Monthly Meeting May 2015

Doctor Roger Burns talk about Bee-keeping

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So far this year,  Speakers  attending  our monthly meetings have advised us how, at our mature time of life,  we could aspire to be better drivers, of the diverse life on our Pembrokeshire seashore and shop keeping in the Tudor times today Doctor Roger Burns (now retired) enthused on the virtues of bee keeping.

Doctor Burns left his technical gear on the table, instead preferring to give us a broad outline of bee keeping then inviting questions from the floor, ably assisted by his bee keeping assistant Nick.   He opened the talk by enquiring firstly were there any bee keepers amongst us?  There were one or two.  He went on to ask whether anyone knew the name of the disease that threatens, and has in fact been largely been responsible for the decline in the honey bee population.  Top marks to our member who knew it is Varoa Destructor and earned a jar of honey for his knowledge!

As we know bees are pollinators, in some parts of the country farmers are willing to pay bee keepers to have hives sited on their land.  This fact leads to a question as to how bees find their way back to the hive.  Doctor Burns explained and went on to recommend a book titled “The Dancing Bees” by Karl von Frisch.  A copy was passed round, I feel certain it will find its way onto member’s book shelves.

We have surely all seen those plump bumble bees in our gardens.  Whilst  they also  pollinate, they  are not great producers of honey.  Amazingly there are 24 different types of bees but there are only 7 varieties of the Honey Bee.  The queen can lay up to 1000 eggs per day hence the saying “busy bee”.

This small insect is vital to the production of food for an ever growing world population.  Please bear this in mind, and plant something ”bee” friendly in your garden or window box.

Penny Thomas (Photos: GW)