FINALLY BACK TO FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS
The Nuneaton & Atherstone branch held its 88th AGM on the 1st of March.
As well as the usual presentation of reports and election of officers, this meeting was the first opportunity for many members
to actually meet with other members, in what seems like a very long time.
We’ve all had to get to grips with zoom meetings and webinars over the last two years. They have undoubtedly been really useful,
interesting and have extended the reach of branch learning activities up to an international level. However, we still enjoy a
friendly, face to face conversation about bees; where we can exchange anecdotes, experiences Bombus morrisoni by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab (Flickr) and knowledge. I, for one, have missed this aspect of club membership.
The chair, Mark Styles, and secretary, John Twidle, both stood down from their committee roles. I wish to thank Mark and John for their years of hard work on the committee. Yours truly was subsequently elected as Secretary, so this is my first contribution to “Warwickshire Beekeeper”.
The queen rearing group reported having had a successful year running the Dobbies apiary and have high hopes for an even better season this year. It’s been a steep learning curve for those involved. The small number of hives at the teaching apiary at Kings Lodge have over-wintered well and the apiary management team intends to make increase from the stronger colonies. The first teaching session of the season is to be held on Sunday 1st May.
Our annual Nosema and Microscopy evening was held on 10th April. Members brought along samples of their bees for inspection, and enthusiastically prepared them for microscopy with guidance from Linda Tuffin and Sarah Laidler, who had recently attended the WAKA microscopy course. As microscope numbers were limited, Linda gave further practical demonstrations of the Bailey Comb change for both weak and strong colonies to those waiting to check their samples.
All in all, the “nosema clinic” was much appreciated and hopefully sets the tone of the club for the rest of the year, after enduring the long period of restrictions.