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Vita Bee Health international photo competition winners 2019
Photo: Ian Gregory
The overall winner of 2019 Vita Bee Health photo competition is Ian Gregory for his image of a foraging honey bee with brimming pollen baskets.
Winning entries, selected by an international panel of judges, feature in the 2020 Vita Bee Health calendar, a pdf file of which can be downloaded free of charge via the Vita gallery.
Everyone whose photograph features in the calendar will receive a free limited edition of the printed desk calendar. Outright winner Ian Gregory also wins a cash prize.
The 2020 Vita Calendar includes photographs by Tessa Milton, Ian Gregory, Geoffrey Leister, Claire Heywood, Margaret Edge, Ann Chilcott, Kyle Riley, Susan Kimber, Kathleen Suddes and Mark Baker.
Sebastian Owen, commercial director of Vita Bee Health, said, “The 2020 Calendar shows the diversity of honey bees and beekeeping in many parts of the world. It’s never easy to pick an outright winner and we warmly thank everyone who submitted entries. Ian Gregory’s photograph of a bee loaded with pollen and about to gather more is superbly atmospheric was selected by our panel as the outright winner. We were also particularly struck by Kathleen Suddes’s dramatic shot of a Canadian apiary overlooking forest, sea and mountains, and the pristine developing larvae captured in Geoffrey Leister’s photograph.
“Once again, these photographs will be proudly displayed on desk calendars of the Vita distribution network across the globe. If you didn’t win a hardcopy, please do take the opportunity to download the free pdf file.”
The international judging panel for the 2018 competition was Jiří Píza, of Prague in the Czech Republic and founder of the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers; Mike Gordon of Bee Maid Honey Ltd in Winnipeg, Canada; Gordon Stokes, UK photographer; plus Paulo Mielgo, Jon Stacey and Alastair Taylor on behalf of Vita Bee Health in the UK.
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A tough year for many beekeepers
How was your bee season? Good? Spare a thought for beekeepers across the globe who have had to contend with erratic or unusual weather …
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Foulbrood test kits available again
Diagnostic kits to test honeybee colonies for American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB) are again available from Vita Bee Health after a short disruption to supplies.The Vita AFB and EFB diagnostic test kits enable beekeepers and bee inspectors to test for AFB and EFB in honeybee larvae and to obtain the results easily and immediately in the apiary. They are as simple to use as pregnancy test kits and are a low cost, fast and reliable way to test for foulbrood.
The instant results mean that if either foulbrood is detected, action can be taken immediately. If no foulbrood is detected, expensive and unnecessary action can be avoided.
In Britain, the kits are used by bee inspectors and are also suitable for use by individual beekeepers. If the kits indicate that either EFB or AFB are present, beekeepers are legally required to report the findings immediately to the bee inspectorate.
There had been a short disruption to supplies of the foulbrood test kits when a key component suddenly became unavailable. Vita has now secured a sustainable source of this component, which has been thoroughly tested and revalidated and now incorporated in the kits. The EFB and AFB diagnostic test kits are available through the usual Vita Bee Health distribution channels.
Full details of the EFB diagnostic kits and AFB diagnostic test kits.
About Vita Bee Health
Vita Bee Health is a mite control and honeybee health specialist. It is the world’s largest dedicated supplier of honeybee health products to the honey and pollination industries. With a rigorous and ethical approach to research and development into honeybee health, Vita has no commercial interests in crop pesticides or crop breeding that may be harmful to honeybees.
Vita researches, develops, and manufactures a range of honeybee health products. Its headquarters are in the UK, it has offices in Italy, France and Russia, and partners across the globe. These products are marketed internationally through a network of 60 distributors in 50 countries.
Vita’s honeybee health product range includes anti-varroa acaricides – Apistan® (outside the USA/Canada) and Apiguard® – chalkbrood and wax moth controls, foulbrood diagnostic kits and health-promoting feeds. Vita also supplies Asian hornet traps, Small Hive Beetle traps, a Bee Gym varroa grooming aid and swarm lures. Vita products have been registered by more than 60 veterinary authorities.
Vita promotes sustainable beekeeping through Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Its treatments are designed to inhibit the build-up of resistance and wherever possible contain natural compounds and biological controls that are benign to all but the target pests.
Vita invests a very high proportion of its turnover in research and development. Research partners include universities such as Thessaloniki, Cardiff, Milan, Udine and Naples and institutes such as the FERA Laboratories in the UK and the USDA in America. Vita’s innovative research and development work has been recognised by and has received support from the UK Government.
As a result of its primary research of natural control agents, Vita is currently engaged in new projects exploring mite control in the agriculture, veterinary, and horticulture industries as well as public health and human allergen control.
See www.vitabeehealth.com for more information and a web app which can be accessed at www.healthybeeguide.com.
Follow Vita as “Vita Bee Health” on Facebook and as @vitabeehealth on Twitter.
Media Enquiries
Stephen Fleming at Palam Communications
+44 (0) 1635 299116
s.fleming@palam.co.uk -
Vita hosts free showing of Honeyland in Basingstoke
See the acclaimed film Honeyland in Basingstoke on 4 December. Free tickets courtesy Vita Bee Health and BCOT.
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Canada welcomes return of Nosema treatment
A very effective treatment for Nosema, a deadly disease of honey bees, is now available again in Canada after intensive work by Vita Bee Health in conjunction with the Canadian Honey Council.Fumagilin-B is a tried and tested preventative and curative antibiotic treatment for Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae. It first became available in the 1950s and was widely available in many countries until mid-2018, when the previous manufacturer, Medivet, ceased operations.
With the unavailability of fumagillin, beekeepers have been able to combat Nosema only by indirect methods such as protein feed supplements to boost immune defences, effective varroa control and regular comb changes. These are not always effective under harsh winter conditions. In Canada, because of the extreme low temperatures and long winters, the beehives have to be sealed and insulated from October to March – a long time for the bees to be confined and an ideal environment for Nosema to increase and spread through the colony. Canadian beekeepers were expecting severe winter colony losses if Fumagilin-B remained unavailable for this autumn/fall treatment season.
Now Canadian beekeepers again have access to fumagillin, manufactured in Canada and supplied by Vita Bee Health. The treatment should be administered with autumn/fall and spring feeds as necessary and, as ever, it is vital that beekeepers follow label directions precisely.
Rod Scarlett, executive director of the Canadian Honey Council, welcomed the news about the re-availability of Fumagillin-B saying, “If fumagillin wasn’t available, the consequences of Nosema infections would be dire. Many beekeepers think that without fumagillin we would expect over-wintering colony losses of 50% rather than 25%.”
Max Watkins, CEO of Vita Bee Health, said, “It’s been a long hard road to make Fumagillin-B available to beekeepers again and there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’re confident that we’re on our way to a sustainable supply of Fumagilin-B for Canada. The main reason that Fumagillin-B disappeared from the market place was the closure of the manufacturer when it faced a massive increase in the price of the active ingredient. Inevitably, Fumagilin-B is now more expensive than before, but beekeepers will quickly recognise that, set against colony losses, it is still a very cost-effective solution.”
Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae are parasitic microsporidian fungal pathogens. They can be identified only by microscopic analysis of the honey bee’s mid-gut. The spores multiply rapidly in the gut and can then spread throughout the colony. Nosema apis often leaves tell-tale signs of dysentery inside and more visibly on the outside of the hive (especially noticeable in spring), but the strain Nosema ceranae that originated in Asia often leaves no such traits. Research in Spain has shown that the disease can lead to a steady decline in bees over several months until the colony collapses. At that stage, other diseases such as chalkbrood and foulbrood may have become evident.
About Vita Bee Health
Vita Bee Health is a mite control and honeybee health specialist. It is the world’s largest dedicated supplier of honeybee health products to the honey and pollination industries. With a rigorous and ethical approach to research and development into honeybee health, Vita has no commercial interests in crop pesticides or crop breeding that may be harmful to honeybees.
Vita researches, develops, and manufactures a range of honeybee health products. Its headquarters are in the UK, it has offices in Italy, France and Russia, and partners across the globe. These products are marketed internationally through a network of 60 distributors in 50 countries.
Vita’s honeybee health product range includes anti-varroa acaricides – Apistan® (outside the USA/Canada) and Apiguard® – chalkbrood control, foulbrood diagnostic kits and health-promoting feeds. Vita also supplies Asian hornet traps, Small Hive Beetle traps, a Bee Gym varroa grooming aid and swarm lures. Vita products have been registered by more than 60 veterinary authorities.
Vita promotes sustainable beekeeping through Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Its treatments are designed to inhibit the build-up of resistance and wherever possible contain natural compounds and biological controls that are benign to all but the target pests.
Vita invests a very high proportion of its turnover in research and development. Research partners include universities such as Thessaloniki, Cardiff, Milan, Udine and Naples and institutes such as the FERA Laboratories in the UK and the USDA in America. Vita’s innovative research and development work has been recognised by and has received support from the UK Government.
As a result of its primary research of natural control agents, Vita is currently engaged in new projects exploring mite control in the agriculture, veterinary, and horticulture industries as well as public health and human allergen control.
See www.vitabeehealth.com for more information and a web app which can be accessed at www.healthybeeguide.com.
Follow Vita as “Vita Bee Health” on Facebook and as @vitabeehealth on Twitter.
Media Enquiries
Stephen Fleming at Palam Communications
+44 (0) 1635 299116
s.fleming@palam.co.uk -
Wax moth control product to be superseded
B401 wax moth control to be superceded by B402.
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Have your bees suffered from agro-chemicals?
There’s a new global survey about toxic events affecting honey bees. You can help …
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International teen beekeeping successes
The tenth IMYB for teen beekeepers in Slovakia showed the future of beekeeping.
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Basingstoke Mayor finds a queen in town
Blandford & Sturminster beekeepers enjoyed a rare public visit to Vita Bee Health’s apiary in Basingstoke with Basingstoke’s mayor.
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Vita Bee Health Photo Competition 2019
Photo: Katrien Berckmoes
The eighth annual Vita Bee Health international photo competition is now open for entries. The competition grows in stature each year with superb honey bee-related photographs from around the world.
The outright winner will receive a cash prize and eleven others will appear in the 2020 Vita Bee Health limited edition calendar and feature in Vita’s monthly email newsletters. All winners receive a copy of the sought-after calendar.
The deadline for entries is 25 October 2019. Entrants may submit up to four photos (at least 2 MB in size and preferably as attachments) by emailing them to gallery@vita-europe.com. Photos may be on any relevant topic relating to honeybees and beekeeping.
The competition will be judged by an international panel of beekeeping specialists and suppliers.
The outright winner of the competition will receive a €100 cash prize. Runners-up will receive a copy of the limited-edition Vita 2020 Calendar. There is also a special prize for the winner of the under-16s category.
All suitable entries will be added to the Vita Gallery, a free online resource of hundreds of honeybee-related photos now used by beekeeping lecturers and associations across the globe.
Sebastian Owen, Commercial Director at Vita Bee Health, said: “We always look forward to seeing this year’s selection of photographs – and we know that our network across the globe appreciates them too. Even since the competition began in 2011, the growth of interest in bees and beekeeping has been enormous. They are rarely out of the news, so we expect and hope that this year’s entries may include photographs from non-beekeepers. As ever, we especially want to encourage entries from young beekeepers and have a special prize for under-16s.”
Terms and Conditions of the 2019 Vita Photo Competition
The competition is open to any individual. Up to four photos (at least 2 MB each in size) relating to honeybees or beekeeping may be submitted. Please include your name, postcode (or equivalent) and country in your email. You may also include captions for your photographs if you wish.
The deadline for entries to the competition is 25 October 2019.
Entrants must certify that the image/s they are submitting is their own work and that they own the copyright. It is the responsibility of each entrant to ensure that any images they submit have been taken with the permission of the subject and do not infringe the copyright of any third party or any laws. In providing images for the competition, each entrant agrees that Vita can put it in the online Vita Gallery for others to use and in the Vita Calendar and to use it for marketing purposes.
Wherever used, Vita will endeavour to credit the contributor.
Postal addresses will be required from winners and runners up, these addresses will only be used to post the calendars and/or prizes. For the cash prize, bank transfer details will also be required at the appropriate time.
The judges’ decision will be final.