The meeting on the 6th May was very well attended and our new President, Jean Lewis, thanked all our members for attending . The W.I. Hall looked very attractive and welcoming, with circular tables, tablecloths and flower arrangements, coffee and homemade cakes, proving to be very popular.
The Resolutions this year is : - “Honeybees play a vital role in the pollination of food crops and in the environment. In view of concerns about the accelerating decline in the U.K. honeybee population this meeting urges HM Government to increase funding for research into bee health.”
We were fortunate to have a very informative talk given by Mr. Michael Sheasby who is Vice Chairman British Beekeepers Association and Chairman of Slough Windsor and Maidenhead Beekeepers Society. Mr. Sheasby informed us that there are approx. 1 billion honey bees in this country the vast majority are kept by private bee keepers and a relatively small number of professional bee keepers. The difference between wasps, bumble bees and honey bees was fully explained . Mr. Sheasby brought along a beehive, fortunately devoid of bees, to explain the construction which has hardly changed since the early nineteenth century.
Mr. Sheasby himself has lost 60% of his own bees due to the current world problem. He explained why his Association were pressing government to urgently explore what has been termed “Colony Collapse Disorder(CCD) “ This may be caused by a new parasite or pathogen.
The best action the public could do to help the problem is not to use pesticides indiscriminately, especially at mid-day when honey bees are most likely to be out foraging for nectar and plant good nectar sources such as red clover, foxglove buddleia etc..
He thanked our members for the support being given by W.I.
Our next meeting takes place on the 6th May at 10.0 a.m. and the talk will be Customs and Excise 40 years of catching smugglers, by Mr. M. Nelson.
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