NOVEMBER 2001

Sol’s Space

Well the convention has been and gone. Let’s take a short rest (five years or so) and we can begin planning the next one. Judging by the comments made by the BCHPA president alone the convention was a great success.

In short the Coast Hotel did an excellent job, speakers were first class and apart from minor problems everything went smoothly. My thanks to everyone in our division who helped out in anyway to make what has been called the best convention ever. Soon you will see a photo of our own Brenda on the cover of BeeScene. This photo won best overall in all categories at the convention.

It is November and you know what that means. Yes its election of the new executive. Sometimes this causes unnecessary anxiety and people stay away. Please try and make it to the meeting.

There is not much you can do with your bees now. Temperatures have been warm and it’s been relatively dry, however that will probably change. Top ventilation and wide-open bottom entrances are now necessary.

Check that your colonies are tipped forward and by all means keep dry sugar on top of the cluster if the colony feels a bit light.

Remove Apistan Strips if they have been in for about 45 days.

AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING

·        Convention report.

·        Election of new executive

·        Discussion of ideas, proposals etc which came up at the AGM.

·        Open forum.

Please put forward any ideas or questions that you may have. This is our last meeting for the year.

Best wishes,

Sol

Brenda’s Buzz Line

Much thanks and appreciation for the organizing committee Sol, Diana, Cheryl, Stan and Theo for the great BCHPA Conference held in Nanaimo last month. Thanks also to all the others that helped them carry out the numerous tasks required.

Christmas Thoughts

Heather had the opportunity to use her new Therapik® (available from Lee Valley for $25.95) She says it worked very well. The Therapik® is used to focus heat on an insect bite to neutralize the venom and avoid swelling and itchiness.

While attending the Bee Conference I had an opportunity to view the many bee related books offered by Doug and Eileen McCutcheon. I purchased a difficult-to-find book. For any of you who are interested in a diverse collection of current, old and antique bee books the McCutcheon’s can be contacted at tel: (250) 546‑9870 or fax: (250) 546-0070.

Sending Christmas cheer and a happy New Year to you and your families. Next newsletter will be in January

Next Meeting

Fourth Wednesday, November 28, 2001 at 7:30 p.m., at Fairview Community School. Located at Second street and Howard Avenue.

Room is located off second street parking lot. Two doors east of the Gym.

Conference Notes

Apitherapy / Apipharmacology and their Future

Jan V. Slama of Natural Factors in Kelowna, spoke to the conference about the benefits of apitherapy and apipharmacology. Mr. Slama has convinced his company to use honey as an emulsifier in their medicinal products rather than glycerin. Long term use of glycerin is known to have toxic effects in the body.

Mr. Slama described the uses and effects of propolis in the human body. From an industry perspective, Vancouver Island produces mid-range quality propolis and not in large amounts. The best quality and quantity propolis comes from wild herb in the alpine areas of Russia. Good local propolis plants include cottonwood and broadleaf trees. Mr. Slama highly recommends cooperative selling by beekeepers to medicinal companies like Natural Factors.

Apitherapy – The Dormant Treasure in Your Hive and Beekeepers and Apitherapy

Dr. Brad Weeks, MD from Clinton, Washington and previous President of American Apitherapy Society talked about venom therapy and the antibiotic benefits of raw honey. Before attempting venom treatment Dr. Weeks suggests the use of vitamins C, E, B3 and B5 to flush the system and reduce the anaphylactic response to the venom.

Dr Weeks also described a honey remedy for a sore throat. As many sore throats are fungal infections of the sinus, a honey coating of the infected area will immediately dehydrate any pathogens while continuing to slowly release hydrogen peroxide - known to be in honey at a rate of 20 parts per million.

The remedy is not without its drawback and Dr. Weeks suggests doing it to oneself before someone else. Laying with a pillow under the shoulders, place a large Q-tip of raw honey into each nostril. Stay lying on your back until the honey runs down into the back of the sinuses. This is painful and will make the eyes and nose run. The more inflamed the throat, the more sore is the treatment. The pain will increase and then plateau, this will signal the end of the treatment.

Dr. Weeks recommends the use of raw honey to treat; “conjunctivitis (pink eye), sore throat, burns, ulcers and everyday cuts and scrapes.” The following is taken directly from his web site www.weeksmd.com (under the subsection “clinics”):

“There are many remarkable advantages of using honey instead of conventional salves on burnt tissue. One advantage involves dressing changes. Typically with salves other than honey, each time the dressing is changed, the salve must be scraped off. This is horrendously painful for the patient. […]In stark contrast, changing the honey dressing is painless because it simply lifts off effortlessly. This is because the honey converts to hydrogen peroxide and water, neither of which stick to tissue. No scraping. No pain.

“[…]Raw honey has a long history of being used for topical care of burns, ulcers and a great variety of skin problems. A coating of honey is deceptively complex but has been thoroughly studied.

“Scientists have described the biochemistry of honey and explained its analgesic, anti-bacterial and tissue nutritive factors. Coating a wound with honey retards tissue oxygenation by sealing the wound off from air (oxygen). This dampens the pain within 30 seconds after application. In addition, the antibacterial factors in raw honey sterilize the wound.

“These factors include:

1) The hygroscopic nature of honey (steals water from the bacteria which then dry up).

2) The making the local tissue pH too acid for bacteria to grow.

3) Inhibine (aka hydrogen peroxide) converted from glucose by glucose oxidase and gluconic acid).

4) Enzymes (growth factors?) and tissue nutritive minerals and vitamins of honey help repair the tissue directly. “

To Dairy or Not To Dairy

Dr. Weeks also took the opportunity to discourage the eating of dairy products. Also taken from his web site is the following:

“There are a variety of problems inherent in cow milk products (especially the frozen ones which are high in sugar and fat!). These include: 1) inhibition of normal food digestion; 2) inhibition of vitamin and mineral absorption; 3) reduction of compromise of acid barrier and 4) rendering the gastro-intestinal tract unable to support health microorganisms like acidophillus.

“Without adequate stomach acid, one can not digest, absorb and assimilate the essential nutrients including minerals and vitamins (esp. B 12) because acid chews up protein bonds as well as allowing minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper etc. to separate from the food or pill it is attached to in order to pass into the blood stream. Thus it is that dairy undermines healthy digestion of foods resulting in a form of malnutrition. Simple as that.”

Dr Weeks does not encourage the use of soy products to replace dairy products. I found a good discussion on the pros, cons and cautions of soy products at www.soyinfo.com. This site is not sponsored by corporate interests and provides basic factual information.

Address changed?

Canada Post has been busy updating the rural route system. If your address has changed please let me know. Thanks - phone and fax 247-2078, email jagreid@island.net.

Theo’s Field days

You are invited to join Theo Fredrich every second Saturday of the month for a field day at his place. Theo will be working the club’s and his hives, and encourages interested members to come. Meeting time is 10:00 am at 2798 Cedar Road. To confirm, Theo’s number is 245-4214.

Bee Swap

For Sale – Eric has a 4 frame Stainless Steel extractor with an electric motor and an electric decapper for $150 - Tel: 754-5701.

The following test is supplied by John Gates, Apiculture Specialist BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.

This test can be used to determine mite resistance when a beehive doesn’t appear to respond to chemical mite control measures. The test uses Apistan, but it can easily be modified to test for resistance to Bayvarol, Perizin or Apivar.

The following materials are required to carry out the test:

·        500 ml jar with lid (canning jar)

·        light metal mesh cover for the jar (8 mesh to the inch hardware cloth)

·        75 x 125 mm index card or similar

·        9 x 25 mm piece of a new Apistan strip

·        cup to scoop up bees

·        large funnel

·        25% alcohol or windshield washer fluid

·        paper towel

·        plastic or rubber gloves

·        plastic bucket

·        sheet of white paper

·        stapler

·        sugar cube

Step 1

Staple the piece of Apistan strip to the centre of the index card. Make sure to handle the Apistan with gloves. Place the card in the jar with the section of Apistan strip facing inwards. Place a sugar cube in the jar.

Step 2

Shake the bees from one or two brood combs

into an up-turned hive lid or a bucket or box. Scoop up ¼ of a cup (about 150 bees) and put them in the jar, being careful not to damage the bees.

Step 3

Place a wire mesh lid over the jar to stop the bees from escaping. The holes in the mesh should be large enough to easily let varroa through. Place the jar in a warm (30°C) room in the dark for 24 hours. Make sure air gets into the bees.

Step 4

After 24 hours, hold the jar about 10 cm above a piece of white paper with the mesh lid downwards. Hit the jar with the palm of the hand three times. Count the number of mites that fall on the paper.

Step 5

Remove the card and fill the jar halfway with the alcohol or washer fluid. This should be done outside using gloves. Remove the mesh lid and replace with the original lid for the jar. Shake the jar vigorously for 5 minutes or place the jars in a box, put the box in the back of a pickup truck and drive on a rough dirt road for 10 minutes.

Step 6

Replace the mesh lid to keep the bees in the jar. Pour the fluid into a bucket using a funnel lined with a paper towel. Refill the jar with fluid, swirl the bees around and tip the spirits into the paper towel again.

Step 7

Remove the paper towel and count the number of mites recovered. If the total number of mites recovered (Apistan plus fluid) is less than 5, the results of the test should be discarded as the sample of mites is too small.

OR:

Alternate steps

Step 5a

Place the jars upside down over a sheet of sticky paper in an incubator set at 30°C. After a few hours raise the temperature to about 35°C then to about 45°C after a few more hours. Leave for 24 hours in all. Prop the jars up slightly so the bees do not suffocate. Write the jar number on the sticky paper beside the jar.

Step 6a

The mites will die before the bees and fall to the sticky paper.

Step 7a

Count the number of mites on the sticky paper for each jar. If the total number of mites recovered (Apistan plus sticky paper) is less than 5, the results of the test should be discarded as the sample of mites is too small.

Step 8

To calculate the percentage of mites killed, divide the number of mites that initially fell on the white paper (after the Apistan) by the total number of mites recovered after both tests(Apistan + alcohol or incubator).

% kill by Apistan =

100 x initial kill / (initial + final kill)

If less than 50% of the mites were killed by the Apistan, the mites may be resistant and should be tested with a more sensitive laboratory test.