OKEHAMPTON Beekeepers held their last meeting of 2012 on Thursday, December 13.

Around 30 members turned out for the meeting at Whiddon Down Village Hall, with Alicia Normand delivering a talk on the uses of beeswax, showing beeswax products.

Her talk began by describing the process bees perform to make individual wax plates. She then covered the best method for beekeepers to to obtain the best beeswax, which is done by melting down beeswax cappings. The cappings are then filtered to ensure their cleanliness.

Her talk then looked at how best to produce beeswax candles and other products.

The session concluded with mince-pies and refreshments.

The group's next meeting is on January 10 when the branch will be visited by regional bee inspector Adam Vevers. He will give a talk on honeybee diseases and how to recognise them.