Thank you to all who came today to help with the work on the new apiary. We first checked on the fondant and discovered that most of the colonies needed topping up, all sorted! If you haven’t checked your own bees for a while, we’d suggest you do ASAP, it was amazing how much fondant they … Continue reading →
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 →
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 →