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Secretary's Report,
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Secretary's Report,
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As an association
Our membership continues to grow. Total membership of the Group has now reached sixty three, an increase of one over last year, with representation from all four provinces. Bee improvement continues to be our main objective. We progress as a bee improvement Group when each member draws up his/her "Colony Appraisals" from the colony examination records for the year. Selection for breeding and culling for the following season is based on those colony appraisals. Colonies selected for breeding purposes should have as a minimum a total of 17 points on the five characteristics and a minimum of 3 on both Docility and Brood pattern evaluated during the previous season. All new members are encouraged to attend the Group outdoor demonstrations where this colony evaluation and recording is carried out and they are then well equipped do likewise in their own apiary.
Colony Appraisals
The number of "Colony Appraisals" sent to James Power this year has increased. This is encouraging, as is the high participation by members in the many Group activities organised throughout the year.
Newsletter
We are kept well informed by Claire Chavasse who continues to do sterling work as editor of "The Four Seasons". A total of one hundred and thirty copies of "The Four Seasons" are now produced with each issue. We thank Claire for all her work and wish her continued success in the future.
Workdays
On Sundays 20th. of February, 6th. of March and 10th. of April the volunteer workers did a good job at Dun Aonghusa mating apiary. More flower beds were prepared and planted up, pathways cleared and the grafting shed was tided up and got ready for the new season. A lot of work was carried out in preparation for the visits by delegates to Apimondia 2005 in August. Thanks to those who regularly turn out for those work days. Many more people should make the effort to turn out for the work days. We should not leave it to the same few each time, if we volunteer today then we should enter that date on our home calendar lest it is forgotten.
A Thought-
If GBBG were a colony of bees and Ann Robinson was queen bee l wonder how she would berate those of us who put ourselves forward as workers, but alas turned out to be drones!
Workshop
It was back to the Band Room in Cahir on Sunday 20th. of March. Where a workshop was presented by Jacob Kahn and Liam Rice on "Morphometry". The participants greatly appreciated Jacob's skill and patience and Liam's deftness as his large hands expertly manoeuvred wings into position. I brought along two different samples, an opportunist to the last. We did the wing morphometry both manually and the computerised version to measure cubital indices and, discoidal shifts. They took some delight in informing me that one of my samples was definitely mongrel.
Sunday May 29th.
Queen rearing and Colony evaluation was held at Dun Aonghusa. A contingent from the North arrived early for this one and so an opportunist work day was created especially for them on the Saturday Micheál Mac Giolla Coda did the colony evaluation. Such demonstrations fulfill a vital role in standardising the methods of colony evaluation and recording for all members present. Claire Chavasse did queen rearing and grafting while Aoife Nic Giolla Coda and Jim Power did the Apidea. Redmond Williams did a hands on workshop on the gathering of semen and the instrumental insemination of queens. This was a most varied and very worthwhile day indeed. It was rounded off with an Ulster plantation and the usual refreshments.
Philip' s Beard of Bees
June 25th 2005 will rank as a milestone day in the history of GBBG. This was a massive undertaking by Philip and Micheál. The amount of preparatory work was enormous. Everything was meticulously planned and prepared for and this was clearly evidenced on the day. The only thing out of our control was the weather, which could have been a lot better. The event was an outstanding success and for a first time event it was a very steep learning curve. The overwhelming lesson for all to take from it is the success of breeding for docility in our otherwise not so friendly bees.
Gormanston
As on previous occasions many Group members played prominent roles in various aspects of the Gormanston Summer Course in July. There was a large attendance at the BIBBA meeting on the Tuesday evening during the week of the course. Congratulations to all those who attended the course and helped out in so many ways, as well as entering the National Honey Show.
Honey Shows
Many Group members successfully exhibited at Honey Shows throughout the country and at Apimondia. We especially congratulate Gerard on winning the World Cup at the London Honey Show.
Apimondia-
a lot of our members were involved in Apimondia in one way or another. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that was definitely enjoyed by those able to attend.
However Apimondia was not just confined to the RDS and surrounds, it came to Dun Aonghusa by the bus load. We had one bus load visit on the Friday prior to Apimondia. These were of various nationalities and were very interested in the GBBG programme. We had our first Apitherapy Session during this tour visit. On the Friday after we had a total of five bus loads of visitors. At one stage we had three hives open. All were given a tour and demonstration and had questions answered. Refreshments were served to all thanks to a small band of very busy workers. Another feature of these visits was the fortified mead offered to all of the visitors.
The Season
This past year has witnessed once again another very swarmy season similar to last year. It was again an opportunity for those of us who keep records and who mark our queens to select for breeding those queens that have made no attempt to swarm. The summer months also supplied ideal conditions to practise some method of queen rearing which we have learned or read about during the Winter. All members received their two Breeder Queens for 2005. Those queens from the Dun Aonghusa mating apiary can be used to replace the culled aggressive or unproductive queens as well as being used for future breeder material. It is by so doing that we help to maintain continuity of the bee improvement programme in our own apiary.
To Sum up
Overall it was a busy year and I think members were pleased with our varied programme of events. In conclusion I wish to thank everyone who was involved during the year especially Micheál our chairman.
Michael Maunsell (Sec.)
Transcribed... 12 January 2006,
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