Well we really enjoyed our day! Raffle, Secret Auction, continual flow of refreshments and quite a few stalls of equipment, gifts and books to tempt us.
Susan Cobley from Washington State University gave 2 talks - "Queen Breeding" and "Queen & Drone Rearing". Both were very informative, interesting and thought-provoking. However, QB and BrB agreed we didn't approve of some of the methods eg. the way that colonies were combined by sort of chucking several colonies into one via a metal chute. We show more respect for our bees!
Anyway, I made copious notes - too much to report here - but some interesting facts :
Bees have highest mating rate of any insect - Q takes several mating flights; mates with 1-60 drones;
10-60m high; 10,000-25,000 drones from 200-300 colonies; each drone produces 10,000,000 sperm.
Multiple mating increases drone viability and colony fitness.
Simon Croson's talk on Beekeeping Photography was excellent and easy to understand by we amateurs. He made a good point - that by photographing your active bees you gain a better understanding of why and how bees do what they do.
Blurred photos? camera shake (brace your elbows on your knees) and being patient, get close to bees and don't automatically use the zoom. Well, that's me sorted out - hopefully!
Finally, red-eyes in drones may be a sign of in-breeding!
If you took your own lunch the day cost £30. I will certainly go again next year.
QBZzzzzzzzzzzzz Now it's a gorgeous day. I'm off to the hives with my camera!
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