It was a lovely surprise to have the Colourbox Nursey children stop by at the new apiary site while we moving the hives on Wednesday. We welcomed them in to take a look (while the hives were still closed up!) and Jane did a great job of engaging with the budding beekeepers of tomorrow. We hope … Continue reading →
A huge thank you to all the volunteers yesterday who braved the freezing mud and, along with the Nowton Park Rangers, assisted us with moving into our new apiary location. It’s going to be a great site for the association, with much improved public visibility and we are really looking forward to seeing it develop over … Continue reading →
Last Sunday was our annual ‘Bee Safari’, with the NBU regional inspector Chris Milton leading the sessions. A thoroughly fascinating, educational and social day was had by all as we visited 3 very different setups: covering full disease inspections, through queen rearing, grafting, mating nucs etc and even taking a look at a fancy new Flow … Continue reading →
A reminder that all are welcome to attend the Nowton Park apiary from 13:00 every Sunday – get hand-on experience, help out with the inspections, meet and chat to other beekeepers and please also feel free to get in touch with any specific requests for demos etc of techniques or equipment you’re interested in seeing. We … Continue reading →
This is a quick reminder that the annual memberships are now due. Please remember that if you don’t renew you will no-longer be covered by the BBKA’s personal liability insurance and you will stop getting your copy of the BBKA magazine, as well as all the other membership benefits. If you want to renew and you … Continue reading →
The invasive species ‘Asian Hornet’ (Vespa velutina) poses a significant threat to bee keeping and public safety, it is an aggressive and voracious predator that has been spreading across Europe and now threatens to cross the channel. This danger is being taken very seriously and the NBU (DEFRA/APHA) teams respond rapidly to any reports of individual … Continue reading →
The remaining association apiary open sessions will be held 12:00 – 14:00 on the following Sundays: July 23rdAugust 6thAugust 20thSeptember 3rd Please do let us know in advance if you’re planning on attending (email wsbka@yahoo.com or post in the Facebook Group) and if there is anything specific you would like to get out of the time. … Continue reading →
The weather held out to give us a lovely warm evening for the first part of the Queen Raising Course yesterday. The course was very well attended and everyone found it an informative and enjoyable session. We discussed the theory of queen breeding, equipment, methods and selecting for desirable traits before getting stuck in ourselves: preparing … Continue reading →
Our thanks to the group of volunteers who gave up their time to help with jarring up honey produce at our apiary ready for sale at shows, fetes and other events coming up this year. We think the labels and jars look great and it was an excellent opportunity to learn some of the nuances of … Continue reading →
The BBKA are offering a ‘Friends of the Honey Bee’ pack free-of-charge to any schools who are interested. We encourage anyone who is connected with a local school to share this link with them: https://www.bbka.org.uk/friends-of-the-honey-bee
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