Annual Bee Report 2008 — Northern Region. Foulbrood Disease and Inspection Statistics There has been no foul brood disease found in the Northern region in 2008. I found 2 cases of European Foul Brood on the Cheshire/Greater Manchester Border in 1 colony in 1 apiary in10 km square SJ69 (Warrington) and 1 colony in 1 apiary in 10 Km square SJ 68 (Warrington). My Northerly Seasonal Bee Inspector's, John Newton and Sue Scott have helped out this year in North Yorkshire, where there has been a large outbreak of EFB. There have been 106 colonies with EFB in the North East region, with a 65% increase in disease from 2007, 80 of these cases were in North Yorkshire, in 10 km squares SE39, SE49, NZ40 and NZ50. Considering how close the disease is to the Northern region, it is important that beekeepers are vigilant when obtaining bees and second hand equipment. Sterilise all such equipment thoroughly before using, remembering never to buy or use any old brood combs. Please give me a call if you need advice on areas that might have a high disease risk and visit our web site http:// beebase.csl.gov.uk where you can find information on the levels of disease in particular areas. Due to various restrictions, weather conditions and the high levels of dead colonies over the winter/spring of 2007/8, colony inspections and apiary visits were down on 2007 figures. We completed inspections in 373 apiaries, inspecting 1217 colonies. Pvrethroid Resistance and Varroa Mite resistance to the registered pyrethroids has now been confirmed in nearly all 10km squares in the Northern region. Beekeepers must learn to use alternative methods of Varroa control or they will loose their colonies. Many beekeepers are still letting their colonies go into winter with high levels of Varroa, which reduces the emergence of healthy winter bees, resulting in high virus levels and thus dead or small colonies in Spring. It is important if they want to keep their colonies alive that they regularly monitor Varroa levels throughout the year and take action before mite levels reach the injury threshold of 1000 to 1500 mites - if no other disease pathogens are present. For further information please see/read the 'Managing Varroa' booklet or visit our web site at http://beebase.csl.gov.uk Please note all CSL/NBU leaflets are available as a download off Beebase. If you feel your association requires any further help on Varroa control methods, then please do not hesitate to contact me. Colony Losses. As many of you know, there were high colony deaths in the winter/spring of 2007/8. It must be considered, colony loss figures can be easily distorted, as early in the season we only tend to inspect the beekeepers that call us out because their colonies are dead or dying. A survey by Northern Inspectors, where we asked beekeepers how many colonies they had going into Winter 2007 and how many were alive in Spring 2008, this resulted in overall losses of approximately 30% of colonies. The figure for the normal inspection season was I2.8%(average for the country was 11.9%), against 8% for 2007 in the Northern region. From the inspection figures countrywide, colony deaths have been a growing steadily over the past few years from 11.1% in 2006, 11.7% in 2007 and 11.9% in 2008. It is important to note, that the above figures are calculated on the beekeepers we have inspected and also after telephone calls with them. They do not represent information from beekeepers we haven't inspected or spoken to. From our studies of samples from dead colonies, most had died as a result of poor Varroa management and Nosema. Of the 57 Abnormal Colony Losses (ACL) samples taken in the Greater Manchester and Lancashire area, 29 had Nosema apis and 9 had Nosema ceranae, nearly all samples had Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) at various levels, which is directly related to Varroa infestation, 8 had Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), which is directly related to Nosema and 4 had Sac brood Virus (SBV) As stated previously, it is important that your Varroa levels are low in August and September, so that the winter brood is not damaged. It is also good beekeeping practice to complete an adult bee diagnosis for Nosema and Acarine, using old/flying bees. Samples should be taken twice a year, once in spring (March) and once in late summer (Aug/Sept) If required, the National Bee Unit will undertake a Nosema check for you at £10 per sample (30 dead bees in a match box). If Nosema is found they will not be able to confirm whether the disease is Nosema apis or Nosema ceranae, as they will only be completing a microscopical examination of the sample. If your association would like training in Nosema and Acarine detection, then please let me know and I can arrange a suitable day for the training. Small Hive Beetle There have been no reported cases of the SHB in the U.K. this year. DLC's In 2009, I am going to try and revive the Disease Liaison Contacts (DLC) initiative. This is primarily to educate selected interested beekeepers in Small Hive Beetle (SHB) contingency planning and disease recognition. I would be grateful if secretaries could ask for I or 2 volunteers from their association members, who would be willing to participate in the training. Please can you forward the names etc. to me, so I can organize suitable training days. Previous DLC's are welcome to apply. The 2008 honey season. 2008 has been a poor honey season for nearly all beekeepers. Some have commented that it is the worst season they can remember. Spring started late and many small colonies that would have normally survived, just dwindled and died out. Some beekeepers with strong healthy colonies that were near or on the rape managed to obtain a crop. There was little or no summer flow and many beekeepers in Cumbria have had no honey at all, they have informed me that they have been feeding their bees since July/August. Honey crops in the Northern region were down by at least 50%. It seems that the only beekeepers that got any surplus honey were those that were near large areas of Himalayan Water Balsam. Some beekeepers, again with strong stocks, reported I or 2 boxes of Heather honey. Total honey crops for England and Wales was 2990 tons (metric) 50% down on average year. On my late inspections this year, I found that many colonies were low on stores in the brood nest. It is important that your colonies go into winter with adequate (30 lb) accessible, sealed stores. Please can you check the stores levels in your colonies and add food if necessary. |
