OKEHAMPTON Beekeepers held their first meeting of 2013 on Thursday, January 10.

Over 40 beekeepers, including visitors from neighbouring branches, turned out for the meeting at Whiddon Down Village Hall, which saw regional bee inspector Adam Vevers give a talk on bee diseases, how to recognise them, disease prevention and remedy.

His talk began with a brief history of the Bee Inspectorate and the National Bee Unit (NBU).

The Bee Inspectorate originated in wartime Britain in 1942, with honeybees badly affected by the spread of the spore forming bacterium American Foul Brood (AFB).

Policies brought in during that era have led to low levels of the bacterium, and practices to destroy affected colonies remain in place today.

The talk progressed to cover each of the main pests and disease threatening honeybee colonies today. His talk touched on AFB, European Foul Brood, larger pests like the lesser and greater wax moths, and the varroa mite, discovered in the UK in 1992.

The session concluded with mulled wine and homemade biscuits.

The group's next meeting is on February 14, when Hannah Bailey from Modern Beekeeping will visit to talk about polystyrene beehives.