EFB in Perth

[VEG]

Just had this sent to me from edinburgh beekeepers


"Information has just arrived about an outbreak of EFB in the Alyth area near Perth, central Scotland. Details are few but it appears this outbreak was discovered last week, a restriction order was enforced and the hives burnt. This information was not circulated by the SGRPID inspectorate or the SBA and does not appear on their websites or any other.

As we know there is an acute shortage of bees across the country and colonies and nucs may have been moving from all corners. Please ensure other beekeepers are made aware of this situation and the potential for disaster by moving bees at this time. It may also be prudent to polish up on EFB recognition."

 

[BKF Admin]

Do members in England still burn hives for EFB ?

 

[Hivemaker.]

No.

 

[DrNick]

Do members in England still burn hives for EFB ?

I think that is at the discretion of the inspector.

 

[Hivemaker.]

They still don't burn the hive.just the contents,if the degree of infection is above a certain percent.

 

[OXFORDBEE]

.... or if the bees are not worth saving or the beekeeper wants to make sure the source of infection is removed completely, as shook swarms and antibiotic treatments are not always100% effective in getting rid of EFB.

 

[gavin]

Yes, there is an outbreak in N Perthshire. Two years ago there was one in NE Fife not so far away, but that is about it recently. Part of the dangers of moving stock, and major difficulty for the beekeeper involved as the heather season (the big earner for commercial guys locally) is soon to start.

That outbreak two years ago caught a cast that I'd collected in Fife and set in a friends garden (I was so glad that I didn't take it to my apiary). The place it came from was within the 5km cordon, and at the time the bee inspector told me that mild cases might be 'shook swarmed' and treated with antibiotics.

Whoever wrote the circular that VEG mentioned clearly has a major chip on their shoulder as the SGRPID inspectorate did tell the SBA and the SBA secretary phoned the secretaries of the seven local BKAs in E Scotland that could be affected, including the Edinburgh BKA, to get an alert round quickly. Emails have also gone round the local associations too. So why there is someone in the Edinburgh association bleating about these organisations baffles me, as it is very likely that the only reason they knew about it in the first place was thanks to the SGRPID talking to the SBA and the SBA passing it on.

Beekeepers, huh?!

Gavin

(feeling internet-deprived thanks to a mouse and its taste for wireless router cables)

 

[Hombre]

Wee, sleekit, cowering, timerous beastie; Gavin doesn't love you any more!

No respecter of communications huh?

 

[gavin]

Unfortunately the youngest son has an empathy with rodents (especially Chinese hamsters) and I think that I've just agreed to try live trapping (I know .... ) so I might be cut off again ....

G.

 

[Hombre]

We lost a hampster down the back of a settee once, and a new rabbit kitten living in a cardboard box for the day due to the wife's enthusiasm and lack of planning ran across the laths underneath a carved teak coffee table. It slipped and it's shoulders passed through, leaving it swinging by it's haunches. Attempts to gently push it's tummy back the way it came were obviously to no avail and to save stressing the wee beast I got out a hacksaw. My youngest son was mortified. Not as much as me when I had to carefully hack the end of a lath to release the rabbit. He had a hutch the very next day. Tears all gone.

 

[planbee]

Why Chinese hamsters, do they taste better than British hamsters?

John