Advice for bee-keeping
in the Uists

Advice for bee-keeping in the Uists

Dear Editor,

Bee-keeping advice

I write in reply to John Cunningham’s letter entitled ‘Bee Keeping’, published in the October 2009 edition of Am Pàipear.

I am writing with a foot in two camps, having now, a fairly long association with bee-keeping but a far longer one with the Uists, and so I have an interest in the promotion of the keeping of healthy bees in the Southern Isles. I do not know Mr Cunningham’s experience and so will restrict comments to the general rather than trying to specifically answer his letter.

First, when to start bee-keeping? Autumn is not a time when someone new to the hobby should voluntarily take on bees. By then, unless the hive is full of honey, the bees should have had unlimited access to supplementary feeding and should have stored what is required for the coming winter. Don’t forget that in removing honey, the bee-keeper is robbing the colony of winter feed. The newcomer may not have the knowledge to judge the level of available stores.

Also, in the north of the UK, the queen will have virtually stopped laying by late September With few replacements, the number of bees in the hive will gradually decline until spring. By then, many of the over-wintered workers will naturally die off as the “new season” young ones reach the flying stage. Therefore, the population of flying, food gathering bees drops to a minimum before it starts to rise again once the queen starts to lay eggs in earnest. So a colony bought in autumn is approaching its most at-risk time and it may not survive until the spring. Also a failing queen may not be recognised until she does not perform to expectation next year.

In my view, the preferable time to get bees would be in late April and the first half of May. By then, the population should be increasing as the queen moves up to her most productive time. Also, let’s be honest, any colony that was not going to survive the winter would be already dead, or in its last stages. Moving bee hives much after the middle of May, as the weather gets warmer, risks overheating and collapse of the honeycomb during transport.

You may have seen press coverage of bee diseases last year. It must be stressed that the following are conditions that only affect bees and have no effect on humans. Both American and European Foul Brood Disease was present in Scotland in 2009, and the picture for 2010 will not really become clear until the spring and the active bee season. The parasitic bee mite Varroa destructor is endemic in the UK and it lives up to its destructor name – in general, untreated colonies will die. Current research is looking at many aspects of management of Varroa in addition to treating affected colonies. For example, it has been found that some bees are better at grooming themselves and each other and so remove mites that would remain in the hives of other bees. Other strains have shown a capacity to selectively seek out and destroy their own developing young in the honeycomb where the worker bees sense that the grub is being parasitized by the mites. The subject is hugely interesting BUT the longer the new bee-keeper (or old one for that matter) can keep his or her hives free of the mite the better.

Having said that the UK is endemically affected, certain areas are still considered to be free of Varroa. We are testing our hives and at least in 2009, we believed Caithness to be still clear, although east Sutherland is certainly affected. Parts of the north-west coast and some of the islands are also considered free. I think that Skye remains so but am not sure. I understand (but have not had it confirmed) that infested beehives are present in Lewis. In the endemic area, that is the vast majority of the UK and Ireland, as well as continental Europe, transfer of the mite is by the movement of bees. This is either under their own steam (swarming or bees simply drifting to other currently uninfested hives) or with man’s assistance by the transport of infested colonies. In science, you can never say “never”, but take it from me, the average bee would be daunted by the thought of a flight against the prevailing wind across the Minch. If Varroa infested bees get into the Uists, it will be with the assistance of a bee-keeper.

I would say without doubt that it is the responsibility of any bee-keeper in a “free” area to take every precaution against the introduction of the mite. Preferably this should be by sourcing them from other clear areas. Failing that, obtain hives that have documentary history to show that they have been tested clear in the recent past. Whatever the source, I would advise that new colonies are tested for Varroa as soon as is feasible after arrival. There is much on the internet about the parasite including methods of screening hives for the presence of the mite.

The Scottish Bee-keepers Association website is a good starting point (and a good organisation to join!) Also, if you have one near, I would advise anyone to join their local association. Finally, anyone interested in bees that has the opportunity to attend a lecture by Graeme Sharp, the SAC “bee advisor” for Scotland will be well rewarded.

There are occasionally colonies of bees for sale here in Caithness and these would be a good starting point for anyone wishing to get into this fascinating hobby. I have no financial interest in the matter as I am on a very small scale and certainly do not have excess hives to sell. I would however be prepared to act as a reference point for anyone in the Uists that wishes to be put in touch with prospective vendors. I can be contacted at the address below.

Another advantage of buying Caithness-bred bees is that ours are used to a pretty lousy climate and may produce some honey in poor seasons when the usually much more productive southern strains struggle. I have always considered that though the Uist winter is wetter and windier than Caithness, the bee season (summer) is better. I would be interested to see how hives do with you.

Yours faithfully,
Phil Tomlinson
Roadside
Killimster
Wick
KW1 4RX