The Colonel Pulling Quiz was created to encourage "better apiculture through knowledge".

We hope that many clubs will take the opportunity to prepare for Col. Pulling / Bruce White Shield competition. This is the fun part of beekeeping, based upon a serious desire to improve beekeeping skills. The Quiz is a major part of the competition and preparation is necessary during the coming months.

The Editorial Team has no advance knowledge of either the questions or who the question setters will be. But, taking last year’s Quiz, some text books were named as the sources of the correct answers. Biology of the Honey Bee, by Winston, is a favourite, as it is full of potential questions. Eva Crane’s book Bees and Beekeeping is another source. Tom Seeley has written widely on swarms and behaviour, so it is worth a look as his books.

Any good beekeeping book in your club library or on your own bookshelf, is a good source to read over the next weeks. The photography part of the competition gives beekeepers a wide scope – “Honey Bees on Flowers”. Use your camera whenever you see honey bees on floral displays – colour and focus, will win you good marks.

The baking and mead sections are always popular – many more beekeepers are beginning to make mead. We hope to provide some tips to help you produce award winning mead, in future issues. We have some honey judging tips in this issue.

Varroa mites that are resistant to acaricides is the current problem affecting all beekeepers. This insidious development makes keeping bees even more of a challenge. Advanced University research would help to provide answers to this challenge.

Beekeepers work best when in a collaborative arrangement. Mentoring of new beekeepers is one of the joys of learning how to manage honey bee colonies. In a spirit of collaboration, I ask for Hive Hints to spread all the good ideas that experienced beekeepers have, tucked away in their memories. Help us to work together, through the pages of YOUR magazine. We are here to spread the word, to all our members.

This last year, in my new role as editor of TAB, has been very enjoyable. I have learned new skills in preparing the magazine. I never saw myself as an editor or a writer, just a beekeeper who had had a lot of fun learning about bees. Laugh all you may, I also enjoyed sitting the exams that broadened my beekeeping skills.

If some of our members would like to contribute to the publishing of our magazine, please read the advertisement and contact us for more information. My time on the ABA Executive Committee expires after next year, but I hope to continue as Editor. Being part of the Editorial Group has increased and diversified my skills. Would you like to join us? If you are interested email me at editor@beekeepers.asn.au