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 →
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 →
4 of us taking the supers off for extraction at the apiary today: the leaf blower might seem a little brutal at first but actually it doesn’t harm the bees at all and is significantly more efficient than using clearer boards. We also started the Varrora treatments (Apivar this year). *This, by the way, is an … Continue reading →
Apparently Honey Bees can distinguish Between odd and even numbers – have a read!
Continue reading →This year’s class were treated to their first experience of swarm collection on Sunday, as a small swarm dropped in while the members were arriving at the association apiary. Fortunately our Education Secretary and course leader, Jane, is supremely well versed in the bee keeping arts and was on hand to re-house the errant ladies in … Continue reading →
An interesting article from Entomology today on “social apoptosis”
Continue reading →A fascinating publication by Jamie Ellis on Nucs and how they can help you in your beekeeping. You can find his publication here.
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