AFB in Doncaster ?

[HM Honey]

I have just been told that there have been a couple of incedences of AFB in the Doncaster area. I cant see anything on Bee Base but has anyone heard anything about this?

I'm quite local to Doncaster so this is an obvious worry.

 

[waverider]

Email/telephone your local bee inspector.


https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/public/Contacts/contacts.cfm

 

[For want of a better word]

If you are registered as a beekeeper on BEEBASE,, and your apiaries are within a certain radius of a confirmed infected colony... do not Defra automatically contact you?

 

[buzz lightyear]

I am under the impression the inspectors have already been out to the colony's in range.

 

[Peterxix]

E F B Doncaster

Hi I have received this email from our Local Association,
Hi everyone

At least two very good beekeepers in the Doncaster Association have found that some of their colonies have E.F.B. This is a warning to all beekeepers to know the signs of EFB and AFB, you need to check your colonies and if worried you will need to get in touch with our bee inspector

 

[VEG]

it will more than likely be EFB if registered on beebase you will get an e-mail if your bees are within a certain range.
I get EFB alerts every year I know the chap that has the problem so I just keep an eye out for any signs.

 

[Saradan]

A case of AFB was confirmed at our local Association apiary a couple of weeks ago. I've noticed it's been recorded on Beebase (location Leek). My Apiary is 14km from the outbreak and I haven't received an email via Beebase. Although they reference "10km squares". Perhaps if you're in the 10km square where an outbreak occurs that triggers an email?

The outbreak was a real shock to all concerned and the apiary manager has no idea how it arrived.

He's guessing it could be from a jar of infected imported honey that a local consumer had thrown out and been found by the colony's worker(s).

The colony and hive were destroyed, no other colonies have as yet been confirmed as infected.

 

[Simon1]

Hi,

This may not be the right place but I am located in Doncaster and have bees that look to be in my gutter/eve. I can't see or hear them from inside the loft so think they are still outside.

I can't see the nest but there is always 20 or so bee's flying around the one area of the gutter. They look to be mainly dark/black colour. Would anyone here local be willing to remove them? I don't want to kill them etc as i understand they may be protected

Regards
Simon

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If you are registered as a beekeeper on BEEBASE,, and your apiaries are within a certain radius of a confirmed infected colony... do not Defra automatically contact you?

Eventually!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have just been told that there have been a couple of incedences of AFB in the Doncaster area. I cant see anything on Bee Base but has anyone heard anything about this?

I'm quite local to Doncaster so this is an obvious worry.

Careful! you'll have some on here whingeing about you spreading unfounded rumours!!

 

[Pete D]

Careful! you'll have some on here whingeing about you spreading unfounded rumours!!

This thread started a year ago ! maybe the rumours are now confirmed.

 

[masterBK]

There have been no recorded cases of AFB in Doncaster for several Decades . There were several cases of EFB on the fringes of Doncaster area last year (probably an overflow of a very large EFB outbreak in Scunthorpe). The nearest Doncaster EFB case to Wakefield last year was at the village of Marr.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

This thread started a year ago ! maybe the rumours are now confirmed.

Taking their time in sending out the bleddy email then aren't they?!

 

[rayz_x]

Careful! you'll have some on here whingeing about you spreading unfounded rumours!!

I heard that Jenkins...

Ray

 

[TOBY-3652]

Hi,

This may not be the right place but I am located in Doncaster and have bees that look to be in my gutter/eve. I can't see or hear them from inside the loft so think they are still outside.

I can't see the nest but there is always 20 or so bee's flying around the one area of the gutter. They look to be mainly dark/black colour. Would anyone here local be willing to remove them? I don't want to kill them etc as i understand they may be protected

Regards
Simon

nnooooooooooo not protected

 

[BeeJayBee]

This may not be the right place but I am located in Doncaster and have bees that look to be in my gutter/eve. I can't see or hear them from inside the loft so think they are still outside.

I can't see the nest but there is always 20 or so bee's flying around the one area of the gutter. They look to be mainly dark/black colour. Would anyone here local be willing to remove them? I don't want to kill them etc as i understand they may be protected

Sometimes bees will visit a gutter to collect water, more especially if there are some damp leaves in the gutter.

Have you any idea if they are honey bees or bumble bees? There are also solitary bees that are about the same size as honey bees.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Hi,

This may not be the right place but I am located in Doncaster and have bees that look to be in my gutter/eve. I can't see or hear them from inside the loft so think they are still outside.

I can't see the nest but there is always 20 or so bee's flying around the one area of the gutter. They look to be mainly dark/black colour. Would anyone here local be willing to remove them? I don't want to kill them etc as i understand they may be protected

Regards
Simon

With where they are and the numbers you are seeing I would say 90% chance they are bumblebees. I have had several phone calls describing the same situation and they have all bee bumblebees. My general advice is always unless they are causing you a problem leave them alone and the nest will be empty by Autumn.

 

[YorkshireBees]

There have been no recorded cases of AFB in Doncaster for several Decades . There were several cases of EFB on the fringes of Doncaster area last year (probably an overflow of a very large EFB outbreak in Scunthorpe). The nearest Doncaster EFB case to Wakefield last year was at the village of Marr.

Last year I had desperate members of the public calling me with swarms. I couldn't understand why no beeks in or around Doncaster was willing to collect the swarms until I talked to the local RBI who told me about the EFB cases!

I did collect 1 swarm and luckily I have an isolation apiary for swarms. As it was they turned out to be perfectly healthy and have built into a very production colony this year!

 

[mbc]

Last year I had desperate members of the public calling me with swarms. I couldn't understand why no beeks in or around Doncaster was willing to collect the swarms until I talked to the local RBI who told me about the EFB cases!

I did collect 1 swarm and luckily I have an isolation apiary for swarms. As it was they turned out to be perfectly healthy and have built into a very production colony this year!

An interesting slant on it.
Vertical transmission (that is , parent colony to swarm) of EFB isnt all that common as far as I can find out, and a natural swarm should be as, if not more, effective at ridding the bees (those in the swarm rather than those left in the parent hive) of disease than a shook swarm carried out with the express intention of freeing the bees of disease.
Certainly from a neighbouring beekeepers perspective I would have thought a hived and observed swarm would pose less of a risk to their existing colonies than a possibly diseased swarm entering a wild nest cavity and subsequently dying out and leaving infective honey to be robbed out by all the surrounding bees.

 

[YorkshireBees]

An interesting slant on it.
Vertical transmission (that is , parent colony to swarm) of EFB isnt all that common as far as I can find out, and a natural swarm should be as, if not more, effective at ridding the bees (those in the swarm rather than those left in the parent hive) of disease than a shook swarm carried out with the express intention of freeing the bees of disease.
Certainly from a neighbouring beekeepers perspective I would have thought a hived and observed swarm would pose less of a risk to their existing colonies than a possibly diseased swarm entering a wild nest cavity and subsequently dying out and leaving infective honey to be robbed out by all the surrounding bees.

Yes thinking about it your probably right but people are paranoid about EFB and despite trying to refer calls to the local co-ordinator they kept calling me back saying no-one would collect.
In the end I ended up driving 70+ mile round trip to a public house where the bees had parked themselves under a bench in a beer garden! The public house gratefully paid my petrol charge as they were so desperate to have the swarm collected.