January 2026
I suppose we’re considering all possible solutions to any potential invasion of Asian Hornets. An interesting paper from the University of Girona in Spain, examined the effectiveness of electric harps that kill hornets while they’re flying around the hives, and muzzles that prevent the hornets from getting to the entrances to the hive. It turns out that while muzzles do help, the harps are hugely effective in keeping the hornets from getting too close to the hives, allowing much of the normal bee behaviour to continue. Unsurprisingly the researchers say that “measures that actively reduce the abundance of hornets in front of beehives, rather than simply preventing them from entering, and ensuring that colony health is maintained, is crucial to mitigating the impact of the Asian hornet on the beekeeping sector.” Since kill traps also reduce the numbers of hornets in the area, it would be interesting to see a similar study that compares the effectiveness of traps and harps.
In other Asian Hornet news, a single nest has been found on the Scilly Isles, 25 miles off the coast of Cornwall. Like Ireland, the locals had hoped that their isolation would ensure that this dreaded pest would not reach them and, like Ireland, they were disappointed. While the nests found here had not developed next year’s queens, the Scilly nest was more mature and there are fears that they may have produced gynes. The FERA labs are currently investigating if this is the case
The Journal of Dairy Research has an interesting article from the folks in the University of Carthage in Tunisia about the impact of adding honey to goat-milk yoghurt. It turns out that adding 15% honey to the yoghurt results in an increase in the count of probiotic bacteria, as well as improved colour, smell and taste. I’m pretty sure that adding honey to yoghurt doesn’t hurt in the slightest, but it’s nice to have it confirmed by the science.
I do varroa counts on all my hives twice a year, in Spring and in Autumn. I feel that checking the insert board isn’t accurate or reliable enough and using an alcohol wash to slaughter the bees doesn’t sit well with me, so I have always preferred the sugar roll method. It’s simple and gives a good indication of the varroa load of the colony and doesn’t seem to harm the bees, actually giving them a snack of icing sugar. However, an article in the November issue of Americal Bee Journal describes research into whether the sugar roll actually does harm the bees. They compared the number of bees that were untreated, bees that were covered in icing sugar, and bees that went through the sugar roll with its shaking and rolling. It turns out that around ¾ of both groups of un-rolled bees survived compared to less than ½ of the rolled bees. This indicates that around ¼ of bees subject to the sugar roll test will be killed by it. I hadn’t expected this, but at least it’s comforting to think that it is still much less lethal than the alcohol wash.
In its December issue, BeeCraft has an interesting article on bees in John Constable’s and Joseph Turner’s paintings. I’m sure this is a detail that isn’t normally discussed, so I was surprised and pleased to see them. In the early 1800’s Constable created his famous The White Horse enormous six-footer (6ft long) landscape oil painting of his native Suffolk. While his paintings have a lot of detail, I’m sure it took quite a bit of searching to find the skeps in their thatched shelter. His The Valley Farm gives us another view of the same bee shelter. Turner, Constable’s contemporary, also painted bees. In his Caley Hall, Yorkshire, with Stag Hunters Returning Home there’s a row of skeps with old milk crocks upside down on top to protect them from rain and to give them weight to prevent them being blown over by the wind. These illustrate some of the techniques used to provide the skeps with shelter from the elements from that time.