British Bee-Keepers Association Spring Convention 2013

I attended an number of lectures on Friday. These included

Reflections on research from the NBU - Giles Budge
Update on pollinator health and Colony Collapse Disorder - Maryann Frazier
Beekeeping without swarm control - Ged Marshall
Everybody talks about climate change - Paul van der Linden

I found all of them somewhat interesting but none had me glued to my seat engrossed by any of the speakers.

These two were interesting
Update on pollinator health and Colony Collapse Disorder - Maryann Frazier
It was an update on the situation in the US and telling people to take the threats of pathogens seriously and for farmers and gardeners to reduce the use of pesticides. I enjoyed the talk. Maryann understands what needs to be done and can talk the talk however the people who can make actual changes aren't listening.

Beekeeping without swarm control - Ged Marshall
This was a talk from a professional beekeeper. It was interesting, he talked about not having the time to check on all the hives weekly. How he uses bait hives to attract swarms and if put in the right location it's very successful. He uses a crown board and an additional super for prolific hives. He made it obvious that he was only in beekeeping to make money. I did have questions like do you treat your bees. Do you suffer losses and a percentage that he thinks are acceptable. Do you care/enjoy beekeeping as much now your a professional beekeeper and I don't think he does any more.

Then on the Saturday I wondered around the convention and bought some new equipment, including frames for all the hives and a new smoker, that was on special offer. I wanted a rather special copper smoker however the suppliers didn't have any in stock and this was on offer. I didn't buy any new foundation as I have some and in the next couple of weeks I will visit one of the Thorne shops.