Gwenynwyr Cymru the Welsh Beekeeper

Gwenynwyr Cymru

Rhif/No. 179 The Welsh Beekeeper Gaeaf / Winter 2012

www.wbka.com Welsh Beekeepers’ Association

Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru

Llywydd/President: Dinah Sweet Tel: 029 20869242 E-Mail: [email protected]

Cadeirydd/Chairperson: Valerie Forsyth, Bwlch y Rhyd, Nanternis New Quay, SA45 9RS Tel: 01545 561635 E-Mail: [email protected]

Is-gadeirydd/Vice Chair: Tom Pegg Tel: 01437 563392 E-Mail: [email protected]

Ysgrifennydd /Secretary: John Page, The Old Tannery, Pontsian Llandysul, Ceredigion, SA44 4UD Tel: 01545 590515 E-mail: [email protected]

Trysorydd/Treasurer: Vincent Frostick Tel: 01766 831 288 E-mail: [email protected] Assistant Treasurer: Margaret Jones E-mail: [email protected]

Golygyddion/Editors: Emmanuel and Rebecca Blaevoet E-mail: [email protected]

Is-olygydd/Sub-editor: Dewi Morris Jones, Llwynderw, Bronant, (Erthyglau Cymraeg) Aberystwyth, SY23 4TG. Tel: 01974 251264

Membership Secretary: Ian Hubbuck, White Cottage, Manafon Road, Individual Memberships Berriew, SY21 8BB. And Subs Tel: 01686 640 205 E-mail: [email protected]

Publicity Officer Barbara Chick, 11 Porthcawl Road Caerau, Ely, Cardiff, CF5 5HU Tel: 029 20597275 E-Mail: [email protected] Contents/Cynnwys

4 Editorial

6 Your Chairperson’s Message — Valerie Forsyth

8 Our President’s Report — Dinah Sweet

10-11 A new Patron for BfD

14-16 Message from your Inspector — Franck Gellatly

18-19 Winter Loss Survey

20-21 Globe-Trotting Beekeeper — Alan H Morley

22-24 BIBBA’s recent activities — Steve Rose

25 Readers’ Letters to the Editor

26-27 Book Review for Christmas — John Kinross

29 Bee Insurance News — Richard Ball

30-31 Book Review by Sarah Jones

32-41 US Honey Test Results

42-43 Kitchen Corner

46 Local Associations Representatives

47-48 Plants for your bees — Solidago



Pictures

All pictures are copyright to the author of the article to which they refer, unless otherwise stated.

Rear Cover public domain picture (copyright expired)

This year’s Queen marking colour is Yellow.

Editorial

This issue of the Welsh Beekeeper offers a variety of articles and an- ecdotes on numerous subjects. The first thing to leap out at me as I read was the number of references to Himalayan balsam this year! Judging by observa- tions from Valerie Forsyth, Dinah Sweet and Frank Gollatly, beekeepers are amazingly skilled at making the best of a bad situation as the balsam seems to have been almost the only crop to survive the summer, thus making it a hot topic at the biodiversity conference and the source of much of the honey produced this season. Alan Morley makes a valuable observation regarding when “being helpful” may not be helpful at all, in his evocative memoire of a globe-trotting beekeeper. I hope it will inspire many more of us to take up the challenge of Bees for development: beekeeping in the developing world. Also present in this issue, an opportunity to get to know Bees for development better, by becoming a trustee. There is also a call-out for a new board member for Bee Disease In- surance; especially appealing to enthusiastic beekeepers with a gift for finance. Speaking of finance, an engrossing article about how honey and bee products move multinational markets, as honey content is tampered with to make it saleable. This article, based on American research, may not seem to be relevant to us in Britain, but it does issue a warning against accepting what is labelled and more especially, what is not written on labels. Even if the rules surrounding honey production in Britain are quite strict, (I foresee a response in the next Welsh Beekeeper) we must remember that multi-million-pound food sellers in any sphere are happy to push any food regulation to its outer limit. Also present in this issue are the findings of a winter Loss survey as conducted by the Meirionydd/Lleyn and Eifionydd Beekeepers associations. Though the research is by no means conclusive, it points up some fascinating patterns, especially regarding treatment for varroa. As Clive Hudson empha- sises, anyone can participate … one has only to download the relevant form. Steve Rose of South Clwyd has attended at least two conferences this year, both concerning bee breeds: The BIBBA conference as part of the BBKIA and one in Landquart, Switzerland, for the SICAMM, (Societas International pro Conservationi Apis Mellifera Mellifera) [Saving the honeybees!]. Imagine attending a conference about these remarkable insects in such a lovely loca- tion! Surely we’ll all join BIBBA next year! While I’m on the subject of bees, the books reviews this issue are fun. We’ll certainly be buying the propalis book; and I have already noted the Plants for Bees as a must-buy this Christmas, in hopes that the weather next year makes growing anything other than himalayan balsam worthwhile! May I close with a gentle reminder from our president as she exhorts us all to continue learning about bees and apiculture, even if we’ve been beekeepers for many decades. We can never stop learning! Rebecca Blaevoet The Welsh Beekeeper #179 4 Winter 2012

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Guide to Bees & Honey by Ted Hooper MBE The World's Best Selling Guide to Beekeeping from all good bookshops or £13.99 post paid from Northern Bee Books as above Tel: 01422 882751 Fax: 01422 886157

Chairman’s Message

Valerie Forsyth

In Autumn last year I had a terrible time with wasps plaguing my bees. The worst for many a year but this year absolutely none. The odd wasp was seen in the raspberries but that was it so instead I spent my time emptying the rain out of the traps. Having spent almost all of my life working outdoors I never remember a year of so much rain. As I write, the sun is having one of those rare days out and the bees are unbelievably busy visiting the ivy flowers, there are still many to open so still a chance of plenty of pollen for the bees to store.

Representing the WBKA, I attended a Bio-diversity conference recently organ- ised by the Welsh Government. There were lots of requests from other attendees for Himalayan Balsam and Japanese Knotweed to be eradicated. It gave me the opportunity to explain how important these plants are to honey bees and other pollinators and that although we accepted that the plants are a problem for the environment, could the insects need for these plants be kept in mind and when clearing an area to leave a small area for the bees. It came as a surprise the many of the environ- mentalist that there was a good side to these plants and in the coffee break I was approached by quite a number of them asking for more information and answering their questions.

The BBKA recently released their honey survey for 2012. The numbers are very disappointing but not surprising. The East of England fared the best at 10.3lbs per hive and London the worst at 5.6lbs per hive. The respondents from Wales reported 9.8lbs per hive. It will be interesting to see the results from Frank's replies to the Welsh survey.

It is disappointing to hear that the Social Insect Research Unit (Bee Unit) at Sheffield University has been closed down and the research team disbanded. At a time when we still need to know much more about these insects and their environment we lose the expertise of many distinguished people and up and coming scientists.

I was disappointed to watch Julia Bradbury on 'Country File' being taken in to see the bees with no head covering. A windy day and bees flying in and out at head height precipitated first a bee in her hair and then a sting just under her eye. Miss Bradbury handled the situation as a professional would but not really the best way to show bees.

On that note, when you have received your copy of the 'Combined Liability Insurance Certificate' from the WBKA Insurers (via your secretary) please read the Endorsement No1, L97 'Personal Protective Equipment Condition' about the use of personal protection equipment. It is important that we all follow this guidance.

As Christmas and the New Year approach I wish you all and your bees well for 2013.

If I had one special wish for a Christmas present for everyone this year, it would be that next year we have weather more suitable for our honey bees and other insects so vital to our precious world. Valerie Forsyth

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 6 Winter 2012

Our President’s Message

Dinah Sweet

As in most areas of the UK, beekeepers in Wales have reported a poor honey crop due to the rain, except for those beekeepers in areas of Himalayan Balsam that have had amazing quantities of honey. I have seen areas where this flower was over 10 feet tall totally hiding the hives amongst them!Although September and Oc- tober were patchy as far as the rain was concerned, the tempera- tures stayed above 12 degrees centigrade, so the bees were able to collect from Willowherb, Heather (Ling) Ivy and the Balsam. I noticed a yellow field opposite my apiary at the beginning of No- vember and although it wasn't Oil Seed Rape we found that it was parsnips or swedes left to flower and seed. I'm sure my bees vis- ited this crop on the few days that the sun came out.

There have been many successful local association honey shows where the lack of honey didn't stop exhibits. Why don't these prize winners put their entries in the Royal Welsh Show in July? We need more enthusiastic beekeepers to flaunt their lovely honey, candles wax etc. and show others the excellent standards that can be achieved.

There have been many bee conferences and honey shows this year throughout the UK and Ireland and yet very few beekeepers from Wales have traveled to hear some very good speakers or at- tend interesting bee related work-shops. We are either lazy or too comfortable at home or maybe we think that there is nothing left to learn about! Let's hope the weather is better next year and we all have healthy bees and a bumper crop of honey. Merry Christmas to everyone and don't forget to check your bees during the winter for woodpecker damage, vandals, flooding, starvation, etc. Best wishes Dinah Sweet

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 8 Winter 2012

A new Patron for BfD

Bees for Development Trust is delighted to announce that Professor Tom Seeley, eminent honey bee biologist, has become a Patron of the charity. Professor Seeley has studied the ecology of the honey bee for over 30 years and through his work, the beekeeping community have gained considerable knowledge of how the honey bee behaves in nature. Professor Seeley said “I am delighted to become a Patron of Bees for Deve- lopment Trust and support their endea- vour to assist beekeepers in developing countries”. In his most recent book, Honeybee Democracy (1), we learn about how the honey bee colony makes decisions – particularly about how they choose their nesting places and how swarms arrive at consensus on nest site selection. Director of Bees for Development, Dr Nicola Bradbear says, ”Professor Seeley’s research has great meaning for us as we work with beekeepers in developing countries. This is because beekeepers in poor countries rely on swarms and migrating colonies to occupy their hives and their understan- ding of how to attract bees – through hive design and placing of hives - resonates much with Professor Seeley’s research. We are delighted to re- ceive his endorsement and support”. Tom Seeley’s research has involved years of monitoring a population of feral Apis mellifera honey bee colonies living in New York State’s Arnot Forest (2) showing that honey bees can persist in the presence of Varroa mites, and concluding that a stable bee-mite relationship had been achieved within the study population. The most likely explanation is that the Varroa mites have become less virulent - rather than the honey bees have

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 10 Winter 2012

developed resistance. This research suggests that beekeepers may yet be able to escape the worst consequences of Varroa, if beekeeping approa- ches are adopted to minimise the horizontal spread of pathogens – as horizontal transmission (infectious spread) of pathogens tends to maintain high virulence. In addition to Professor Seeley, Bees for Development Trust, enjoys the support from four further Patrons: Monty Don, Martha Kearney, Bill Turnbull and Sting. The Trust is currently planning for new projects to achieve their aims of alleviating poverty through sustainable beekeeping and is seeking additional Trustees to help. If you are interest to become a Trustee of Bees for Development Trust please enquire via our website www.beesfordevelopment.org.

References 1. Thomas. D. Seeley. 2010. Honeybee Democracy. Princeton University Press. 2. Thomas. D. Seeley. 2006. Honey bees of the Arnot Forest: a population of feral colonies persisting with Varroa destructor in the northeastern Uni- ted States. Apidologie 38 (2007) 19–29

Notes for Editors Thomas D. Seeley is Professor and Chairman in the Department of Neuro- biology and Behavior at Cornell University. He is a world authority on animal behavior, especially the social behavior of honey bees. Bees for Development Trust is an international development organisation based in Monmouth, South Wales. Bees for Development works to alleviate poverty in the developing world through the promotion of sustainable beekeeping. The Trust achieves this by:

tion of poverty, and encouragement of a wider, sustainable economy.

utilising local resources.

beekeeping activities.

ders, government institutions, NGOs and organisations worldwide.

throughout the developing world.

More information at: [email protected] and www.beesfordevelopment.org or phone Dr Nicola Bradbear on 01600 714848

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 11 Gaeaf 2012

The Message from RBI Wales

Franck Gellatly

2012 inspections: a weather eye view.

This year has, if nothing else, served to remind us that, in beekeeping, it’s mostly about the weather.

Most stocks came through the mild winter well, with fewer losses reported than in previous years. A relatively dry early spring allowed colonies to build up steadily. This was helped by a lovely warm spell at the end of March and, even in more unsettled conditions the following month, the positive trend continued. Reports of starvation in some areas were largely associated with colonies being moved to oil seed rape that didn’t flow well. Despite some poor weather, static hives carried on building up in April and were well placed to take full advantage of tree blossoms in the strong May sunshine when it finally arrived.

Too often when the sycamore flowers come out, the weather turns cool and wet and they just get blown away. This year was an exception. Bees worked the sycamore and there was a good flow from the hawthorn too. You could smell it if you went near the hives, making for a stronger tasting honey but a wonderful flavour. The old timers used to say that, if you got a crop from the hawthorn, it was the only crop you’d get that year. We had yet to see whether that would prove true.

By early summer, stronger stocks already had full supers and were still working hard. Out inspecting, the weaker hives we observed seemed to be those with a varroa problem. Of course, some strong colonies were more intent on taking advantage of the good weather days to get out there

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 14 Winter 2012

and find a new home. Swarming behaviour was encouraged by the ‘stop/start’ conditions: queen cells drawn down during periods of confine- ment in the hive and the swarm issuing on the next warm day.

The prolonged settled spell, allowing bees to simply forage, build comb and pack the honey away, eluded everyone. Queen mating was more successful earlier in the season, the process taking longer and proving less successful as time went on. The cool, wet June weather continued until Royal Welsh Show week. Suddenly, it turned glorious, ushering in a strong honey flow especially in upland sites where, for the final week in July, there was blackberry and clover still in flower.

August produced one warm spell in the second week, a good time to get the honey off, otherwise it was very variable. The only forage in low- land areas was the Himalayan Balsam giving good honey crops, particularly in South Wales. In areas with little forage and the honey crop removed, starvation was a real possibility. Almost universally, queens went off lay in late August and September. When they resumed, often stimu- lated by winter feeding, it was not with great gusto. The late flowering ivy failed to provide abundant autumn forage and, to cap it all, the Indian summer never arrived.

Interestingly, we are seeing pockets in Wales where some beekeepers find they have no need to treat for varroa for long periods. But it is equally disappointing to see, as we do too, the hugely damaging effects of Deformed Wing Virus in hives that are not, and should have been, treated. Broodless periods induced by swarming, making nucs and queens going off lay, restrict the breeding capability of mites but are no substitute for more proac- tive control measures. NBU advice remains to monitor and treat, using thymol, oxalic acid and other methods, as appropriate, based on our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach. Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 15 Gaeaf 2012

Despite the poor weather, it has been a busy year for the Welsh in- spectorate team whose inspection tally totalled: 902 beekeepers, 1160 apiaries and 5831 colonies. We were pleased to see a further 242 new beekeepers register on Beebase. We also ran 14 disease recognition and comb workshops around Wales, hosted by local associations and attended by 427 participants. We forged ties with the newly opened National Beekeeping Centre for Wales at Bodnant Welsh Foods in the Conwy valley, and look forward to seeing the venture grow, promoting beekeeping to a wider audi- ence. Finally, I would like to thank my team of Seasonal Bee Inspectors for all their hard work this year and the association secretaries who helped us to roll out the workshops across Wales with such success. Thank you also to those beekeepers who have been able to complete our honey survey form. The results will be published in the Spring edition of Welsh Bee- keeper magazine. All I can say now is that early indications appear true to the year’s weather – and that we look forward to better results in 2013! Frank Gellatly Regional Bee Inspector Wales [email protected] 01558 650663

Stop Press:- "Since the announcement of the 'Action Plan for Polli- nators' which John Griffiths AM, Minister for Environment and Sustai- nable Development announced at the WBKA stand at the Royal Welsh Show in July 2012, Welsh Government officials have commis- sioned and received the findings of a Rapid Research Review which will help inform the evidence base of the plan. The intention is that the Action Plan for Pollinators will outline specific and deliverable actions that will work towards reducing the decline in pollinators."

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 16 Winter 2012

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 17 Gaeaf 2012

Winter Losses Survey

Meirionnydd and L&A BKAs

RESULTS OF 2011-2012 WINTER LOSSES SURVEY (October-March, inclusive) Meirionnydd and Lleyn & Eifionydd Beekeepers’ Associations

Summary of data:

40 participants keeping 355 colonies contributed information. 27 colonies were lost, i.e. died out, (7.6%). 11* participants used chemical Varroa treatments in 180 colonies, and had 14 losses (7.8%). 31* participants did not use any chemical treatments in 175 colonies, and had 13 losses (7.4%). *2 participants treated some colonies and not others.

Notes and comments:

Thank you to members of Meirionnydd and Lleyn & Eifionydd Bee- keepers’ Associations, plus two other local beekeepers, for participa- ting in this survey. Indi- vidual names are not used.

The majority of participants in this survey keep bees in National hives, 36** out of 40 participants, keeping a total of 301 National hives. 9**participants use other hives as follows: 14x12 (21), Warré (20), 16x10 (10), WBC (3). Of the members with National hives most use a single brood box, a small number use ‘brood and a half’ or ‘double brood’. **5 participants use a mix of hive types.

At 7.6% the winter losses were relatively low, being helped probably by the mild winter.

Most of us often find it difficult to attribute a clear cause to colonies that have died and it seems reasonable to suppose that some of the 27 losses reported here are associated with Varroa. However, Varroa is not responsible for all losses. Two hives had clearly died from starvation. Other hives were reported as queenless or with a drone laying queen, and dwindled in late winter. It was also reported that a small

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 18 Winter 2012 number of colonies with Carnolian queens had all died, and two colonies purchased from commercial outlets died over the winter. These comments are anecdotal, but are repeated here because they were reported during the collection of data for this survey and probably add to the true complexity of ‘winter losses’.

The meaning of ‘not-treated’ is clear, i.e. no chemical treatment was used on a colony during the 2011 season or over the winter of 2011-2012. The meaning of ‘treated’ is less clear. From the 11 members giving treatment the majority (6) used thymol in the form of Apiguard, 1 used a thymol strip and 1 used thymol crystals, 4 used oxalic acid, 1 Apistan, and 2 used both Apiguard and oxalic acid. The difference in losses between ‘treated’ (7.8%) and ‘not treated’ (7.4%) is low at 0.4%. Of the 27 hives lost the big question is why? Varroa, and its associated pathogens, could be cited as a cause. This survey suggests this is probably too simplistic an explanation.

A question to finish; is it time to ask if Varroa has lost its sting? Three quarters (31 out of 40) of the members contributing data to this survey did not treat against Var- roa. Their losses were the same as members who chose to treat. Perhaps we are lucky in this area of Wales? Our area still has many wild/feral colonies and almost without exception members contributing to this survey report that they keep our local strain of bee; long may it continue!

This survey is not rigorous scientific research. It is a survey to collate information from fellow local beekeepers to try and further our own knowledge about our bees and our own beekeeping, especially relating to ‘winter losses’.

Clive Hudson, Meirionnydd Beekeepers’ Association. 12th October, 2012. Any member wishing to collect similar data is welcome to a copy of the form used. Please contact through our association website www.mbka.info

GLOBE TROTTING BEEKEEPER

Alan H Morley

Following on from my honey farming days in North Wales, and being forced to give up and retire at fifty, and struggling at university as a very ma- ture student acquiring a diploma in tropical beekeeping with the help of Nicola Bradbear of Bees for Development, who was one of the lecturers, I was now ready to go teaching and promoting and advising on the subject in developing countries. So off I went, first stop was South Africa, helping with a study of the regeneration of acacia trees on a large nature reserve with the introduction of beekeeping to the reserve. Rather exciting and dangerous work as there were so many wild animals about, such as lions, hippos, rhinos, giraffes, zebras and many others seen almost daily. The work was very interesting and gave me a real taste for hot climates! Next I got a contract to go to Cameroon in West Africa for four months to help set up beekeeping groups and go round the villages teaching interested people how to make top-bar hives. I soon learnt that this could only work if they could get the materials for free, as they had no money to spare, so we had to use things like bamboo, Raffia, old banana boxes and so forth. I also found a group of beekeepers who had tons of honey stored in five gallon plastic cans and the honey had solidified. Quite a problem out there, but we overcame it and the honey was eventually bottled and sold. One interesting discovery was that no one knew the value or use of beeswax! They just discarded, or buried the wax, and were quite astonished and indeed ashamed when we cleaned the wax, and melted it down into saleable blocks. On my way to work each morning I would see children carrying water for their homes before going to school, and one particular girl had a leaking container, and was sweating and hurrying to get home before she lost all the water. So one day I stopped her, plugged the holes with beeswax. What a difference that simple little thing made to her life. On the other hand they made the most wonderful soap out of dried banana skins. One point of interest in some countries in Africa is that children are not to go to school without wearing shoes, so by encouraging beekeepers to sell their honey in the markets moth- ers could afford to buy shoes so their children could go to school. Also much of the honey on sale in the markets was more like soup, with wax, dirt, dead bees etc in it, so I encouraged and trained beekeepers to stand side by side with the sellers of un-clean honey. That worked and they got a better price for it, but only after customers learnt that the clean honey was not adulterated. One very interesting project that came my way thanks to Eva Crane was to study sting-less bees in the rain forests in Peru for six months. What a place! The sheer diversity of wild life was, to say the least, overwhelming. My bees were in the top of the canopy, 200 feet or more up, and so I had to learn how to climb the trees in order to study them and collect samples. I spent much of my time up there with the monkeys, birds and bees. The bees can not sting but they can certainly bite like hell! The view from up there was like thousands of acres of green pastures.

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 20 Winter 2012

I also landed an interesting project in Ecuador high up in the Andes mountains, working with the Quechua Indians. As I was being driven there by a British council official he said to me, ”We should have killed the lot of them when we had the chance, that’s what they did in Chile and they have no native problems”. That sort of attitude is still rife in those parts of the World. However the Indians are wonderful people, very dignified, kind, polite, friendly and long suffering. The bees were of course the “killer bees”, so they had to have them well away from the settlements. The so named “killer bees” were, I found no more aggressive than the bees in Africa, I think it’s just that they are only used to our more docile European bees. In Africa all the bees are much more aggressive than in Europe and most people prefer to take the honey off in the late evening or at night. Living with the native American Indians was an unforgettable experience. I also had several assignments in India working with their native bees Apis Cerana. Much more docile than our bees, slightly smaller, but easy to keep and handle. One interesting experience in India was setting up apiary high up in the Wynad mountains in South India. When I left, just before the monsoon rains, the bees all absconded. The people thought it was because I had left. So the following year I went back and we worked out the reason why they had absconded. Simple really; they had simply migrated. The bees had been gathered from the low coastal plains where they can live all year round, but the mountain ones have to move back down to the coast in order to survive the rainy season. I refused to work with people who had the introduced apis mellifera bees. One big problem in Asia with the introduced European bees is that they fly too slowly to dodge the bee-eating birds, and at the hive entrance they are far to slow to attack wasps and hornets. Part of the equipment for people with european bees out there is a gun, used for shooting the bee-eaters. I also worked in Gambia, living in a mud hut as always, with chickens and goats coming and going, but I did get the luxury of a mattress, comprising several hessian sacks filled with dried leaves. A bit noisy but quite comfortable. One other thing I should mention here is that I am a life long vegetarian and this sometimes caused problems on my travels. In Gambia for instance when I arrived in the village my hosts had a Monitor lizard roasting on a spit in my honour! How to deal with that kind of problem without offending people is just part of the challenge of that sort of life. Another hazard also is illnesses. I did get deep-vain thrombosis in Ecuador that nearly killed me, and in India I fool- ishly had tea at a roadside tea shop on a 10 hour long bus journey and con- tracted typhoid that very nearly finished me off too. It’s interesting to note that I always learnt as much as I taught on my many adventures. In Gambia the beekeepers took me to see their "bee shed", a small tin shack out in the bush, and in it all dirty and dusty were two stain- less steel honey extractors and a very large bottling tank, all worth thousands of pounds. one extractor was for 20 frames and the other for 10 frames and never used,how could they?, they only have top-bar hives. These items were donated four years back by some well meaning, but ignorant NGO. What a waste! I found, in my travels, that this type of error or ignorance was quite common. I have now retired from jetting accross the World, just pottering about, and messing about with my few hives here in rural Wales with my many memories. Alan H Morley Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 21 Gaeaf 2012

BIBBA’s Recent Activities

Steve Rose , South Clwyd BKA

A report, prepared by Steve Rose, summarising the recent meetings he has attended on behalf of the WBKA.

BIBBA AGM

This was held at Harper Adams University College at the end of the BBKA Spring Convention on 22nd April. The presentation was delivered by Ri- chard Ball on disease recognition. The new committee was elected and an important motion on a proposed changed to the BIBBA constitution was debated.

The original proposal was to modify BIBBA's objectives from

"The objectives of the Association shall be the conservation, reintroduction, study, selection and improvement of native or near-native honeybees of Britain and Ireland."

by adding the following extra sentence:

"To encourage the selection and improvement of local bees, as an alternative to importation, in areas where the absence of native/near-native bees makes the primary aim of BIBBA impracticable."

In the event the added sentence was watered down a little by allowing near AMM bees to be reared in the non-AMM areas in addition to unspeci- fied local bees.

I was worried about this proposal as it could have resulted in arguments between members as to what sort of area they were operating in and hen- ce what type of selection criteria should be applied. While the proposal was debated the proposer, Jo Widdecomb, decided to withdraw the motion before it reached the voting stage. This, presumably, was because it became obvious that the membership was going to vote against it. The chairman then committed the trustees to look again at the proposal and prepare something that the membership could wholly support in time for the next AGM.

Project Discovery

The first stages of this have been largely completed but the results have not yet been made public. The first stage was partly financed by the Coo-

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 22 Winter 2012

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 23 Gaeaf 2012

perative Society and has tested the morphology and DNA of potential AMM breeding stock from as many places as possible. I suspect that not everyone with AMMs contributed samples but nevertheless the results are reported to be encouraging and plans are now being made for the next stage of the project. This will be the selection of breeding groups and distribu- tion of samples of the best known stocks so that good AMM queens can be reared and distributed to ordinary BIBBA members. Again the Coop have offered funding amounting to £5000 to help facilitate this stage.

SICAMM Conference

Although SICAMM (Societas International pro Conservationi Apis Mellife- rae Melliferae) is independent of BIBBA, it shares BIBBA's concerns but is run on an international level and its main organisers are BIBBA officers. This year's conference was held in Landquart in Switzerland and was attended by AMM supporters from 12 European countries . In fact their literatu- re claimed that 11 countries were represented but they had classed me as English. The conference lasted for 4 1/2 days and consisted of 28 presentations plus field trips and a social evening of Swiss food and culture (for that read yodelling with hands in pockets!). The presentations were all of special interest to AMM breeders and were delivered by academics who had carried out relevant scientific research and leaders of breeding groups from all over Europe. As someone who is particularly interested in promoting native bees in Wales I found the conference to be enjoyable, valuable and encouraging. It seems there are substantial initiatives all over Europe to conserve and even reintroduce AMMs and some of them are supported by Government legislation and finances.

The conference is held every 2 years. Ireland, Scotland and England have already hosted it but it has never been held in Wales. To do so would need an organisation like to WBKA to sponsor it. I would have liked to have been able to offer our hospitality as they seem to think that the whole of the British Isles has already held the conference so it would raise our profi- le internationally if it were to come here some time.

Scottish Centenary Conference

This was held on 15th and 16th September. Speakers were Dan Basterfield, Prof Keith Delaplane, Prof Robert Paxton and Prof Robert Pickard. None of these talks were specifically about native bees but BIBBA sponsored Robert Paxton, held a queen rearing workshop and put on a social evening for members

Steve Rose, South Clwyd BKA

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 24 Winter 2012 Readers’ Letters to the Editor

Dear Sir, Referring to the article in praise of Mr Fred Eckton by Dr Richard Vea- sey, in the Autumn issue of the magazine, I endorse everything that was written about Fred. I would like to let everyone know just what a good friend Fred is; on Christmas Eve 2010 I had an urgent appointment in the eye clinic in Here- ford, the volunteer drivers could not take me, the roads were very bad with ice and snow there was also some fog. Mr Fred Eckton took me and brought me back which meant a round trip of over 100 miles for him. Fred is certainly a master beekeeper and a good friend to the bees and to beekeepers. Having worked with him over many years there are many stories to tell, some about the occasions we dealt with the wasps nests. For the time being, let the enclosed pho- to tell the story.

John Harris B&RBKA

Book Review for Christmas John KINROSS

Seven Books A-Leaping, for Christmas, plus one for the stocking.

The days of Christmas are fast approaching and once more some of you are wondering what to give your family members, friends, new beekeepers, ancient aunts, etcetera. A book is always useful and if you disa- gree with what it says, then take out a red pencil and say so, but this practice will not improve the value of the book.

For family presents, then there is one outstanding book just published. This IBRA’s ‘Plants for Bees’ by W kirk and the late F N Howes of Kew [he died in 1973], whose ‘Plants for Bees’ suffered by firstly having some poor black and white photographs, and then in the popular paperwork re- print of 1979 having none at all. To my mind a book on flowers with no illustrations is a disaster. Not only has Kirk put in colour plates, but some of the descriptions are not quite right. Vipers Bugloss for example, does not have to be restricted to the south and east, we have an enormous plant in our tiny garden which has been covered in bumble bees, hover flies and a few brave honeybees. We live near the Welsh border in the Mi- dlands. However the bonuses in this book are many, chapters by N Car- reck, David Aston, Jane Stout and Chris O’Toole supplement the book and make it good value for £25 [IBRA].

On the same subject, Maureen Little’s ‘Plants and Planting Plans for a Bee Garden’ [HowtoBooks, £14.99] is a useful addition to Kirk, as it has different colour plates including herbs. There are also pictures of Kniphofia which grows well in St Helena, and is one of the main bee supporting plants there where Varroa has not yet arrived. This book would be wonderful for a new gardener-cum-beekeeper.

For the DIY person who enjoys making a new hive out of wood, I recommend Robin Dartington’s ‘Construction Information for Dartington Hi- ves’ [BBNO £21] which is packed with plans in its 60 pages and even has a few colour plates. Robin says making his hives is fun and anyone who visits his ‘community bee garden’ in Hitchen needs to wear dark glasses as his hives are multi-coloured.

For beginners I can recommend the new ‘BBKA Guide to Beekee- ping’ [Bloomsbury £16.99] by Ivor Davis and Roger Cullum-Kenyon which is well designed and good value for its 182 pages. However, I certainly don’t recommend leaving record cards inside the hive. Bees will chew them very quickly and they are much better off in your bee bookcase inside a

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 26 Winter 2012

file. I especially like the picture on page 114 of a beekeeper cutting up his ‘Financial Times’. My father would have been on him at once to check he had read it first!

For historians there are two books. C C Miller’s classic ‘Fifty Years among the Bees’ [Dover £12.99] covers the years 1870 to 1920 and makes good reading. Even more interesting if you failed to get a copy last year, is Karl Showler’s ‘Essays in Beekeeping History’ [Bee Craft £17.50] which is well printed, in Aberystwyth, and easy to read. I like the little dra- wing of Willie Gordon and his skep wagon driven by an ox. Willie Robson would certainly approve as he has a collection of ancient vehicles including a Putney Bus turned into a café.

Then for the beekeeper who has every book, but may not do anything with propolis, I recommend Klaus Nowottnick’s book ‘Propolis’ [NBB £9.99] translated from German and so far the only book that tells you how to harvest propolis. Finally for the stocking or those who like limericks I recommend David Squire’s ‘The Bee-kind Garden’ [Green Bks £9.99] which will take one an evening to read but you can always learn the poems off by heart.

John KINROSS

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 27 Gaeaf 2012

BDI Subscriptions & Compensation Rates

A Message from Richard BALL

For 2013 there will be no increase in the subscription and premium rates. Compensation rates will change as these are set in line with a well known manufacturer’s catalogue at 90% of the retail cost. This generally means a slight increase in claim payments.

Maximum compensation in respect of statutory destruction of hives because of infestation with Small Hive Beetle Aethina tumida or Tropilaelaps mites is to remain at a maximum of £50,000 gross claims per annum with a maximum of £150 per hive destroyed de- pendant on condition. If gross claims exceed the amount then all such claims will be reduced pro-rata for the given year.

Richard Ball PresidenBDI [email protected]

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 29 Gaeaf 2012

Plants for Bees

A book review by Sarah JONES

‘Our native bee population is under threat. Plants for Bees This book offers a clear and practical guide A Guide to the Plants that to how anyone can create a bee-friendly Benefit the Bees of the Bri- tish Isles garden. A wonderful and hugely important

book.’ By W D J Kirk & F N Howes  ISBN- 10: 0-86098-271-8 Kate Humble ISBN-13: 978-0-86098-271-5 Published by IBRA: Television presenter and beekeeper International Bee Research Association R.R.P. £25.00

Plants for Bees is a beautifully illustrated and informative book that provides gardeners, beekeepers and bee lovers with all the information they need to create a healthy environment for the many species of bee in the British Isles. It is widely known that our bee population is under threat and that honeybees, bumblebees and solitary bees are all in decline. Our own population growth directly impacts that of the bee as the spread of intensive agriculture destroys the bees’ flower-rich habitats, threatening them and the important contribution they make to our lives. Our gardens are there- fore fast becoming an alternative source of food for many of our bee species and these spaces are crucial if our native bees are to survive and thri- ve.

Dr William Kirk, author of ‘Plants for Bees’ and Senior Lecturer in entomo- logy and ecology at Keele University, will present a talk at the National Li- brary of Wales, Aberystwyth on Wednesday 27th February at 1.15 pm. Dr Kirk will provide information about our various native bee species and expert guidance on the level of importance of certain plants to specific bees. This is a great opportunity to learn how to enrich the landscape for bees by choosing the right plants. ‘Plants for Bees’ is a new publication which has been expertly researched, and is packed full of stunning images, which Dr Kirk will use in his talk. The Foreword has been written by Kate Humble (BBC presenter), who said that this is ‘A wonderful and hugely important book’.

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 30 Winter 2012

‘Our native bee population is under threat. This book offers a clear and practical guide to how anyone can create a bee-friendly garden’. Purchase your signed copy at the talk, or via the International Bee Research Association: www.plantsforbees.org Please note that admission will be free of charge but by ticket only. Tickets can obtained in January 2013 from the National Library of Wales, either online www.llgc.org.uk/drwm or by phone (01970) 632 548. We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 27th February. Sarah Jones, Publications Manager IBRA, 16 North Road, Cardiff, CF10 3DY. 029 2037 2409 [email protected]

Photo Competition for the WBKA Convention 2013

Saturday 23rd March, Hafod A Hendre Halls, RWA Showground, Builth Wells.

Three Bee Related Photographic Catagories: 1) An Amusing Picture 2) A Close up Macro Image 3) Group Beekeeping

Prints only please as they will be displayed on the wall in the Demonstrations Hall. Pictures taken during 2012 and up to February 2013 and forwarded to Sanna Burns, Llanfadog Uchaf, Elan Valley, Rhyader, LD6 5HL by the latest 1st March 2013. Good Luck

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 31 Gaeaf 2012

US Honey Tests Results

Andrew Schneider

Tests Show Most Store Honey Isn’t Honey. Ultra-filtering Removes Pollen, Hides Honey Origins. More than three quarters of the honey sold in U.S. grocery stores isn’t exactly what the bees produce, according to testing done exclusively for Food Safety News. The results show that the pollen frequently has been filtered out of products labeled “honey.” The removal of these microscopic particles from deep within a flower would make the nectar flunk the quality standards set by most of the world’s food safety agencies. The food safety divisions of the World Health Organization, the Euro- pean Commission and dozens of others also have ruled that without pollen there is no way to determine whether the honey came from legitimate and safe sources. In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration says that any product that’s been ultra-filtered and no longer contains pollen isn’t honey. How- ever, the FDA isn’t checking honey sold there to see if it contains pollen. Ultra filtering is a high-tech procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove pollen, which is the only foolproof sign identifying the source of the honey. It is a spin-off of a technique refined by the Chi- nese, who have illegally dumped tons of their honey – some containing illegal antibiotics – on the U.S. market for years. Food Safety News decided to test honey sold in various outlets after its earlier investigation found U.S. groceries flooded with Indian honey banned in Europe as unsafe because of contamination with antibiotics, heavy metal and a total lack of pollen which prevented tracking its origin. Food Safety News purchased more than 60 jars, jugs and plastic bears of honey in 10 states and the District of Columbia. The contents were analyzed for pollen by Vaughn Bryant, a professor at Texas A&M University and one of the nation’s premier melissopalynolo- gists, or investigators of pollen in honey. Bryant, who is director of the Palynology Research Laboratory, found that among the containers of honey provided by Food Safety News: •76 percent of samples bought at groceries had all the pollen removed, These were stores like TOP Food, Safeway, Giant Ea gle, QFC, Kroger, Metro Market, Harris Teeter, A&P, Stop & Shop and King Soopers. •100 percent of the honey sampled from drugstores like Wal greens, Rite-Aid and CVS Pharmacy had no pollen. •77 percent of the honey sampled from big box stores like The Welsh Beekeeper #179 32 Winter 2012

Costco, Sam’s Club, Walmart, Target and H-E-B had the pollen filtered out. •100 percent of the honey packaged in the small individual ser vice portions from Smucker, McDonald’s and KFC had the pollen removed. •Bryant found that every one of the samples Food Safety News bought at farmers markets, co-ops and “natural” stores like PCC and Trader Joe’s had the full, anticipated, amount of pollen. And if you have to buy at major grocery chains, the analysis found that your odds are somewhat better of getting honey that wasn’t ultra- filtered if you buy brands labeled as organic. Out of seven samples tested, five (71 percent) were heavy with pollen. All of the organic honey was produced in Brazil, according to the labels. The National Honey Board, a federal research and promotion organization under USDA oversight, says the bulk of foreign honey (at least 60 percent or more) is sold to the food industry for use in baked goods, bev- erages, sauces and processed foods. Food Safety News did not examine these products for this study. Some U.S. honey packers didn’t want to talk about how they process their merchandise. One who did was Bob Olney, of Honey Tree Inc., in Michigan, who sells its Winnie the Pooh honey in Walmart stores. Bryant’s analysis of the contents of the container made in Winnie’s image found that the pollen had been removed. Olney says that his honey came from suppliers in Montana, North Da- kota and Alberta. “It was filtered in processing because North American shoppers want their honey crystal clear,” he said. The packers of Silverbow Honey added: “The grocery stores want processed honey as it lasts longer on the shelves.” However, most beekeepers say traditional filtering used by most will catch bee parts, wax, debris from the hives and other visible contaminants but will leave the pollen in place. Ernie Groeb, the president and CEO of Groeb Farms Inc., which calls itself “the world’s largest packer of honey,” says he makes no specific re- quirement to the pollen content of the 85 million pounds of honey his company buys. Groeb sells retail under the Miller’s brand and says he buys 100 percent pure honey, but does not “specify nor do we require that the pollen be left in or be removed.” He says that there are many different filtering methods used by beekeepers and honey packers. “We buy basically what’s considered raw honey. We trust good suppliers. That’s what we rely on,” said Groeb, whose headquarters is in On- stead, Michigan. Why Remove the Pollen? Removal of all pollen from honey “makes no sense” and is completely contrary to marketing the highest quality product possible, Mark Jensen,

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 33 Gaeaf 2012

president of the American Honey Producers Association, told Food Safety News. “I don’t know of any U.S. producer that would want to do that. Elimi- nation of all pollen can only be achieved by ultra-filtering and this filtration process does nothing but cost money and diminish the quality of the honey,” Jensen said. “In my judgment, it is pretty safe to assume that any ultra-filtered honey on store shelves is Chinese honey and it’s even safer to assume that it entered the country uninspected and in violation of federal law,” he added. Richard Adee, whose 80,000 hives in multiple states produce 7 million pounds of honey each year, told Food Safety News that “honey has been valued by millions for centuries for its flavor and nutritional value and that is precisely what is completely removed by the ultra-filtration process.” “There is only one reason to ultra-filter honey and there’s nothing good about it,” he says. “It’s no secret to anyone in the business that the only reason all the pollen is filtered out is to hide where it initially came from and the fact is that in almost all cases, that is China,” Adee added. The Sioux Honey Association, who says it’s America’s largest supplier, declined repeated requests for comments on ultra-filtration, what Sue Bee does with its foreign honey and whether it’s ultra-filtered when they buy it. The co-op markets retail under Sue Bee, Clover Maid, Aunt Sue, Natu- ral Pure and many store brands. Eric Wenger, director of quality services for Golden Heritage Foods, the nation’s third largest packer, said his company takes every precaution not to buy laundered Chinese honey. “We are well aware of the tricks being used by some brokers to sell honey that originated in China and laundering it in a second country by filtering out the pollen and other adulterants,” said Wenger, whose firm markets 55 million pounds of honey annually under its Busy Bee brand, store brands, club stores and food service. “The brokers know that if there’s an absence of all pollen in the raw honey we won’t buy it, we won’t touch it, because without pollen we have no way to verify its origin.” He said his company uses “extreme care” including pollen analysis when purchasing foreign honey, especially from countries like India, Viet- nam and others that have or have had “business arrangements” with Chi- nese honey producers. Golden Heritage, Wenger said, then carefully removes all pollen from the raw honey when it’s processed to extend shelf life, but says, “as we see it, that is not ultra-filtration. “There is a significant difference between filtration, which is a standard industry practice intended to create a shelf-stable honey, and ultra- filtration, which is a deceptive, illegal, unethical practice.” Some of the foreign and state standards that are being instituted can be read to mean different things, Wenger said “but the confusion can be

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 35 Gaeaf 2012

Well done Ross A very big thank you goes to Ross Evans, a former Communications Officer in the Welsh As- sembly Government, who raised over £80 for the WBKA running in the Cardiff 10k. Ross completed the run in 1hr 13 minutes, which was particularly good, as he ran the whole race in his Bee Suit! www.thebeeshop.co.uk Quality Beekeeper Clothing At Affordable Prices Full Suits, Smocks & Veils White, Coloured & Camouflage Sizes - Infant to XXXL Email: [email protected]

The Welsh Beekeeper no179 Winter 2012 www.wbka.com ———————— ——————————— All copy should reach the Editors on or before the last day of January, April, July and October for publication in the following issue. ————————————————————— Views expressed in ‘The Welsh Beekeeper’ are not necessary held by the Edi- tors nor the Publishers but remain the opinion of the author of the article. —————————————————————-- Edited, proofread, and compiled by Emmanuel and Rebecca Blaevoet. Published by Welsh Beekeeper association

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 36 Winter 2012

eliminated and we can all be held to the same appropriate standards for quality if FDA finally establishes the standards we’ve all wanted for so long.” Groeb says he has urged FDA to take action as he also “totally sup- ports a standard of Identity for honey. It will help everyone have common ground as to what pure honey truly is!” What’s Wrong With Chinese Honey? Chinese honey has long had a poor reputation in the U.S., where – in 2001 – the Federal Trade Commission imposed stiff import tariffs or taxes to stop the Chinese from flooding the marketplace with dirt-cheap, heavily subsidized honey, which was forcing American beekeepers out of business. To avoid the dumping tariffs, the Chinese quickly began transshipping honey to several other countries, then laundering it by switching the color of the shipping drums, the documents and labels to indicate a bogus but tariff-free country of origin for the honey. Most U.S. honey buyers knew about the Chinese actions because of the sudden availability of lower cost honey, and little was said. The FDA — either because of lack of interest or resources — devoted little effort to inspecting imported honey. Nevertheless, the agency had occasionally either been told of, or had stumbled upon, Chinese honey contaminated with chloramphenicol and other illegal animal antibiotics which are dangerous, even fatal, to a very small percentage of the population. Mostly, the adulteration went undetected. Sometimes FDA caught it. In one instance 10 years ago, contaminated Chinese honey was shipped to Canada and then on to a warehouse in Houston where it was sold to jelly maker J.M. Smuckers and the national baker Sara Lee. By the time the FDA said it realized the Chinese honey was tainted, Smuckers had sold 12,040 cases of individually packed honey to Ritz- Carlton Hotels and Sara Lee said it may have been used in a half-million loaves of bread that were on store shelves. Eventually, some honey packers became worried about what they were pumping into the plastic bears and jars they were selling. They began using in-house or private labs to test for honey diluted with inexpensive high fructose corn syrup or 13 other illegal sweeteners or for the presence of illegal antibiotics. But even the most sophisticated of these tests would not pinpoint the geographic source of the honey. Food scientists and honey specialists say pollen is the only foolproof fingerprint to a honey’s source. Federal investigators working on criminal indictments and a very few conscientious packers were willing to pay stiff fees to have the pollen in their honey analyzed for country of origin. That complex, multi-step analysis is done by fewer than five commercial laboratories in the world. But, Customs and Justice Department investigators told Food Safety News that whenever U.S. food safety or criminal experts verify a method to identify potentially illegal honey – such as analyzing the pollen – the laundering operators find a way to thwart it, such as ultra-filtration. The U.S. imported 208 million pounds of honey over the past 18

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 37 Gaeaf 2012

months. Almost 60 percent came from Asian countries – traditional laundering points for Chinese honey. This included 45 million pounds from In- dia alone. And websites still openly offer brokers who will illegally transship honey and scores of other tariff-protected goods from China to the U.S. FDA’s Lack of Action The Food and Drug Administration weighed into the filtration issue years ago. “The FDA has sent a letter to industry stating that the FDA does not consider ‘ultra-filtered’ honey to be honey,” agency press officer Tamara Ward told Food Safety News. She went on to explain: “We have not halted any importation of honey because we have yet to detect ‘ultra-filtered’ honey. If we do detect ‘ultra-filtered’ honey we will refuse entry.” Many in the honey industry and some in FDA’s import office say they doubt that FDA checks more than 5 percent of all foreign honey shipments. For three months, the FDA promised Food Safety News to make its “honey expert” available to explain what that statement meant. It never happened. Further, the federal food safety authorities refused offers to examine Bryant’s analysis and explain what it plans to do about the selling of honey it says is adulterated because of the removal of pollen, a key in- gredient. Major food safety standard-setting organizations such as the United Nations’ Codex Alimentarius, the European Union and the European Food Safety Authority say the intentional removal of pollen is dangerous because it eliminates the ability of consumers and law enforcement to determine the actual origin of the honey. “The removal of pollen will make the determination of botanical and geographic origin of honey impossible and circumvents the ability to trace and identify the actual source of the honey,” says the European Union Di- rective on Honey. The Codex commission’s Standard for Honey, which sets principles for the international trade in food, has ruled that “No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign matter. . .” It even suggested what size mesh to use (not smaller than 0.2mm or 200 micron) to filter out unwanted debris — bits of wax and wood from the frames, and parts of bees — but retain 95 percent of all the pollen. Food Safety News asked Bryant to analyze foreign honey packaged in Italy, Hungary, Greece, Tasmania and New Zealand to try to get a feeling for whether the Codex standards for pollen were being heeded overseas. The samples from every country but Greece were loaded with various types and amounts of pollen. Honey from Greece had none. You’ll Never Know. In many cases, consumers would have an easier time deciphering state secrets than pinning down where the honey they’re buying in groceries actually came from.

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 38 Winter 2012

The majority of the honey that Bryant’s analysis found to have no pollen was packaged as store brands by outside companies but carried a label unique to the food chain. For example, Giant Eagle has a ValuTime label on some of its honey. In Target it’s called Market Pantry, Naturally Preferred and others. Walmart uses Great Value and Safeway just says Safeway. Wegmans also uses its own name. Who actually bottled these store brands is often a mystery. A noteworthy exception is Golden Heritage of Hillsboro, Kan. The company either puts its name or decipherable initials on the back of store brands it fills. “We’re never bashful about discussing the products we put out” said Wenger, the company’s quality director. “We want people to know who to contact if they have questions.” The big grocery chains were no help in identifying the sources of the honey they package in their store brands. For example, when Food Safety News was hunting the source of nine samples that came back as ultra-filtered from QFC, Fred Myer and King Sooper, the various customer service numbers all led to representatives of Kroger, which owns them all. The replies were identical: “We can’t release that information. It is proprietary.” One of the customer service representatives said the contact address on two of the honeys being questioned was in Sioux City, Iowa, which is where Sioux Bee’s corporate office is located. Jessica Carlson, a public relations person for Target, waved the proprietary banner and also refused to say whether it was Target management or the honey suppliers that wanted the source of the honey kept from the public. Similar non-answers came from representatives of Safeway, Walmart and Giant Eagle. The drugstores weren’t any more open with the sources of their house brands of honey. A Rite Aid representative said “if it’s not marked made in China, than it’s made in the United States.” She didn’t know who made it but said “I’ll ask someone.” Rite Aid, Walgreen and CVS have yet to supply the information. Only two smaller Pacific Northwest grocery chains – Haggen and Met- ropolitan Market – both selling honey without pollen, weren’t bashful about the source of their honey. Haggen said right off that its brand comes from Golden Heritage. Metropolitan Market said its honey – Western Family – is packed by Bee Maid Honey, a co-op of beekeepers from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Pollen? Who Cares? Why should consumers care if their honey has had its pollen removed? “Raw honey is thought to have many medicinal properties,” says Kathy Egan, dietitian at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass. ”Stomach ailments, anemia and allergies are just a few of the conditions that may be improved by consumption of unprocessed honey.”

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 39 Gaeaf 2012

But beyond pollen’s reported enzymes, antioxidants and well docu- mented anti-allergenic benefits, a growing population of natural food advo- cates just don’t want their honey messed with. There is enormous variety among honeys. They range in color from glass-clear to a dark mahogany and in consistency from watery to chunky to a crystallized solid. It’s the plants and flowers where the bees forage for nectar that will determine the significant difference in the taste, aroma and color of what the bees produce. It is the processing that controls the tex- ture. Food historians say that in the 1950s the typical grocery might have offered three or four different brands of honey. Today, a fair-sized store will offer 40 to 50 different types, flavors and sources of honey out of the estimated 300 different honeys made in the U.S.. And with the attractive- ness of natural food and the locavore movement, honey’s popularity is bur- geoning. Unfortunately, with it comes the potential for fraud. Concocting a sweet-tasting syrup out of cane, corn or beet sugar, rice syrup or any of more than a dozen sweetening agents is a great deal easier, quicker and far less expensive than dealing with the natural brew of bees. However, even the most dedicated beekeeper can unknowingly put incorrect information on a honey jar’s label. Bryant has examined nearly 2,000 samples of honey sent in by beekeepers, honey importers, and ag officials checking commercial brands off store shelves. Types include premium honey such as “buckwheat, tupelo, sage, orange blossom, and sourwood” produced in Florida, North Carolina, California, New York and Virginia and “fireweed” from Alaska. “Almost all were incorrectly labeled based on their pollen and nectar contents,” he said. Out of the 60 plus samples that Bryant tested for Food Safety News, the absolute most flavorful said “blackberry” on the label. When Bryant concluded his examination of the pollen in this sample he found clover and wildflowers clearly outnumbering a smattering of grains of blackberry pollen. For the most part we are not talking about intentional fraud here. Contrary to their most fervent wishes, beekeepers can’t control where their bees actually forage any more than they can keep the tides from changing. They offer their best guess on the predominant foliage within flying dis- tance of the hives. “I think we need a truth in labeling law in the U.S. as they have in other countries,” Bryant added. FDA Ignores Pleas. No one can say for sure why the FDA has ignored repeated pleas from Congress, beekeepers and the honey industry to develop a U.S. standard for identification for honey. Nancy Gentry owns the small Cross Creek Honey Company in Interla- chen, Fla., and she isn’t worried about the quality of the honey she sells. “I harvest my own honey. We put the frames in an extractor, spin it

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 40 Winter 2012

out, strain it, and it goes into a jar. It’s honey the way bees intended,” Gentry said. But the negative stories on the discovery of tainted and bogus honey raised her fears for the public’s perception of honey. She spent months of studying what the rest of the world was doing to protect consumers from tainted honey and questioning beekeepers and industry on what was needed here. Gentry became the leading force in crafting language for Florida to develop the nation’s first standard for identification for honey. In July 2009, Florida adopted the standard and placed its Division of Food Safety in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in charge of enforcing it. It’s since been followed by California, Wisconsin and North Carolina and is somewhere in the state legislative or regulatory maze in Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, New York, Texas, Kansas, Ore- gon, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and others. John Ambrose’s battle for a national definition goes back 36 years. He said the issue is of great importance to North Carolina because it has more beekeepers than any other state in the country. He and others tried to convince FDA that a single national standard for honey to help prevent adulterated honey from being sold was needed. The agency promised him it would be on the books within two years. “But that never happened,” said Ambrose, a professor and entomolo- gist at North Carolina State University and apiculturist, or bee expert. North Carolina followed Florida’s lead and passed its own identification standards last year. Ambrose, who was co-chair of the team that drafted the state beekeeper association’s honey standards says the language is very simple, ”Our standard says that nothing can be added or removed from the honey. So in other words, if somebody removes the pollen, or adds moisture or corn syrup or table sugar, that’s adulteration,” Ambrose told Food Safety News. But still, he says he’s asked all the time how to ensure that you’re buying quality honey. ”The fact is, unless you’re buying from a beekeeper, you’re at risk,” was his uncomfortably blunt reply. Eric Silva, counsel for the American Honey Producers Association said the standard is a simple but essential tool in ensuring the quality and safety of honey consumed by millions of Americans each year. “Without it, the FDA and their trade enforcement counterparts are severely limited in their ability to combat the flow of illicit and potentially dangerous honey into this country,” Silva told Food Safety News. It’s not just beekeepers, consumers and the industry that FDA officials either ignore or slough off with comments that they’re too busy. New York Sen. Charles Schumer is one of more than 20 U.S. senators and members of Congress of both parties who have asked the FDA repeat- edly to create a federal “pure honey” standard, similar to what the rest of the world has established. They get the same answer that Ambrose got in 1975: ”Any day now.” Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 41 Gaeaf 2012

Kitchen Corner Yummy Yum Yum

A scrumptious Christmas Dessert

You will need:

 1/4 pint Whole milk  1/2 pint Double cream  125g Honey  2 tsps Vanilla Extract (Makes 1pint of Ice Cream) How to make:

1) In a saucepan, stir together milk, cream and vanilla extract. 2) Warm gently until blended (but do not boil), then stir in the honey. 3) Cool. 4) Pour into a basin, stir. 5) Freeze. Whisk well once, every hour, for four hours. 6) Freeze until frozen. 7) Decorate with red and green jelly sweets, if you like. 8) Serve and enjoy!



Sri Lankan Love Cake

 2 tablespoons Honey  1 lb (500g) caster sugar  8 oz (250g) semolina  12 oz (375g) cashew nuts  7 eggs separated  ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg  ½ teaspoon lemon rind  ½ teaspoon ground cardamom  ½ teaspoon almond essence  2 tablespoon rose water

1. Finely chop the cashew nuts, and finely grate the lemon rind. 2. Grease and line an 8 inch (20 cm) square cake tin with two thicknesses of greaseproof paper.

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 42 Winter 2012

3. Brush the inner paper with melted butter. 4. Beat the egg yolks and caster sugar together until light and creamy. 5. Stir in the semolina, cashew nuts, rose water, honey, lemon rind, spices and almond essence. 6. Beat the egg whites until firm and fold into the mixture. 7. Put in tin and bake in a 150°C or Gas Mark 2 oven until the cake is evenly brown and is firm to touch. 8. If the cake starts to brown too quickly, cover with paper or foil. 9. Do not use the usual skewer test as the cake should be somewhat moist. 10. Leave until quite cold and then cut into small pieces.



Please send your best loved recipes to [email protected] for publication in the next edition of the magazine (I will try them, you can be sure of that)

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 43 Gaeaf 2012

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 44 Winter 2012

All copy should reach the Editor on or before the last day of January, April, July and October.

Views expressed in The Welsh Beekeeper are not necessarily held by The Editors nor the Publishers. Compiled by: Emmanuel and Rebecca Blaevoet. Published by: Welsh Beekeepers’ Association.

Printed by Pensord™, Pontllanfraith, South Wales

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 45 Gaeaf 2012

Local Association Representatives

Aberystwyth Ann Ovens, Tan-y-Cae, Nr Talybont, Ceredigion, SY24 SOL 01970 832 359

Anglesey Ian Gibbs, Dryll, Bodorgan, Ynys Mon LL62 5AD 01407 840 314

Brecknock & Radnor Dr Gill Todd, Meadow Breeze, Llandew, Brecon Powys LD3 9ST 01874 610 902

Bridgend Sue Verran, Tŷ Mêl, Maesteg Rd., Coytrahen, Bridgend CF32 OEE 01656 729 699

Cardiff & Vale Annie Newsam, Stonecroft, Mountain Rd, Bedwas Caerphilly, CF83 8ER 02920 868 756

Carmarthen Brian Jones, Cwmburry Honey Farm, Ferryside SA17 5TW 01267 267 318

Conwy Peter McFadden, Ynys Goch, Ty’n Groes, Conwy, LL32 8UH 01492 650 851

East Carmarthen Linda Wallis, Maestroddyn, Harford, Llannwrda Carmarthenshire, SA19 8DU 01558 650 774

Flint & District Jill and Graham Wheeler, Mertyn Downing, Whitford, Holywell, Flintshire, CHS 9EP 01745 560 557

Gwenynwyr W I Griffiths, Llain Deg, Comins Coch, Cymraeg Ceredigion Aberystwyth, SY23 3BG 01970 623 334

Lampeter & District Gordon Lumby, Gwynfryn, Brynteg Llanybydder, SA40 9UX 01570 480 571

Lleyn ac Eiflonydd Amanda Bristow 01286 831 328

Meirionnydd Dr David Hope, Dyffryn Ardudwy 07784 320 798

Montgomery Maggie Armstrong, 20 Dol-y-Felin, Abermule , Powys, SY15 6BB 01686 630 477

Pembrokeshire Brigid Rees, Canerw Cottage, Llanboidy, Whitland, Carmarthenshire SA34 0ET 01994 448 210

South Clwyd Carol Keys-Shaw, Y Beudy, Maesmor, Maerdy, Corwen, Conwy, LL21 0NS 01490 460 592

Swansea Paul Lyons, 2 West Cliff, Southgate, Swansea, SA3 2AN

Teifiside Donald Adams, Bryngwrog, Beulah, Newcastle Emlyn Ceredigion, SA38 9QR 07939 536 356

West Glamorgan John Beynon, 42 Whiteston Avenue, Bishopston, Swansea, SA3 3DA 01792 232 810

The Welsh Beekeeper #179 46 Winter 2012

Plants for your bees Solidago

Solidago, commonly called goldenrods, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are herbaceous perennial species found in the meadows and pastures, along roads, ditches and waste areas in North America. There are also a few species native to Mexico, South America, and Eurasia. Some American species have also been introduced into Europe and other parts of the world.Solidago species are perennials growing from woody caudices or rhizomes. Many members of Asteraceae are copious nectar producers and are useful for evaluating pollinator populations during their bloom. Centaurea (knapweed), Helian- thus annuus (domestic sunflower), and some species of Solidago (goldenrod) are major "honey plants" for beekeepers. Solidago produces relatively high protein pollen, which helps honey bees over winter. They have stems that can be decumbent to ascending or erect, ranging in height from 5cms to 1 meter and more. Some species have stems that branch near the top. Some Solidago species are hairless others have strigose, strigillose, hispid, or short-villous hairs. The basal leaves in some species remain persistent through flowering, while in others the basal leaves are shed before flowering. The leaf margins are often serrated, and leaf faces may be hairless or densely hairy; the distal leaves are sometimes 3-nerved, and hairless or sparsely to densely hairy with scabrous, or villous hairs. In some species the upper leaves are sometimes resinous. The flowering heads usually radiate, sometimes discoid, with 1 to 1500+ florets in racemiform (club- shaped or pyramidal), and sometimes secund arrays. The involucres are campanu- late to cylindric or attenuate. The ray florets are pistillate and fertile. The corollas are yellow or rarely white and are usually hairless. The disc florets are bisexual and fertile and number 2 to 35 typically, but in some species there may be up to 60 florets. The corollas of the disc florets are yellow and the tubes are shorter than the throats. The fruits are oblong to cylindric in shape, they are sometimes somewhat compressed. The fruits are achenes with 8 to 10 ribs usually and are hairless or moderately covered with stiff slender bristles. Solidago species are easily recognized by their golden inflorescence with hun- dreds of small capitula, some species have their flowers in spike-like inflorescences and others have axillary racemes. They have slender stems, usually hairless but Solidago canadensis shows hairs on the upper stem. They can grow to a length between 60 cm and 1.5 m. Their alternate leaves are linear to lanceolate. Their margins are usually finely to sharply serrated. Propagation is by wind-disseminated seeds or by spreading underground rhizomes which can form colonies of vegetative clones of a single plant. They are mostly short-day plants and bloom in late summer and early fall. Some species produce abundant nectar when moisture is plentiful, or when it is warm and sunny.Goldenrods are attractive sources of nectar for bees, flies, wasps, and butterflies. Honey from goldenrods often is dark and strong due to admixtures of other nectars. However when there is a strong honey flow, a light (often water white), spicy-tasting honey is produced. While the bees are ripening the honey produced from goldenrods it has a rank odor and taste, but finished honey is much milder.

Gw enynwyr Cymru #179 47 Gaeaf 2012