Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers

This was my first visit to Limavady and, to my shame; I was not quite sure just where it was exactly. I kenned it was hidden somewhere in the North-West and a map soon enlightened me, but it gave no hint of the beautiful valley of the Roe. This is surely the best time of the year to see, in all its Autumnal glory, what must be the most majestic panoply of colour in the Province.

It was great to meet all the bee-keeping friends I hadn’t seen since the conference last year and swap fibs about the honey crop, although it was hard at times to keep a straight face as this must surely be the worst year we have had since 1985. The honey show was crowded with exhibitors busily setting up, which promised well for a pleasant hour later on in the day and I must say the bacon butty breakfast was very welcome indeed.

Eventually the conference got under way more or perhaps less on time, being only 50 minutes late, with a warm welcome from Dave McIntyre, the chairman of the Limavady beekeepers and Michael Young MBE, chairman of the INIB, made a nice little opening speech and handed the microphone over to our President Bill. Turnbull who in that, by now well known, understated manner of his, regaled us with an extract from his forthcoming book “The Bad Beekeeper’s Handbook”. We’ve all been there, done that, tried extracting honey in the kitchen with the wife present and all bear the scars of tongue lashing, for it. Bill, at least is making something of it and not going into a sulk.

The show got under way with the first speaker Mr. James Tew an American gentleman with the charm of a Leprechaun. The most relaxed, witty, and entertaining speaker I have heard in years. He pointed out some simple facts existing in the beekeeping arena, where the beekeeper knows he is going to be stung, yet insists in pursuing the hobby, leading the uninitiated to assume that beekeepers actually enjoy bee stings. The illogical thinking of the bee psyche and its inability to think logically and do as the beekeeper wishes, was aired and a little more tolerance asked for.

Did you know that the bees do not make the cells hexagonal? They are made round and it is the naturally strongest formation of a hexagon which forms when the malleable wax is heated by the hive warmth. As a fully functioning engineer I should have realised this, but didn’t. I feel an idiot.

Jim, then raised the question for us to ponder, “If we could be a bee for 15 seconds what would we see?” This then led us into a phantasmal world to look at life as the bee sees it and I would recommend to the reader that he or she attempt this. It just might make you a better beekeeper; or at least a more tolerant one. Question time gave the audience an opportunity to quiz the speaker on beekeeping in the US of A and this revealed that beekeepers are on the increase and their bees are much sought after for pollination duties. As on this side of the big pond, Government help was sadly lacking for the small beekeeper.

After a wee comfort break and a coffee our next speaker was Ms. Jennifer Berry, another visitor from the States, whose subject was Queen Rearing. We were transfixed. She could have been reading a knitting pattern and we would still have been transfixed. Her soft voice raised visions of Oleanders and Magnolias, it was hard to concentrate. Queen rearing is her passion and it was obvious that she is mistress of the subject at a time when all her skill and dedication is in high demand. It is a matter of record that the USA beekeeping and pollination scene is in turmoil and this lady and her ilk are at the forefront of the battle to bring stability to the multi-million $ business of crop growing.

The simple fact is that 30 to 40 thousand queens are needed each year, the present supply is principally from only 16 strains, there does not seem to be any effort to control inbreeding or to breed for docility and temper, until now and Ms Berry is leading the way. She gave, with the aid of slides a summary of her efforts to breed fecundity, gentleness, and hygienic propensities into her progeny.

Jennifer give an excellent description of her modus operandi, her special types of hive, grafting techniques etc., and it is obvious that this is the way forward. Drones and their selection came under the same rigorous regime, but this was to be covered in her afternoon lecture. The question time which followed was robust and searching and had to be finally halted to enable lunch to be served.

After a rather tasty lunch we were all fortified for the afternoon’s onslaught, but not before a close examination of the honey show exhibits. Here we all cast critical eyes over the offerings, tut-tutted and pooh-poohed, to our heart’s content until we were whipped in for the afternoon’s lectures.

Mr. Michael Badger MBE was the first of the afternoon speakers on the subject of “Back to Basics”, or as he so succinctly put it, “Simplicity is the key” He emphasised the importance of the Beekeeping year beginning in the autumn, when preparations made then are the bedrock of successful hives the following year. This was a talk by a practical beekeeper on practical beekeeping. The years of experience was obvious in his advice to those newly initiated into the craft, I also noticed that most of the apiarists of long experience, myself included, were taking a lot of notes and picking up tips for the future, especially the home made devices and equipment. All in all this was a lesson for all present that you are never too old a dog to learn new tricks.

Our next speaker was the return of Ms Jennifer Berry on the subject of Genetics, selective breeding, especially drones and just exactly how one goes about it. The perils of inbreeding and state of play in the USA were discussed. Ms Berry then went on to show just how she went about her work, the equipment she used and the manipulations of the nucs. Like many present she abhorred the little polystyrene Apidea boxes so in vogue a few years ago. Much preferred and used were 3, 4 and 5 frame nucs contained in standard brood boxes and something called a Queen Castle, which I confess I had never heard of. With this castle it is viable to build a tower up to seven boxes high and great success is to be had using this innovative apparatus. A lot of notes were taken and I with others will be trying this idea out in the near future. This was an important lecture from an important individual in the future of Beecraft and it is a privilege to say that I was there to hear her.

After a wee break we were ushered in to hear the last speaker of the day, Mr. James Tew again. The best was saved for last. I can honestly say that I have never heard such a concise and witty individual speak.

After a short history lesson on hobbies in the USA, backed up with photographs, he began his talk on American Foul Brood Disease. It was the only fault in the whole conference that this lecture was not recorded for posterity and the dissemination of his knowledge made available to those who missed his talk on AFB.

Mr. Tew actually made us laugh at AFB. Then he dispelled most of the myths surrounding this nightmare, which we had all taken as fact. He explained, with the aid of slides how this well-adapted nightmare builds, slowly, insidiously progressing to spread throughout the apiary if not detected. The initial signal of its presence is the unmistakable stench, but by then total destruction by fire is the only way forward. It is not for the writer of this missive to instruct the reader on how to proceed when finding this in the hive, but I would advise that AFB has a shelf life of 40 plus years, there is no real logical chemical treatment for it and it is impervious to prayer.

Fortunately AFB is comparatively slow to spread and, whilst it may be present in undetectable particles in a lot of hives, it takes the presence of two particular types of otherwise normal bee, combined with advantageous conditions before it blossoms so fruitfully. It really is a pity this hadn’t been filmed.

After Mr. Tew’s talk came the presentation of the Honey Show prizes and the closing speeches from the President, Chairman and Roe Valley President – Then the skirl of the Bagpipes, as our bidding to attend the ice cream counter. Here, whilst making promises to departing friends, old and new, to try and get to their association meetings, we made our farewells to another massively successful conference which does great credit to the hosts, Roe Valley Beekeepers’ Association.