SE Associations Day Report

T&TVBKA's new Associations Day Representative John Weston reports a good buzz, much interaction and a generally positive attitude toward the NBU...

SE Region Associations Day

41 associations were represented at the discussions at Roots & Shoots near the South Bank. All the Inspectors covering the six relevant working areas of the NBU were also there; and Alan Byham was in charge.

There was plenty of discussion and a generally positive atmosphere, but not a huge amount of what struck me as new.
I drew on the helpful notes given me by Chris Deaves to make a contribution. The following points are perhaps worth noting.

A  widespread feeling - London, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, West Sussex,  Middlesex  that the new interest in bee-keeping, stimulated by the media , was producing numbers of new members and  applicants for instruction that completely swamped capacity of BKAs to absorb them properly. The market was also producing instant kits for bee-keeping that resulted in people buying up stuff for the craze and then not knowing what to do with it.

There have been 2 cases of AFB and 128 cases of EFB this year.

The Asian Hornet (first spotted in Bordeaux in 2003/04 has been spreading at the rate of 100km per annum; has reached Paris and French borders with Spain and Italy; and caused significant weakening or losses of honey bee colonies in France. There is a high risk of it crossing the Channel in free flight or in imported timber, and a medium risk of this in imported fruit or vegetables.

There are 26,000 apiaries and 20,000 beekeepers registered on BeeBase. Until the Random Apiary Survey was funded, inspections UK-wide were priority risk-based. The much enhanced capacity of the Random Survey and its most recent results now suggest that the old Priority Survey has significantly exaggerated the national incidence of both AFB and EFB in the UK-wide picture, compared with the numerically  much larger and less skewed sampling of the Random Survey. But EFB (where it shows up) is more closely aligned with the red risk area surrounding apiaries, whereas AFB is more widely distributed into amber and green areas than might have been expected.

Nosema ceranae. Research so far in the UK suggests that. although some 35% of the apiaries tested showed positive for the infection, there is no evidence yet that Nc is a significant pathogen causing colony losses here; despite the more alarming results reported for Spain and Portugal.

On the Insect Pollinators Initiative, the major risks for bee populations in the UK are so far judged to be Viruses, Climate and Husbandry.

Other points in discussion. Many thought the Bee Health Advisor idea would be useful, though Alan Byham made clear that NBU would want a say in who was selected for this role in the associations concerned. Some thought it would be useful if there could be an opportunity for chosen association members occasionally to be able to ‘shadow’ Inspectors on their rounds (though Mr Byham pointed out this could only be with the prior agreement of the apiary to be inspected). Many people praised the practice of allowing an Inspector to come and spend a whole day with an apiary to do an intensive disease seminar, with recent samples brought (safely) along [Should we do this?]. Although views were divided on the importance of new beekeepers passing their Basic exam within the first year or two, there was some support for the notion that BDI insurance could be used as a lever to keep new beekeepers up to the mark over this: ie BBKA membership insurance coverage would lapse or become more expensive for those new beekeepers who did not take and pass the Basic within a given period.


John Weston
6 Sept 2011