Rotary Club of Henley Bridge

THE Rotary Club of Henley Bridge was delighted to welcome Niels Abildgaard, chairman of the Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead Beekeepers’ Society to its meeting at Badgemore Park held on March 23.

Niels has been a beekeeper for a number of years and finds it a very fulfilling hobby.

He spoke about how honeybees are social insects with very interesting attitudes to fellow bees, complex hive designs and fascinating rituals.

Bees are found all over the world except for Antarctica — in fact in every habitat on earth that contains flowering plants.

Bees feed on nectar, primarily as an energy source and pollen for nutrients and protein.

The inhabitants of the hive include one queen bee, drones (males) and worker bees (female).

The queen bee can live for anything up to five years, the worker bees from four to six weeks and the drones until they have successfully mated with a virgin queen or, if unsuccessful, are evicted from the hive by the worker bees.

In the summer there can be up to 2,000 drones and 70,000 worker bees in a hive and in the winter there are no drones and about 1,000 worker bees who keep things ticking over.

Bees are essential to pollinating a wide variety of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees. Pollination is important both ecologically and commercially.

The decline in the world’s bee population has increased the value of pollination by commercially managed hives of honeybees.

Niels said the importance of honeybees should never be undersestimated.

The Oxfam Bookshop in Henley currently has a large selection of books about bees.

If anyone would like to attend one of the various and interesting Rotary talks, please call Annie Lathaen on 07769 687326.

Annie Lathaen