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 →
All feeding should be finished as the bees cannot process the syrup in low temperatures Clean feeders and store Up date records if you have united colonies / update BeeBase Check hives for gaps or damage Remove vegetation under hives to avoid damp Repair then store equipment Fit mouseguards Prepare insulation if using Protect hives from … Continue reading →
Treatments should have been completed, making sure you have read the instructions and know if and when you need to remove them to avoid resistance. Boards should have been monitored and a note made of the best and worst colonies for varroa loads. use this information next year when rearing queens. Unite small colonies. They are … Continue reading →
If you have not already done so , you may want to extract this month. Give the bees space to go into or push down into the brood box by putting clearer boards on Place supers back on the hives they came from. Remember honey is a food product and should only be stored in food … 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 →
Keep an eye on swarming with regular inspections. Bees that have been cooped up in bad weather may swarm when the sun shines. Check the queen has space to lay, you may have to remove stores and if disease free give to another colony or freeze. Replace with drawn comb or foundation placed in the middle … 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 →