Septembers general meeting welcomed Alan Deeley from Burton Green Honey to give a talk on bees with a display of equipment and combs.

After indicating the displayed hive stack emitting a low drone - "I think I've brought the docile colony" - Alan proceeded to explain how the colony is structured with its queen, workers and drones. The queen reigns over approximately 50,000 subjects laying 2000 eggs a day and may live for 5 or so years. The vast majority of the colony are female workers who may only have a 6 week lifespan. In that time they do everything including nourishing the eggs, foraging, guard duty and maintaining the hive. Foraging can take place over a range upto 5 miles and uses whatever is in season.

In contrast to the workers the few male drones live a laid back life, their only task being to fly off and fertilise a lone queen. Tough life.

These crucial pollinators face pressures from urban development, invasive hornets as well as disease. It did make you feel maybe more should be done.

The displayed hive of course turned out to be empty with a speaker inside, to the relief of some! The many keen questions from attendees was testament to just how interesting the subject had been.