2023-12-31-accounts

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Editor’s report

This yearbook contains the CBKA reports for the year 2023, and I am again pleased to have continued as CBKA editor, including editing and sending out the e-bulletins. Getting back to a post-covid situation again meant that the Annual General Meeting could be held in-person, at the start of April 2023, and the Minutes are included in this yearbook. CBKA were able to attend several outside events during the year, which were again very successful for talking with the public and for honey sales. Talks to schools and various organisations were able to be given by a few members and there is a report included about those. There are reports from the three CBKA apiaries, who each seemed to have had a reasonable season. Bill Block sadly passed away during the year and there is a piece about his life, as an apiary manager and a stalwart of the CBKA for many years. There are short reports on education and the CBKA library, with encouragement to see what books are available and to continue your education about beekeeping. The excellent online talks continued, with diverse speakers from around the world, attracting large audiences including many who now join as associate members. There were also a number of people who gave talks to schools and other organisations, continuing to promote beekeeping.

With regard to our beekeeping, it was definitely not a good start to the year due to the dreadful weather in March. We had six hives through the winter, all of which were out flying when it got warm at the end of February, and all had Candipolline gold on. After the cold and wet, with no forage, three had died by April. We managed to replace them with swarms, including one that suddenly appeared in a hive that had not been cleared out due to time constraints. Then caught another swarm that just sat there and appeared to be queenless, so bought and introduced a queen. However, just as they started building up, wasps appeared very early in the year and attacked the hive, killing the colony off again. As a result, we ended up with six colonies going through the winter again, all of which were treated with Apivar for varroa, seemed strong, well fed and, with Candipolline gold on, hopefully surviving okay. With the bad weather and having to replace colonies in 2023, all six hives just bult up rather than putting on honey, so unfortunately our yield was well down on previous years.

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There was much talk at the end of the year about how Asian hornets are getting closer, with so many being trapped and nests destroyed, mainly along the south coast, but getting ever closer to our region. Sentinels are being organised to monitor the approach, and we all need to learn as much as we can about how to look out for, report and control the invasion that is looking increasingly likely. European Foul Brood continues to be a problem around Cambridge, and citizen science projects are being organised to look at the problem. However, if you have any concerns do contact the Bee Inspectors whose details are on the back page and in Jack’s report in the yearbook. I wish you all well and that you have a successful 2024 season with your bees.

Peter Bates

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Chair’s Report

This will be my final yearbook report, as I will be stepping down at the 2024 AGM, having served six years as CBKA Chair. I have written a separate report in this Yearbook for the external talks outreach programme for which I have been the co-ordinator as well as a speaker.

With the advent of an effective UK vaccination programme, Covid appears to have become less of a threat for most, and we have returned to a more normal beekeeping life. However, the routine face-to-face meetings that were held pre-Covid have evolved into either online or hybrid meetings. This includes several of our Committee meetings and the BBKA Annual Delegates Meeting (ADM) held each January.

In January, CBKA was approached for membership involvement in a research project by Vicky Buckle, at Anglian Ruskin University, a new PhD student of Toby Carter (himself a beekeeper and former CBKA Chair). Her research project is examining the potential competition for forage between managed honeybees and other pollinators. Vicky presented an outline of her proposal to the Committee, alongside a small Citizen Science project, to conduct insect surveys and monitor the effects of planting different types of forage in gardens and other environments. The Committee were enthusiastic to support local beekeeping research and were delighted to help. Research co-ordination was led by two of our Committee members, Philip Turon and Jonathan Baynes, and my thanks to them for driving this. Vicky visited their apiaries and areas of land were agreed for research purposes in both of their apiaries and also on land owned by local farmers.

Later in January, Philip Turon and Jonathan Baynes themselves proposed a Citizen Science project to establish the strength of wild bees in Cambridgeshire. Many beekeepers will be aware of wild honeybee colonies in their locality. Such colonies are often found in trees, chimneys and other voids in man-made structures. Rumours abound of colonies living in one location for many years, apparently surviving without human intervention post- Varroa . Scientific studies have shown that these are unlikely to be descendants from the original colony, but are more probably a sequence of new swarms having moved in on an old nest. The purpose of this ongoing Citizen Science project is to establish the strength and number of wild honeybees in the Cambridgeshire area, by locating and logging their colonies.

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Together with neighbouring beekeeping associations in the Eastern Region, for several years CBKA has provided funding of beekeeping research via the East Associations Research Studentship (EARS) scheme. Unfortunately, in 2023 we didn’t received clarity on a worthwhile research project to support and will hope to rectify this in 2024.

In February, Barny Henderson decided to step down from his role as organiser of the Improver’s Course and Examinations Secretary. Here again, I wish to thank him for all of the support that he has given over several years to new and improving beekeepers. Alison (Lal) Goodfellow has kindly volunteered to step in as Examinations Secretary, and we ask CBKA members reading this to consider volunteering to take on the Improvers course. I was delighted in February to hear from Hazel Bickle that she was willing to continue to volunteer as CBKA shows co-ordinator, but with the help of a volunteer working group to spread the considerable responsibility. I thank her for her continuing support, as well as the other volunteers involved: Peter Bates, Derek Blatch, Peter Connor, Pam Fearn, Philip Turon, Stephen Poyser, and Susan Wilkie. For many years Stephen Poyser has been processing and jarring CBKA apiary honey for sale at our show stalls – thank you Stephen; this is a labour-intensive task. I was delighted to hear that Derek Blatch stepped forward to help in 2023 to take this over from Stephen – thank you Derek.

Stephen Poyser leads the ever popular CBKA Beginners course. A very large last minute ‘spanner’ was thrown into the plans and preparations for the 2023 course by Chesterton Community College who cancelled our booking due to budget cuts and staff redundancies. The course had to be moved from its usual eight Wednesday evening slots to four Saturdays at Chesterton; consequently, from the 140 expressions of interest there were 48 beginners enrolled. It later transpired when Stephen surveyed the attendees that they preferred the course to run over 4 days rather than 8 evenings - including Stephen himself! I am delighted to report that attendee feedback received was very positive, and thank Stephen very much yet again for leading the course, not forgetting other CBKA volunteers who supported him.

In early April, the CBKA AGM was held face-to-face at Storey’s Field Centre, expertly co-ordinated by Susan Wilkie who stood down as CBKA Secretary. Thank you Susan for all of your support and dedication over the years that you have served. Jonathan Baynes has subsequently volunteered to act as temporary secretary whilst we seek a permanent volunteer – thank

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you Jonathan. Alison Turnbull was welcomed as a new Committee member. At the AGM I was delighted to announce that the Committee voted to confer Honorary Life Memberships on Bill Block, Doug Brown, Liz Cox and Ann Waldock for their services to the CBKA. This was tinged with great personal sadness later, in November 2023, with the news of Bill Block’s sudden very short illness and death. For 20 years, Bill Block was a dedicated and generous supporter of CBKA as a beekeeper, Impington Bedlam apiary manager, Committee member, spokesperson and mentor to many beekeepers. I feel privileged to have known him and know just how much we will all miss him. Later in April, Sally Knowles led the ever popular CBKA one-day seminar at Wolfson College, Cambridge. This was held as a hybrid event, with attendees also being able to attend online. The event was a great success and I want again to acknowledge Sally for her organisational endurance behind the scenes, because the event had been due to take place at Chesterton Community College, but was let down by their cancellation due to budget cuts. Sally also continued to support CBKA throughout the year, as a Committee member, online talks co-ordinator, and lead on pub socials – which were her idea. Thank you Sally.

The beekeeping season was in full swing in May, and indeed there had been a report of several early April swarms in Cambridgeshire. The Beginners course practical sessions were held at our apiaries at Wandlebury, Impington and Bourn. Here I wish to acknowledge and thank our apiary managers for their support: Stephen Poyser, Bill Block, Roy Cross and Colin Bell. As members may be aware, CBKA are tenants at these apiaries and ideally would like its own teaching apiary and education centre. Doug Brown leads a working group on trying to find an affordable and suitable location close to Cambridge. In mid-May, Doug submitted an apiary proposal with this ambition to the Anglian Water Treatment Works project planned for Milton. Unfortunately, this proved unsuccessful due to some ecology advisors’ concerns over the potential for honeybees to out-compete other insect foragers at the location. Doug continues to investigate potential sites and I thank him for his work on this as well as on the Committee.

At the end of May, Nynke Blömer, a Cambridge University PhD student (and BBKA News desk editor) and her supervisor, asked CBKA Committee for support of a further citizen science project, for beekeepers to participate in a project involving honeybees and bumblebees at their apiaries. The

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research focusses on how bees use the landscape, using both honeybees and bumblebees as study species. The aim was twofold: to study the impact of heavy metals in the soil on behaviour, fitness, and bioaccumulation of bees; and to study whether honeybees and bumblebees forage on the same plant species, whether the density of honeybee colonies changes the foraging behaviour of bumblebees, and how this impacts their reproductive output (e.g. how many queens and drones are produced by the bumblebees). The project took place over the summer months, from June to September 2023, and possibly will continue in the summers of 2024 and 2025. The Impington Bedlam apiary became involved in June.

With sadness and condolences, we learned in June of the death of Wendy Ackers, former secretary of CBKA and apiary manager from 1979-1986.

In July, Jonathan Baynes, a Committee member and former seasonal bee inspector, ran a successful BBKA Basic Assessment preparation course over 4 weeks for 10 beekeepers at his apiary ahead of their exam in August; thank you Jonathan. At the July Committee meeting, Stephen reported that CBKA honey was selling well at events, at £7 per 1lb (454g) jar, and that Derek Blatch was jarring honey for future events. The CBKA Honey Show was held in early August, at a rather wet and cold Quy showground. The weather was in stark contrast to the heatwave that we had experienced the previous year. There were 171 entries and the standard set by the judges was very high indeed, so all those with prizes and commendations should be proud of themselves, and their bees! Thanks to our new honey show secretary, Sandra Chapman, who took over from Hamish Symington. Also to the judges, and to the volunteers at the show: Pam Fearn, Peter Bates, Peter Dawson, Richard Strugnell and Steve Kilmurray. My apologies if I have omitted any additional volunteers!

The 2023 season turned out to be poor for me, as I had reduced down from 7 to 2 hives in my garden. One became queenless, which I requeened with a generously donated virgin queen who then failed to mate and instead happily wandered around the hive. The queen in the second hive also failed! I started again with a kindly donated nucleus from my beekeeping friend Penny and later a very small caste swarm via Philip. It just goes to show that bees always surprise us, and I am concerned that speaking to other beekeepers and reading relevant bee news that queens failing is now becoming increasingly common.

July was a month that I will remember for the increased reporting of Asian

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hornet (AH) sightings in the South of England. This was accompanied by a ramping up of BBKA alerts and educational resources, encouraging each association to beef-up its AH awareness teams. In September, the BBKA promoted the AH week and several of us wrote letters to our local MP concerning the AH and asking for funding of an effective extermination programme. As we ended November, Andrew Durham delivered a wellattended talk to CBKA at Storey’s Field Centre, and Committee members have sought volunteers to be sentinel sites across Cambridgeshire. This was a year of an unprecedented number of AH sightings, with only one single confirmed nest in 2022 compared to 72 nests in 2023 in 56 locations. There were several verified sightings at the end of June with the first nest destroyed 5th July, and the last on 15th November.

On a more positive note, December brought the CBKA annual dinner and awards ceremony which I organised and hosted at the Park Restaurant, Cambridge Regional College. This was a wonderful evening of celebration, with good food and equally delightful company. I was very pleased and proud to present the awards to all the silverware winners from our honey show, as well as the honorary membership medals to Doug Brown and Liz Cox. Thanks again here to Sandra Chapman for her much appreciated support on the evening.

I conclude my final report as I did last year with my profound thanks to all of those mentioned, especially the Committee, but also to all other volunteers not named individually. I have really appreciated their individual contributions and support in running the organisation. Martin Kendall continues to be our IT expert, web-master and membership secretary; he has made major contributions to our new CBKA website as well as to the online membership self-service system - thank you Martin. Thanks also to Peter Connor as treasurer and Peter Bates as newsletter editor. It is thanks to all of you who volunteer that we can hold the many CBKA activities, the apiaries, education, socials and talks programme. For those members who have not yet volunteered I strongly encourage you to do so. I wish you all the very best with your beekeeping this coming season and remember... beekeeping is like a game of chess, though playing against ‘opponents’ who don’t play by anything more than general rules!

Dr J Paul Schofield

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Membership Report

Most members responded to the automated encouragement by our membership system and renewed their membership by the end of the year. Below are the figures for 2023 showing how many members were registered as at closing of the membership year, at 31 December 2023. The figures for 2022 are also shown for information.

Year	Ordinary	Partner	Associate	Non-UK Associate	Honorary	Junior	Total
2022	213	56	94	n/a	4	n/a	367
2023	417	49	133	36	9	0	644

During 2023 the CBKA Junior membership categories were replaced with the BBKA Junior membership types, at £4.50 per child. This represents a 50% discount for our members. In addition, the non-UK Associate members are now automatically assigned with their own distinct “Non-UK Associate Member” category when joining. All Associate memberships are now on a 12-month basis from the date of joining. This offers those attracted to enjoying our online Talks recordings to become Associate members at any time without the limitations of a calendar year membership. All other membership categories continue as before, because they need to be tied to the BBKA insurance policy, which is on a calendar year basis.

The BBKA subscription rates continue at £21 + £2 basic BDI for Ordinary members. The CBKA website continues to process all memberships automatically. PayPal-based payments are no longer available and our online payments are now all based on the Stripe payment processing system, which allows payment by credit/debit card.

The Forum facility in the website has been removed due to lack of interest. The WhatsApp group offering is under review, as there is little usage. Our Facebook group continues on a strictly for members only basis.

Martin Kendall

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Wandlebury Apiary Report

The 9 colonies at the end of 2022 were able to come through the winter in differing strengths, which did not appear to be dependent on the type of hive they were in: National (1 as a brood and a half, with a super on), Dartington or 14 x 12. The winter was uneventful and I was able to treat the hives with oxalic acid (by the trickle method) in early 2023. The varroa control was again successful, to such a degree that it proved difficult to find mites to show beginners during their practical sessions. The hives have again been given a treatment of oxalic acid in early 2024 in an attempt to ensure the colonies start the year with as few varroa mites as possible.

In the early spring of 2023, the colonies were fed fondant icing as an insurance against starvation, and later Candipolline Gold as a pollen substitute to boost brood production. This helped keep the colonies alive, but the weather in early 2023 turned cold for a period of time when the hives ought to have been expanding, so they did not expand as much as in previous years. The cold weather also had the effect of preventing inspections, so when the warm weather did arrive there was an urge for the hives to swarm due to being prevented from flying for a while. Swarm prevention and/ or swarm control had to be implemented, which resulted in 3 splits and 1 Snelgrove manipulation needing to be undertaken in May. The poor weather or other factors resulted in very poor mating of the new queens and either a subsequent failure of the splits or an attempt for them to try and produce a replacement queen.

We again used the apiary for the practical sessions for some of the 2023 beginners. However, the restriction on swarms being brought to Wandlebury (to prevent the spread of European Foul Brood [EFB]) meant that I had to use a CBKA colony to provide a stocked observation hive for use by the education team of wardens at Wandlebury.

The Dartington hive was taken out of use during 2023, because one of the legs was rotting, and its stocked frames were moved into a 14 x 12 brood box. I ended 2023 with 8 hives: 6 in National brood boxes (1 as brood and a half), but 1 was weak and has subsequently failed, and 2 in 14 x 12 brood boxes. EFB was again found to the south of Cambridge, which resulted in 3 notifications of it being found within 3 km of the apiary, but I am pleased to report no EFB

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was found at Wandlebury. The hives collected ivy nectar during the autumn, but they were still fed syrup, treated against varroa with Apiguard, and given mouse guards and woodpecker protection before winter. Fondant icing has already been applied to the hives in January 2024 and it is intended to use Candipolline again in the spring of 2024.

The apiary had a very productive year, with the 7 productive hives yielding 399 lb of honey that will be sold at events in 2024 to supplement the CBKA’s bank account. It was obviously also a very good year for wasps, as I found a total of 49 queen wasps hibernating under the rooves of the hives or in the observation hive when I was preparing them for winter woodpecker protection. Cambridge Past Present and Future (CPPF), our landlords, undertook more work around the shed and the apiary during early 2023 and additional felling of diseased (ash die back) or non-native trees is anticipated in 2024.

If you if you want to be involved to help with the Wandlebury apiary, please contact me. I again intend to use the time for a combination of sharing information and spreading the load of looking after the CBKA interests at Wandlebury, whilst enjoying beekeeping.

Stephen Poyser, Wandlebury Apiary Manager

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Impington Apiary Report

There were 12 colonies treated with Apiguard and fed with syrup in August and September 2022. Two were found to have died when hives were opened to trickle oxalic acid on 17 December. In 2023, candy blocks were given to hives that felt light after hefting and a 500 g pack of Candipolline put on each in February. At the first full inspection on 17 April, there were eight viable colonies with laying queens, so four colonies had been lost since September. By mid-May, colonies had built up and some had started to produce queen cells. Queens were removed from some colonies to make up nucs, while others were artificially swarmed, and there were 15 viable CBKA colonies at the apiary at the end of August.

CBKA members volunteered to come to two frame-building parties on the 11 and 18 February. This was a huge help in making brood frames to replace old ones, and to rewax about 200 super frames. Both sessions were fun, with plenty of bee-chat, and the apiary managers are very grateful to those who helped.

Honey yield is not the main purpose of the training apiary, but a good yield is always satisfying. The neighbouring farm did not grow any fruit in 2023 and this, together with the weather, winter losses and training commitments, affected the yield. Of the 15 hives in the apiary on 29 August 2023, nine had extractable honey in the supers, giving a total yield of 210 lb, which was slightly below the apiary 10-year average of 253 lb. Frames were numbered and extracted using a spinner or with the CBKA Apimelter. The frames will be used on the same hives again, where possible, to reduce the risk of spreading disease.

European Foul Brood (EFB) had been found in the apiary in 2019, 2020 and again in the spring of 2022, but none at an inspection later that year. We were pleased that no EFB was found by Jack Silberrad, the Seasonal Bee Inspector, on 27 April 2023, so the apiary could be used for training new beekeepers. Evening practical training started in mid-May and 17 new beekeepers attended at least one of three sessions in two groups. Thanks go to Milly Farouki, Tomáš Deingruber and Anne-Marie Joswig for enthusiastically helping as trainers at these six sessions.

To reduce the chance of spreading EFB to the apiary, any swarms collected in the local area are now placed in an isolation apiary at a different site on the Bedlam farm, about 600m away from the main apiary. After assessing the

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colonies for laying queens and checking for disease over a few weeks they can then be passed on to new beekeepers.

The apiary was used on 29 July and 26 August to assess beekeepers for their Basic Assessment by Bill Block. Thanks to Lal Goodfellow and Jonathan Baynes for supporting Bill at these assessments. Colonies from the apiary were also used to make up observation hives for the Honey Show at the Cambridge Country Show at Quy, and the Stourbridge Fair.

Bill Block was interested in developing queen rearing skills in the apiary and producing queens to enable this skill to be practiced by the membership. He identified the Punched Cell method, as espoused by Roger Paterson, as an effective and accessible system. Bill and Peter Dawson had two sessions of this in June and July, when the apiary training sessions had finished. The technique was shown to be straight forward and effective, with some success. It was late in the season and a queen raising hive would need to be prepared for more queens to be raised. It is planned to practice this technique again in future.

There are three AgriSound hive monitoring stations at the Impington apiary. These enable the hive weight, temperature and humidity to be recorded remotely. There have been a few technical issues with the system, but hopefully these have now been resolved. Support frames have also been developed and made by Peter to keep the hives level and stable while they are being inspected by old and new beekeepers.

In early September, small colonies were combined with larger ones to give 13 colonies at the main apiary. To control varroa, three were treated using Apiguard and the other 10 using Apivar strips; light colonies were fed with syrup. In mid-September, ten colonies were fed using 6 kg blocks of fondant placed on a queen excluder directly above the brood frames as a trial. Further fondant was fed when the first blocks had been taken down by the bees. This is a system advocated by Dave Evans (The Apiarist blog) and could have several advantages at Impington. Primarily, it would reduce the work involved in buying and making syrup, feeding syrup, cleaning feeders and the number of travel journeys involved in syrup feeding at a busy time of year when honey is being extracted and frames cleaned. It is also thought to aid the production of winter brood, and we look forward to assessing the success of this trial. All colonies were treated with oxalic acid (Apibioxal) to control varroa on 6 December, after a cold spell.

Following the presentation to the CBKA in May, Impington apiary

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participated in a Citizen Science project run by Nynke Blömer and Dr Sarah Scott of the Agroecology Unit of the Dept of Zoology at Cambridge University. This was the first year of this study and we hope to participate again in 2024. Although the Impington apiary was just outside the target area, we contributed to the projects involved in assessing whether honeybees and bumblebees forage on the same species and whether the density of honeybee colonies changes the foraging behaviour of bumblebees.

The apiary managers would like to thank everyone who has helped throughout the year. Many thanks go to Milly Farouki who has helped with regular inspections and maintenance work during the season. The association remains very grateful to Chivers Farms Ltd for their continued support of the CBKA apiary at Bedlam Farm, Impington.

Roy Cross, Bill Block and Peter Dawson (Apiary Managers)

Bill Block

I started beekeeping in 2005 and, as Bill lived in the same road, he volunteered to be my Bee Buddy and mentor. He helped me build my first hive, and when he was notified of a local swarm, he encouraged me to go along with him to collect it as my first colony. From that time on we became great friends and he passed onto me his enthusiasm for beekeeping and his endless interest in bees.

Dr Bill Block worked for the British Antarctic Survey and joined the CBKA in 2003, when he attended the beginner’s course. He already had a considerable knowledge of insects from his lifetime lecturing and studying arthropods, initially in Uganda and then for many years in the Antarctic. He was on the CBKA committee for several years from 2004, and was Vice Chairman from 2007 to 2009. He set up the Education and Training Group in 2006, to coordinate the continual training opportunities for members. These included the beginners and improvers courses, practical training at apiaries, supplying nucs for beginners, talks and study-courses for BBKA examinations.

Bill was a keen advocate of the CBKA. With his lecturing background he wrote many articles for the newsletter and yearbook. He gave many talks as part of the beginner’s theory course, at association meetings, and to the general public, and spoke about bees on local radio. He wanted everyone

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to participate in the CBKA, which he felt has so much to offer. He always entered the honey show and regularly won prizes.

He was a keen practical beekeeper, keeping hives at home and on the Chivers Farm at Impington. Bill volunteered in 2006 to help inspect hives at an association out-apiary in Histon. After the then apiary manager decided to suddenly leave, Bill was left to look after the apiary. He realised it was in a poor location and in 2007 moved it to Manor Farm, Impington. When a playschool opened nearby, the farm suggested the apiary move again to Bedlam Farm. The site was completely overgrown, but Bill saw the potential to set up the current training apiary. He encouraged others to help with the apiary and it soon expanded to 12-15 hives, with a good storage shed complete with solar panels. This enabled the apiary to be used for training beginners and improvers, holding more advanced Practical Apiary Meetings, producing nucs, and producing a fair amount of honey. He was still jointly managing the apiary in 2023, 17 years after he first offered to help.

Always keen to expand his own knowledge of bees and beekeeping, Bill studied for and gained the General Husbandry Certificate (GHC) in 2015. At the beginners practical sessions, he would always encourage new beekeepers to attend the Improvers course and take the Basic Assessment. His GHC, with further training, allowed him to examine candidates for the Basic Assessment exam, something he did for several years and was still doing in July and August 2023 when he was not feeling completely well.

When a monitoring system to measure hive weight, temperature and humidity was offered to the apiary in 2021 he was immediately interested and keen to learn about it. Bill installed the sensors, dealt with technical problems and was keen to start analysing the data to find out what was happening in a closed hive. Always wanting to learn more, over the past 3 years he was keen to try various queen rearing techniques and tried different methods with some success.

Bill showed that you can still be actively beekeeping and trying new ideas when you are 86. He always seemed happiest at the apiary where he could pass his knowledge and enthusiasm on to others or just sit with a cup of tea and share biscuits made by his wife May, while chatting about bees, natural history and life. He will be greatly missed by me and I’m sure many others in the association.

Roy Cross

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Bourn Apiary Report

The unusually mild autumn of 2022, followed by an almost overnight cold snap to -10C, caused problems for all our overwintering colonies. Just about all showed evidence of losses, with piles of dead bees outside the hive entrances, but thankfully all but one full colony and one nuc survived the winter. All colonies were treated with oxalic acid (dribble method) in early January, as an aid to reducing varroa, and all were given fondant icing (Tesco variety) and then regularly checked with fondant top-ups to guard against starvation. In early spring, once the outer plastic protection and mouse guards were removed, each colony received a pack of home-made pollen substitute, which always gives a boost and colonies increase in size very quickly. Unknowingly, this was added just prior to the prolonged wet spring of 2023, so as soon as the weather improved the bees were rearing to go and all our efforts were engaged on swarm control.

A Sunday in March was earmarked for frame building with 7 volunteers working very hard, not just making frames, but also tidying the site and repainting the shed. Food was provided by Val Bell, with hot drinks available courtesy of Mark Taylor.

Our regular NBU inspection confirmed the Bourn Apiary remains European Foul Brood (EFB) free, but with EFB getting ever closer and cases reported in Barton in 2023, we must all remain vigilant. Biosecurity remains a priority, with nitrile over-gloves provided and all helpers and visitors to the apiary asked to wear clean newly-washed bee-suits and not to bring unsterilised equipment onto the site.

Again this year, the apiary hosted beginners for their practical sessions. Four colonies were made available for course participants to experience hands-on inspections over three Wednesday evenings in May. My thanks go to those who gave their time to assist with the preparation and help on the evenings. As well as colony management, emphasis was given to biosecurity, disease management and swarm collection. An open invitation was given to all who attended the course to continue visiting the Bourn apiary, and I’m pleased to say a number continued to come along and proved to be valued members of the Tuesday evening team.

Queen mating was somewhat erratic this year due to the poor weather. Prolonged wet spells managed to coincide with windows of opportunity for

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mating flights on a good few occasions. However, we managed to provide nucs to all beginners requiring them, with some of our new members being able to make up their own nucs, and what a pleasure it was to see the joy on their faces when eggs were spotted for the first time in their own nucs.

We had a very small summer crop of honey due to the wet July and August; the summer crop would usually be left on the colonies to assist with autumn/ winter stores, so a decision was made to leave at least one super on every hive for a few more weeks. The sun finally came out and gave us a September heatwave. The bees loved it and over the first two weeks of September the nectar flowed. Rather than our usual seasons, we seem to be getting more and more extreme weather events. A main crop in July and boxes off by mid-August is probably going to become more rare. I think the time has come where we have to be more flexible and learn to work with the weather we experience.

Early autumn varroa treatment was carried out with Apivar on all the colonies, with full colonies receiving two strips each and nucs receiving one strip each. Rather than use our old plastic bags as woodpecker protection, Mark Taylor managed to source some builders plastic damp-proof membrane 18 in wide from a local building suppliers. This proved to be a perfect size and made the cutting and stapling of plastic to the outside of the hives very quick and easy. No Apikel was purchased this year and a home-made feed of sugar and water with the addition of a very small amount of thymol was given to all colonies, as required, during autumn. Once again, a mild autumn has seen the bees active on most days. The liquid feed was changed early in November to fondant (purchased from Tesco) and will be regularly checked throughout the winter as insurance against starvation.

The traditional time to give the winter oxalic acid varroa treatment is early in the new year, but with our warming climate and warmer winters comes a dilemma, because ideally the treatment requires the queen to be dormant, with no open brood in the hive. The continued winter activity we see within hives suggests our queens are continuing to produce brood almost without a break year on year. Unless we have a prolonged cold spell, the Bourn bees will not receive oxalic acid treatment this time. Next year we will review our varroa treatment and decide if it’s practical to use the oxalic acid much earlier, possibly in November or early December.

My thanks to all who have helped throughout the season and to the new beekeepers who continued to attend our Tuesday evenings and whose

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attendances and help proved invaluable. Finally, very special thanks must go to Mark Taylor who, in early May, was admitted into Papworth for major heart surgery. Even from his hospital bed he kept the WhatsApp group up to date and within a few weeks of his discharge from Papworth he was back at the apiary on light duties. Now the tables are turned, I will be on light duties for the first part of the new season as I will be having a hip replacement operation in February.

Colin Bell (Bourn Apiary Manager)

CBKA Equipment Use

Recorded borrowing of CBKA equipment from the Wandlebury bee-shed for the period 2015 to 2023 is shown below. It is not a comprehensive list, because some items were borrowed without being signed out and some items were out for many months as a single booking (e.g. virtual hive for events and several series of talks, as in previous years). The records indicate that the yield of honey in 2023 was less than many (if not all) recent years, which is probably due to the unusual weather we had in the spring when colonies were trying to build up.

tryingto build up.
	2015	2016	2107	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Extractors	85	79	106	79	65	85	60	73	58
Pratley trays	34	39	52	39	35	38	22	35	26
Honey tanks	13	24	25	18	13	17	15	21	23
Wax melter	2	1	1	2	2	2	1	3	4
Easi-steam	0	0	10	1	4	1	2	9	3
Virtual hive	2	7	9	5	7	0	1	5	8
Creamer-paddle	-	-	-	-	2	1	0	2	1
Candle moulds	-	-	-	-	3	2	0	2	4
Apimelter	-	-	-	-	-	7	7	7	4

In addition to the items above, do not forget that the CBKA have filters, an electric uncapping knife, an uncapping tray and wax processing equipment, including solar wax extractors that can be borrowed if required. Please return any equipment in a state you would want to find it and return it as soon

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as possible after use. A reminder that when you borrow a Pratley tray, you ensure you take the correct electric lead, because there are 3 different types; you will have had a wasted journey if you take the wrong lead for the tray you have borrowed. Do not move a Pratley tray when it is full of hot water because you run the risk of fracturing the soldered seams on the tray and this is a problem for us to repair. When returning a Pratley tray, please ensure the electric lead, wax filter and wooden uncapping board are also returned.

If you find, when you are using an item, that something is broken, or it breaks whilst you are using it, please inform us so that repairs can be implemented before somebody else takes the item home only to find they have had a wasted journey.

The access track to the bee-shed has a gate and chain, with a combination link padlock fitted by the CBKA to the Wandlebury Wardens’ padlock. Please our padlock through the chain and the Wardens’ padlock when leaving the site, to enable both the CBKA members and the Wardens to unlock and use the track. The bee-shed is fitted with movement sensors to switch the lights on and off; therefore, you do not need to find a switch to turn the lights off when you leave, but do please make sure you lock the bee-shed door.

In order to borrow equipment, you will require both the gate padlock code and the new door code; the door code will be changed again in early 2024. In an attempt to ensure only members of the CBKA use the equipment, when you contact us for the codes you may be kept waiting on the phone – even though we may recognise your name. This is while your 2024 membership details are checked. When you have been given the codes to access the bee-shed, please do not pass the codes to others , otherwise we have no knowledge of who has borrowed equipment or even if they are still members of the CBKA.

Please keep borrowed equipment for as short a time as possible (7 days as a maximum) because it is inconsiderate to other CBKA members for anyone to have equipment out for a long period of time. Please remember in 2024 to be considerate of other members if you borrow any equipment.

Please ensure you book the equipment out and back in when appropriate, putting details on the note-pad hanging adjacent to the extractors, and please write clearly and legibly because we need to know who you are.

Bill Clark and Stephen Poyser (Wandlebury Equipment Coordinators)

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The Inspector’s Brief

With spring rapidly approaching, the inspectorate is looking ahead keenly to a new season and new challenges. In 2023, we witnessed an unprecedented incursion of Asian hornets, with more than 70 nests tracked down and destroyed. Inspectors spent weeks and sometimes months at a time all over the South Coast and across to Cornwall, sacrificing management of their personal lives and hives for eradication of this invasive pest. The National Bee Unit would like to thank all those who continue to support our work, and Cambridgeshire’s Asian Hornet Team, led by my predecessor Jonathan Baynes, will play a key role in monitoring and reporting should any sightings occur.

Briefly, as I am sure we are all aware, Asian hornets are discernible by a black body, yellow legs, and a yellow band on the fourth segment of the abdomen; it is smaller than the European hornet, which is itself akin to a large wasp. Often spotted feeding on ivy flowers late in the season, if on the wing the Asian hornet is broadly bullet shaped and dark in colour. A simple aid memoire: “if it’s yellow it’s a euro; if it’s black it’s worth a snap!” Whilst a specimen alive or dead is optimal, the safest and easiest option is to photograph and report via the Asian Hornet Watch app. Equally, I would caution for those trapping that it behoves us to ensure we check for and free any by-catch in our traps. The ecological risk from thousands of unmonitored traps destroying the local insect population is exactly the damage we are all working to avoid by preventing Asian hornets becoming established.

Despite numerous projects running concurrently with Track and Trace activities, disease inspections continued apace in 2023, with numerous cases of European Foulbrood (EFB) found in satellite towns and villages about Cambridgeshire, as well as within the city limits. Owing to the disruption caused by changing priorities, it is difficult to ascertain with confidence the rise or fall in case numbers, but a high percentage of targeted inspections did turn up positive results. Beekeepers with high numbers of infections in the preceding year (2022) continue to contribute a large proportion of the area’s disease burden. I have personally heard the phrase ‘EFB-Free area’ or similar, and would caution that an absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. This is especially true for the slow-burning and often symptomless initial stages of strain 39 (formerly 37) unique to Cambridgeshire.

I always welcome contact from beekeepers, especially where I can often

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reply within 24 h, providing relief for misidentified and less serious disorders, or even just mouldy pollen. I would happily receive and relieve 1000 emails with pictures of pollen to identify a single case of EFB. I can be reached by email at [e-mail] or by text, WhatsApp and telephone on 07776 165869 . Bee Disease Insurance continues to function extremely well, with insured beekeepers receiving compensation within days of treatment, most of which involved shook-swarms with comparatively few destructions. If you know somebody who has gone through this process, please speak to them if they are willing, and I am sure they will echo the positive experiences of other beekeepers I have worked with; otherwise, see this summarised in the post-seminar interview on YouTube – search “Honey Show Bee Craft” and my name.

In general, the best defence is good apiary hygiene – wash suits, boots, and the bellows on our smokers – see where your fingers sit and observe the propolis! I can only assume many of us have taken ‘99p or EFB!’ and bought lots of soda; at £2 per kilo it will still make 5 litres of cleaning solution, used in 1 litre portions for hive tool and glove cleaning with a ball of steel wool. Next is maintaining strong healthy colonies; treat for varroa, whether you use acaracides or integrated pest management. V. destructor is indisputably the leading cause of colony collapse and failure during the post-winter period of variable temperatures globally. Finally, when giving collected swarms the best start in their new hive remember: House swarms on fresh undrawn foundation only: Drawn comb allows immediate deposition of honey from the mother colony – and potentially disease from therein! Feed a swarm only after 3 days, if at all: The swarm will use the honey-crop it arrived with for energy, maximising clearance of disease; feeding is unnecessary during a flow. Treat your swarms for varroa mites: Swarms carry about half the varroa mites of the mother colony; when comb-drawing indicates a settled swarm (after ~7 days) consider a varroa treatment. Oxalic acid-based treatments during this period with open brood would be very effective.

With all the hard work and affirmative action from beekeepers in hives with their stock, and the field for Asian hornets, I am confident we can continue to operate effectively for the betterment of bee health locally and nationally. I very much look forward to working with Cambridgeshire’s beekeepers in 2024.

Jack Silberrad – Seasonal Bee Inspector

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Beginners Course Report

2023 Beginners : After the cancellation of our bookings for the Rex Freeman Hall by Chesterton Community College in late December 2022, we eventually negotiated with them to hold our course on a series of Saturdays in the Dining Hall (as a result of our usual venue being already booked by another group). Although not ideal the Dining Hall provided more positive points than any other venue we investigated in early 2023. There is no doubt the change of day and time, together with the delay in not being able to commence the Course until very late February, resulted in a significant withdrawal of participants on the course.

We ran it from 25 February for 4 Saturdays, with 4 hours of lectures on each day, which was not ideal but it did provide some positive results: we only needed to attend for 4 days not 8 evenings, we travelled in daylight and not on cold, wet evenings, and we only had to transport all the props 4 times instead of 8. We had 48 paid-up attendees and the theory element of the course was duly completed well before we were able to undertake the practical meetings.

European Foul Brood (EFB) again proved to be a problem at Impington, so the practical sessions were undertaken at Wandlebury and Bourn. However, the cold and wet weather also proved to be a problem, with some practical sessions needing to be reorganised as it would have been cruel to open the hives (for the bees, tutors and beginners) on some of the allocated evenings. The provision of bees for the beginners was again an issue, with the threat of EFB resulting in fewer swarms being collected or provided, and the weather resulting in splits not having properly mated queens to ensure the nuc would survive. Yet again, even though we only guarantee 3 practical sessions, they proved to be essential for the beginners to understand a significant amount of the theory they had received from their books and in the “classroom”.

The Autumn preparation lecture was provided in September, and the final lecture for the course was provided on 13 January 2024. Many thanks to all of the members who helped with the course, IT experts, administrators, PA organisers, speakers, apiary beekeepers, mentors and providers of bees (plus any others I may have omitted); without a team effort to provide the course it would not happen and Cambridgeshire would be a poorer place for the lack of future beekeepers.

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2024 Beginners: The “Introductory Session ” was held in September 2023, where prospective beekeepers were given information to enable them to decide if beekeeping was for them. Subsequently, 47 have enrolled, with an expectation that we will have just over 50 attendees when the course starts in February. We will certainly be wanting help in providing nucs of bees for the beginners and giving both time and expertise with the practical sessions, so please let me know if you are willing to be involved in any of these.

We will also be trying to link every beginner with a mentor / bee-buddy so they have a point of contact for a conversation or to offer help with any problem. Again therefore, please offer to help if you possibly can so that we can put the beginners together with someone in their area. Stephen Poyser, Beginners Course Coordinator

Events Coordinator Report

The CBKA attended 6 Fairs and Shows during 2023, where our members experienced keen interest and enthusiasm to learn about bees and beekeeping from the visitors. Reach Fair, Harston Open Gardens, the Honey Show at Stow cum Quy (2 days), Stourbridge Fair, Gransden Show and Darwin Garden Centre resulted in extremely good honey sales with the majority of visitors coming to the CBKA stand then buying honey. Tasting was reintroduced post-covid and proved as popular as ever. There were still cash sales, but card sales were predominant on the newer Zettle handset that does not require connecting to a mobile phone. This proved an easier option and was welcomed by show helpers.

Further innovations this year have included new poster board displays, written and produced by Hamish Symington. I and many other helpers found the concertina gazebo heavy and an effort to erect, so a 4m x 6m marquee has been purchased and proves much lighter in weight to transport and needs less people to put it up. The larger gazebo was still used at Reach Fair and Pam and Peter brought their smaller gazebo to Harston Gardens. The CBKA stand sign became worn and so our latest purchase is of a Flag Banner with an excellent design of bees and CBKA logo, which will be visible across a show ground to attract more visitors. Do look out for this at shows in 2024.

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The Observation Hive is always a huge draw for the general public, and thanks go to those CBKA Members – Jonathan Baynes, Peter Dawson and Stephen Poyser – who provided one for every show this year. There were also more members jarring the CBKA honey stored in 30lb tubs. This timeconsuming task used to be solely provided by Stephen Poyser, and grateful thanks go to Derek Blatch and Susan Wilkie for sharing this work load.

The sales at events in 2023 are shown below ,with the bulk of the honey again coming from the CBKA apiaries at Wandlebury and Impington:

1 lb liquid honey = 284 1 lb set honey = 87 3/4 lb liquid honey = 122 3/4 lb set honey = 71 1/2 lb liquid honey = 162 Cut comb = 35 Wax blocks = 53

Although the primary aim of attending events is to promote beekeeping and educate the public on bees, there is no doubt people really enjoy seeing some bees and talking to people who know about it. We beekeepers also learn from the visitors about what concerns them in respect of climate, nature, wildlife and changes to cropping and gardens.

None of these events would work without our loyal team of volunteer event helpers. Grateful thanks go to Louise Bailey, Peter Bates, Jonathan Baynes, Hazel Bickle, Derek Blatch, Benoit Brard, Peter Dawson, Julie Dore, Pam Fearn, Jaquie Finn, Graham Jarrett, Sally Knowles, Stephen Poyser, Philip Turon and Susan Wilkie, plus the numerous helpers organised by Pam Fearn to run the Quy Honey Show. Reach Fair on Bank Holiday Monday 6 May 2024 is already booked, together with Quy and Gransden later in the year, and a full list of Shows in 2024 will be circulated soon.

Hazel Bickle and Stephen Poyser

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Exam Secretary’s Report

Last summer we had 10 candidates attend training provided by Jonathan Baynes, assisted by Michael Wilton-Cox, to prepare them to take their BBKA Basic Assessments. The examiner was our wonderful Bill Block, who sadly passed away later in the year. The CBKA owes so much to Bill who had encouraged, supported and assessed so many of our members over the years and he will be greatly missed.

Many congratulations to all the candidates who passed their Basic Assessment.

• Graham Jarrett, John Moore – Distinction,

• Caitlin Jarrett, James Tysome, Sally Knowles, Nicola Meidlinger – Credit

• Ian Mackenzie, Grant Baker – Pass

Congratulations also to the candidates who passed Module exams. James Tysome received a Credit in Module 1 and Alison Goodfellow received a Credit in Module 3.

Finally, we must give very special congratulations to Ann Mahaffey who has passed her General Husbandry Practical Assessment.

Alison Goodfellow

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External Talks

I start by thanking all of those of you who have spoken in 2023, either via the outreach programme or on a personal contact basis. As I said in last year’s report, the primary purpose of CBKA is to “ promote and further the craft of beekeeping ”. At the time of writing, we are in the CBKA annual membership renewal period and I am pleased that we have 20 volunteers so far who have indicated that they are willing to give talks in 2024. I would be delighted if any members reading this would contact me directly if they wish to volunteer, via either [e-mail] or [e-mail].

I have prepared PowerPoint slide sets suitable for either young children or older people. CBKA also has a lightweight computer projector that I can arrange to be collected by a speaker. For young children it is often better not to use slides, but rather engage their interest via a ‘show-and-tell’, e.g. dressed in a bee-suit, and take along a smoker, hive tool, a jar of honey, beeswax comb, etc. For older children I often take along a virtual hive. I particularly like the CBKA-owned WBC model hive as it is attractive, small and more portable than the other CBKA virtual National hives. With apologies for any omissions, I have recorded below those talks that I’m aware of that were given in 2023:

Julie Dore gave talks at Trumpington Primary School and Gamlingay Primary School. She added: “I did a talk in May (twice to 2 reception groups) at Trumpington Primary school. I took some of my equipment and the virtual hive, as they were so young and I thought a slide presentation might be too much. They were very interested and loved looking at the hive. It must have gone down well because I have recently received a request from the teacher to do it again this coming May! I also gave a talk in June (a repeat request) at Gamlingay Primary School. This was to older children, so I gave a slideshow and took my equipment to show them. They were very knowledgeable about bees already, which was very reassuring to find out, and very passionate about providing them with flowers to feed on. I also had some interesting questions such as which came first, bees or wasps?” [Note: from CBKA One Day meeting talk by Marin Anastasov – wasps came first!] Rebecca Strivens gave outreach talks in May at Histon & Impington Park Primary school, one to each reception class. She commented: “I gave talks to two reception classes who were studying mini beasts. We talked about identifying honeybees and similar insects such as wasps, hornets and other

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kinds of bees. We also talked about how we can help bees by planting flowering plants that have small flowers, not using poisons, etc. We also talked about what bees forage for and how bees communicate. They were both lovely sessions!” Rebecca also gave a beekeeping talk to a day-centre for the elderly, arranged through personal contacts.

Richard Strugnell delivered 2 talks and explains: “At Keddington WI, there was an audience of about 25. As well as including an introduction to bees and beekeeping, this talk also included a section on notable women beekeepers which was well received. At Keddington Men’s Breakfast Club, held at Keddington Village Hall, there were about 20 people in attendance. This talk covered an introduction to bees and beekeeping, as well as the history of humanity’s connection with bees. There was a general interest in adulteration of honey, I think because of recent press reports.”

Ralph Bayley gave a talk to years 5 and 6 pupils at Heritage School, Cambridge. Bill Block gave an outreach talk in late June to East Chesterton WI.

Maggie Gould delivered one presentation on Beekeeping to ‘Women of Orwell’, which is a village society with a membership of around 60 and regularly has 30-40 (mainly female) attendees. She explained: “I think there were about 30 on the night I presented, although I didn’t count! I took a beehive in with me, and had a presentation (mostly pictures) to support the talk. The presentation was entitled ‘beekeeping through the seasons’ and I took the audience through the basic activities of both bees and the beekeeper throughout the year. I also covered ‘bee friendly planting’ as many of those in the audience were interested in learning what they could do to help support bees in the village - even if they didn’t keep bees themselves.”

Lastly, I personally gave talks to all ages in 2023, ranging from reception class children, all the way through to retired groups. I have ordered these by month (it was a busy May!): February, Earith WI; March, St Phillips Primary School, Cambridge; May, St Ive’s Public library ‘Engage Talk’, Somersham Primary School, Swaffham Prior Primary School, Swaffham Bulbeck Primary School, Brook Primary School Histon, and Downham Primary School; October, Cambridge Soroptimists.

Thank you again to all of those mentioned, and also those that I am either unaware of or I may have forgotten. The talks continue to demonstrate that we are fulfilling our primary purpose about promoting beekeeping! Paul Schofield (Outreach Co-ordinator)

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Talks programme

The lasT year saw the continuation of the inspiring programme of talks hosted by the CBKA online via zoom. Led by Sally Knowles, the talks covered a wide range of topics, from practical seasonal bee management to cutting edge research into disease and resistance. By taking the talks programme online, Sally and the working party have transformed it, bringing together an international line-up of speakers and audience of beekeepers. In 2023, there were 14 talks, with an average of 250 people in each audience, which is an impressive statistic and an important contributor to meeting the CBKA’s charitable aim of providing education about bees and beekeeping. A particular favourite of mine was Bob Binnie, speaking about the shocking level of toxicity of old comb.

There were also 3 in-person talks that brought a local audience to Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington, to hear Ben Grieg speaking about local initiatives with On the Verge and Pesticide Free Cambridge, Fiona Dickson speaking about how to Present Honey for Show and to Sell, and Andrew Durham about the very real and imminent threat of the Asian Hornet.

The One Day Seminar, held in April at Wolfson College, Cambridge, brought together more than 65 people to hear Robert Pickard, Lynne Ingram, Clare Densley and Martin Hann, and Marin Anastasov. The latter was beamed in via zoom as Covid had struck again. However, it did not detract from a fascinating day, and there was another chance to view the film ‘A thousand bees of my garden’ by Martin Dohrn, which was a highlight for many.

The talks for the programme running in 2024 are being advertised via Mailchimp, and free registration is through Ticket Tailor rather than Eventbrite because of rising costs associated with the latter. So do make sure you open your Mailchimp bulletins to find out about the talks, and to add it to your contacts list so they don’t end up in spam. The talks are also listed in advance on the CBKA website, so do check in from time to time.

All of the online talks are recorded and uploaded to the CBKA website and the YouTube Channel. This Online Talks Archive is a fantastic resource for CBKA members to listen to talks they missed or re-listen to past talks, when logged into the website.

Alison Turnbull

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The CBKA Library

We have purchased some interesting new books for the library this year: “A lifetime of beekeeping mistakes” by Geoff Critchley. This is an amusing story about his life as a beekeeper and Bee Inspector, but also contains useful practical advice.

“Communication between honeybees: more than just a dance in the dark” by Jurgan Tautz. Exciting and surprising insights on communication between bees, with some stunning illustrations.

“The Wisdom of the hive” by Thomas Dyer Seeley. A book about the inner workings of the honeybee colony, describing and illustrating the results of years of experimental studies conducted by the author.

“Honeybee anatomy brought to life” and “Honeybee drones”. Two books by Graham Kingham who will be one of our speakers at this year’s One-Day Seminar.

We currently have over 200 books available to borrow by any CBKA members and the updated book list is on the website. The library includes many books that would be useful to anyone wishing to take any of the BBKA modules or the Basic Assessments, or to anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of any aspect of beekeeping. Please do get in touch with me if you have any questions about the book collection.

Alison Goodfellow

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AGM Minutes

Minutes of the CBKA Annual General Meeting

Sunday 2 April 2023, 3 pm, at Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington Avenue, Cambridge CB1 1AA

Apologies and Chairman’s Introduction –

Apologies were received from Colin Bell, Hazel Bickle, Jane Cornell, Peter Dawson, Sally Knowles, Andrew McKeown, Rebecca Strivens and Mark Taylor. The meeting was quorate with 32 voting members attending.

Chairman’s report – Please see the 2022 CBKA Yearbook for all Committee reports. Paul thanked all the Committee members who had volunteered to help the Association. In the past year, in particular the Apiary Managers: Stephen Poyser (Wandlebury), Bill Block and Roy Cross (Impingrton) and Colin Bell (Bourn), noting that their contributions to the practical section of the Beginners’ Course was highly valued. Feedback has indicated that instruction in the practical aspects of beekeeping is very important to course attendees.

Paul stressed the importance of volunteers overall to a charitable organisation, such as the CBKA, and regretted that so few members offer their time.

Toby Carter proposed adoption of the Minutes of the AGM held on 2 April 2022 via Zoom. Carried unanimously.

Treasurer’s report including presentation of the accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021 – Please see the Yearbook 2022 for a full report from the Treasurer. In summary, the higher cost of CBKA membership as a result of the BBKA’s increasing annual fees has not had a significant effect on membership numbers. The Association’s cash reserves remain high as it has not been possible to find a suitable site for a new apiary and centre for beekeeping excellence in Cambridgeshire

In response to a question from the floor, the Treasurer said that the CBKA has given £4000 for grants to research projects. These include an investigation into EFB. This is currently slightly delayed due to illness. The project aims to collect and analyse samples from swarms to determine the

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level of EFB infection.

Due to a change in personnel, the current status of the EARS (Eastern Associations Research Studentships) project was not known.

Election of Trustees – In accordance with the CBKA’s constitution, one third of the Association’s trustees must step down at the AGM and, if so willing, offer themselves for re-election. This year, the following stepped down:

Secretary: Susan Wilkie – There are currently no nominations for the position of Secretary, so the post will remain open for the time being. The Chair thanked Susan for her contribution to the CBKA.

Treasurer: Peter Connor – Re-election proposed by Alison Goodfellow; seconded by Jonathan Baynes. Carried unanimously.

Election of up to Six Committee Members – In accordance with CBKA’s constitution, the Association’s non-trustee Committee Members must step down at the AGM and, if so willing, offer themselves for re-election. The following Committee Members had indicated their willingness to stand for re-election: Jonathan Baynes, Alison Goodfellow, Sally Knowles, Stephen Poyser, Philip Turon. A further nomination was received from Alison Turnbull.

Jonathan Baynes, proposed by Philip Turon, seconded by Peter Connor Alison Goodfellow, proposed by Peter Bates, seconded by Susan Wilkie Philip Turon, proposed by Jonathan Baynes, seconded by Peter Bates Stephen Poyser, proposed by Paul Schofield, seconded by Toby Carter Alison Turnbull, proposed by Sally Knowles, seconded by Alison

Goodfellow

Sally Knowles, proposed by Alison Goodfellow, seconded by Liz Cox All carried by the meeting.

Election of President – Bill Clark, proposed by Stephen Poyser, seconded by Bill Block – carried by the meeting.

Honorary Members 2022 –John Rayner and David Abson were awarded Honorary Membership in 2022 for their many years of service to the CBKA. John was presented with his medal. David was not present.

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Honorary Members 2023 – The Committee proposed conferring Honorary Membership on Bill Block, Doug Brown, Liz Cox and Ann Waldock. All have given the CBKA many years of dedicated service.

Bill Block has previously been on the Committee for many years (from 2004), Vice-Chair of the CBKA (2007, 2008, 2009) and has been a regular presenter on the Beginners’ Course for many years, together with being the principal Manager of the Impington Apiary since 2007, with the assistance of other when required.

Doug Brown has made a significant contribution to the CBKA over many years in various Committee positions. He is an ex-Chair of the BBKA and has been the CBKA’s delegate to the BBKA ADM for many years. He has also been leading the search for a new CBKA apiary.

Liz Cox was Membership Secretary for several years. Her insightful contributions to Committee meeting discussions were always greatly appreciated. She liaised with the Charity Commission and drew up the constitution for the ‘new’ CBKA as an Incorporated Charitable Organisation.

Ann Waldock ensured for many years that essential refreshments were always available at Talks and AGMs. She frequently volunteered to help at external events, including stewarding at the Honey Show for which she regularly provided numerous entries. She has also mentored and helped many new beekeepers.

The meeting voted that Honorary Membership be conferred on Bill, Doug, Liz and Ann.

AOB and questions for the Committee

Bill Block informed the meeting that the Busway route as currently proposed would run through Chivers Farm and Bedlam Farm, and consequently affect the CBKA’s Impington Apiary. He had written to the consultation about this.

Liz Cox suggested lobbying the CBKA’s Vice Presidents to see if they could offer any help with finding a site for a new apiary.

Liz Cox asked how the Committee proposed to ensure that the Secretary’s duties were fulfilled until someone could be found to fill the post of Secretary. The Chair replied that the Committee would ensure that the Secretary’s duties were fully covered by the other Committee members and that this approach, although not ideal, had been successful in the past.

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Martin Harnor proposed that the Committee consider conferring Honorary Membership on Sally Knowles to recognise her work in bringing a successful online programme of Talks to the CBKA membership and beyond. Those present were reminded that the CBKA One-Day Seminar 2023 would be taking place on 15 April and were encouraged to attend.

Susan appealed on behalf of the Events Coordinator, Hazel Bickle, for volunteers to help at the fairs and shows that the CBKA attends. Paul added that volunteers were also needed at the Honey Show in Quy in August and also mentioned that Sandra Chapman had taken over from Hamish Symington as Honey Show Secretary.

Meeting closed at 4.05 pm.

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Treasurer’s Report

For the Year Ended 31 December 2023 I am pleased to report that the Association has had another successful year, fulfilling its charitable objectives and generating a surplus of approximately £5,100 (compared to c . £3,000 in 2022) for future activities. It would be premature to suggest that life has returned to normal after Covid-19, but the Association is undertaking its full range of activities. That is only possible due to the efforts of the many volunteers who so generously offer their time and efforts to support our training activities and attend events. I would like to thank them all for their enthusiasm and hard work.

Summary of income and expenditure for 2023: The following table summarises the income and expenditure in 2023, together with the equivalent figures for 2022, categorised by each source of income and its associated costs, with further detail on each set out in the narrative below the table.

Income: The CBKA derives its income from the following sources:

1. Members’ subscriptions and donations. The largest source of the CBKA’s income is members’ subscriptions and donations. The total received from members, including amounts they paid for additional BDI insurance, BeeCraft magazine subscriptions and donations towards research, was c . £16,800, which was broadly the same as the previous year. Within that total, subscription income decreased by c . £900 compared to 2022, due to fewer Ordinary and Partner members this year. There was no increase in membership rates during 2023. Donations received from members with their subscriptions were, however, c . £450 higher than in 2022.

2. Educational activities. The second largest source of income for the CBKA is normally its educational activities, comprising: The Beginners’ Course, The Improvers’ Course, The One-Day Seminar, and other events, such as the Bee Disease Day, coach trips and the Annual Dinner

The Beginners’ Course was once again a great success, although with fewer participants than 2022 as our usual venue, Chesterton Community College, cancelled our bookings with no notice and the change of dates for lectures from Wednesday evenings to Saturdays meant some prospective beekeepers were unable to join the course. As a result, income from the Beginners’

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1 From / on behalf of members 2 Educational activities 3 Te sale of products 4 Other income, including GifAid 5 Running the Association’s apiaries 6 Running the Association 7 Grants to research organisations	2023 2022
	Inc. £ Exp £. Net £. Inc. £ Exp. £ Net £ 16,756 (11,635) 5,121 16,723 (11,662) 5,061 7,083 (6,275) 808 6,398 (4,447) 1,951 5,124 (2,684) 2,440 4,576 (2,020) 2,556 2,981 - 2,981 2,033 - 2,033 - (3,971) (3,971) - (2,276) (2,276) - (2,234) (2,234) - (2,278) (2,278) - - - - (4,000) (4,000)
	31,944 (26,799) 5,145 29,730 (26,683) 3,047

Course was down £1,400 on 2023. However, we were able to hold our first One-Day Seminar since before Covid, which was very well attended with ticket sales of £3,200.

1. The sale of products. As Covid-19 restrictions eased, the Association has been able to attend more events, and it is reassuring to see the public’s continuing demand for high quality honey when it is available. Income from the sale of honey, both on behalf of members and that from the Association’s apiaries, increased by £1,400. Income in 2023 included £900 from the sale of wax to Thorne’s.

2. Other income. Other income is primarily GiftAid, which remains a very welcome supplement to the Association’s income. It effectively funds the dayto-day administrative costs of running the Association, enabling the Trustees to

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channel all of the income from members and the Association’s other activities into its charitable activities. Therefore, I encourage all members who are able to take advantage of GiftAid to do so on their membership renewal forms.

Expenditure : Expenditure during the year related to the following:

1. On behalf of members. The majority of the subscriptions paid by members is paid across to organisations such as the BBKA and BDI, or to BeeCraft if members purchase a subscription through the Association.

2. Educational activities. Expenditure on educational activities relates primarily to room hire and speakers’ fees for the Beginners’ and Improvers’ Courses, and our talks programme, together with the cost of the One-Day Seminar and Annual Dinner. The cost of running this year’s Beginners’ Course was lower than last year following the changes forced on us by Chesterton Community College, (although this did not fully compensate for the reduced attendance). The cost of holding the One-Day Seminar was £3,300, while the cost of the Annual Dinner was £1,000.

3. Products for sale. Costs associated with the sale of products primarily comprise the purchase of honey from members, the cost of jars and labels for the Association’s honey, and the cost of attending events, especially the Honey Show. The increase in these costs in 2023 was primarily due to the increased sale of members’ honey in 2023.

4. Running the Association’s apiaries. The total cost of running the Association’s apiaries at Bourn, Impington and Wandlebury, was broadly the same as 2022. The Association’s apiary managers and their teams do a wonderful job of managing the apiaries and supporting the teaching and training that we do. I would like to thank them all for their hard work once again in 2023.

In addition, the Association invested £1,700 in new equipment, including a new gazebo, banner and display cases for use at events, a new projector, and various recent publications for the Association library. There had been no equivalent expenditure in 2022.

1. Running the Association. A significant proportion of the costs of running the Association are printing and postage, including this Yearbook. These have been falling for a number of years as communication has moved online – with a corresponding increase in website and related costs.

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As noted above, GiftAid currently funds these activities, and the Trustees constantly seek to minimise the administrative costs of the Association. However, inflation has increased the vast majority of our costs as it has for so many others.

1. Research grants. Last year the Association donated £4,000 to Newcastle University to fund specific research on EFB, which continues to impact many members around Cambridge. The Trustees did not receive any suitable applications for research funding in 2023; the Association has contributed to the funding of a specific PhD student in conjunction with other local associations as part of the Eastern Associations Research Studentship scheme for a number of years, but the individual expected to start their PhD this year has temporarily deferred the start of their course. We hope to resume funding honeybee-related research later this year.

Reserves: The surplus for the year has increased the Association’s reserves to c . £84,000. The majority of the Association’s assets are held in cash, and the closing cash balance was c . £83,000. The Trustee’s policy is to hold sufficient reserves to protect the Association from potential reductions in its future income, whilst also generating the initial funding that would be required to establish a centre of excellence for beekeeping in the Cambridge area. The level of reserves is reviewed regularly by the Trustees to ensure that they are adequate, but not excessive, for the Association’s current and forecast activities, whilst noting that the costs of a centre of excellence cannot be estimated reliably until a suitable location has been identified and additional funding may be required in future to realise this longer-term ambition.

Outlook for 2024: The Trustees expect the recent level of income to be maintained, because the number of members is expected to be consistent with 2023 and we plan to run the same courses and events as we did in 2023. However, costs are expected to increase as inflation impacts all parts of the economy, and the Trustees intend to invest in equipment to help tackle the increasingly imminent threat of the Asian Hornet. The Trustees therefore expect a more modest surplus, if any, for 2024 as a whole. The Association is fortunate that it has sufficient reserves to enable it to fulfil its charitable objectives for the foreseeable future.

Peter Connor, CBKA Treasurer

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CBKA contacts

Chair : Paul Schofield

Chair 01487 740724 [e-mail] Vice-Chair : Doug Brown 01480 214640 [e-mail]

Secretary : Jonathan Baynes

[e-mail] Treasurer : Peter Connor [e-mail] Membership Secretary : Martin Kendall

[e-mail] Editor : Peter Bates 07889 497446 33 Frogge Street, Ickleton cb10 1sh [e-mail] Committee Stephen Poyser 01223 840370 Sally Knowles [e-mail] Philip Turon [e-mail] Alison Goodfellow [e-mail] Alison Turnbull [e-mail]

Apiary Manager (Impington) : Roy Cross 01223 514424 Apiary Manager (Wandlebury) : Stephen Poyser 01223 840370 Apiary Manager (Bourn) : Colin Bell 01480 880665; [e-mail] Asian Hornet Coordinator : Lesley Fletcher 01223 782199 [e-mail] Beginners’ Course Coordinator : Stephen Poyser 01223 840370 Education Secretary : Alison Goodfellow [e-mail] Event & Helper Coordinator : Hazel Bickle 07753 253623 [e-mail]

Honey Show

Secretary : Sandra Chapman

[e-mail] Logistics and volunteers : Pam Fearn 01799 531916; [e-mail] Librarian : Alison Goodfellow 01954 210650 [e-mail]

One-Day Meeting and Talks Coordinator : Alison Turnbull [e-mail] Wandlebury Equipment Loan : Bill Clark 01223 212902 Stephen Poyser 01223 840370 Webmaster : Martin Kendall

[e-mail]

President : Bill Clark

Vice Presidents : MP for Cambridge City, Director of the University Botanic Garden, the Bishop of Ely, the Chief Executive, Cambridge PPF.

National, Regional & Seasonal Bee Inspectors

Head of National Bee Unit : Kate Wilson

0300 3030094; [e-mail] BeeBase Manager : Adam Parker

[e-mail] : Dhonn Atkinson [e-mail]

National Bee Inspector : Dhonn Atkinson

RBI : Peter Davies 07900 292160

[e-mail]

SBI (P’boro & Cambs) : Jack Silberrad

07776 165869; [e-mail] For a full, up-to-date list of Bee Inspectors, look at BeeBase : www.nationalbeeunit.com

External Talks Coordinator : Paul Schofield 01487 740724 [e-mail]

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Beekeepep*. OUNDED 1881 REG CHARIYY 1183601 CAMBRIDGESHIRE BEEKEEPERS, ASSOCIATION ANNUALACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2023

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CAMBRIDGESHIRE BEEKEEPERS, ASSOCIATION IReOstered ¢harlty No. 11836011 BALANCESHEET AS AT31 DÉCEMBER2025 CiVJ4b 45> ga6 J5D 2,17 6411> 7101¥ TO1￿4J￿15 lJ•5 J69 24 0,7Jl Fl OMJ o*$ii U%54] EL9AgJ