All about beekeeping in Fife and beyond
In mid-July the good news came through that the Kinross Show, after an absence of 2 years, would go ahead on 14th August 2021. As Enid would be on holiday at this time Jo Ramsay agreed to co-ordinate the event. The call for volunteers to set up on the Friday and man the tent on the Saturday went out to both associations.
Continue reading “Kinross Show 2021 by Elna Chisholm”The FBA and DWFBA encourage any beekeepers to think about taking the Basic Beekeeping Certificate. The entry requirements for taking the certificate is to attend a Beginners Class and look after a colony of bees for at least one season. The examination is a practical / oral “over the hive” assessment and has 3 pass grades: Pass (60%), Credit (70%) and Distinction (80%).
It is a really worthwhile way to ensure you have all of the necessary skills and knowledge to help you become a really proficient beekeeper.
Information about the certificate can be found on the SBA website. Please do think about taking the examination, you might surprise yourself and get a distinction!
Here are some beekeepers taking their exam in Summer 2021
Continue reading “SBA Basic Beekeeper Exam 2021”The continuing Covid 19 restrictions are making it very difficult for us all to meet at a local apiary to get some hands on experience of beekeeping. With this in mind we thought you would enjoy a little beekeeping quiz to see if you can identify some features of a hive. The photographs and quiz where made for the children at St Leonard’s School apiary by an FBA member, Jo Goodburn
I did a quick feed check on all hives in between Christmas and New Year. It was good to see that in most hives the bees were quite far down, which is good. I placed a block of fondant directly on top of the brood frames as a safety precaution. The end of January into February and March is the crucial time. The queen will gradually increase her laying and more food will be consumed to increase the temperature in the hive. This is often the time of year when colonies starve. This whole operation took less than 1 minute. It is important to be quick and not let the bees chill.
Enid
As this year has proved very difficult to meet up at local aparies Enid has recorded a few videos of some activities, including preparing for winter and bees with Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus.
As lockdown eased, a team of beekeepers (Enid Brown, Margaret Thomas and Jo Ramsay) removed a massive colony of bees from a cavity at a dwelling in Lethangie. A stethoscope was used to locate the exact position of the bees. A handheld circular saw and a hive tool helped to remove the plasterboard so that the bees and comb could be reached. The bee comb was placed into a nuc box, the bees were hoovered up and all of the comb was removed … a very sticky job. The bees are now doing well in their new location.
Just before lockdown in March this year, several of our members attended the SBA wax workshop in Newburgh. As you can see from the photos, they all had a great day making foundation, moulded candles, wax flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Even though lockdown has made it difficult to learn about bee keeping this hasn’t stopped the children of St Leonards School, St Andrews from using MS Teams to watch one of our association beekeepers installing a nuc in the school apiary. While FBA beekeeper Jo Goodburn handled the bees the P6 school teacher gave a commentary in the classroom as the children watched via a live feed.
Check out the Scottish Beekeeper web site on Swarm Information
