8468
ASIAN HORNET IN DEVON!!
There has been a report of the Asian hornet in Devon. Full details can be found on the DEFRA website. More details about the pest may be found on the Asian Hornet page of our website
2017 RBKA Membership Survey
The results of the 2017 RBKA Membership Survey are in, and may be viewed as a PowerPoint File [this file will download automatically and may then viewed in PowerPoint] or as a PDF File.
Rest assured your Committee will be using this information to improve the Association and services and support it offers members.