COVID-19 & Beekeeping – Update from NBU

Please follow this link for the latest advise from the NBU on COVID-19 and it's effect / action required of Beekeepers. http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/downloadNews.cfm?id=176

Asian Hornets in Gosport – The story unfolds…..

The following is a first-hand account of the recent Asian Hornet activity experienced in Gosport written by the gentleman who actually spotted and reported the insect. "  ... Instead of allowing ever-increasing bird and insect attacks on my white grapes to bully me into an early harvest, I decided to regularly

Tales from a Top Bar – 4

A mix of fortunes since I last posted.  On the up side, the bees have continued to build and fill lots of comb – they now have eleven full combs bulging with honey, and a couple of incomplete ones at either end which also have some stores in them.   The

Asian Hornet Identified in Hampshire

Beekeepers and members of the public were today asked to remain vigilant after an Asian hornet was spotted in the Gosport area of Hampshire. The National Bee Unit has confirmed the sighting and monitoring is underway to detect any other Asian hornets in the vicinity. The Asian hornet is smaller

Further Tales from a Top Bar – 3

So the new jam jar feeders had mixed results, due entirely to my poor workmanship. The holes weren’t quite big enough to allow easy removal of the jars, and my attempts to free them aggravated the bees and I got stung… so I went back to the bottles and

Beginners Training course – Book now for Spring 2021.

Hugely popular, our Beginners Course is perfect for both non-beekeepers who are looking to become beekeepers and those who started with their first colony during the last twelve months without having completed a course. It runs on Wednesday evenings for seven weeks , starting March 10th, with each class covering

Tales from a Top Bar – 2

20 June was a Big Day – it was the nearly 6 weeks since the swarm took up residence and I took a first very tentative peek at what was going on between the follower boards (the main hive area). A few bees had been hanging about outside the hive

BIBBA Webinar Presentations

The Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association (BIBBA) is an association formed with the aim of conservation, restoration, study, selection and improvement of native or near-native honeybees of the British Isles. As an organisation, BIBBA offers: • Encouragement to form breeding groups to improve and propagate native and near native

Moving Bumble Bees – an experience not to be forgotten!

A friend called me about a nest of bumble bees in an outbuilding he was about to renovate. He did not want to kill the bees if it could be avoided. In my ignorance I volunteered to come and have a look. The bees were going in and out of

Tales from a Top Bar

I must begin all this with a disclaimer. I’m a complete novice at beekeeping and top-bar hives! So while I’m learning a lot on-line and through dealing with the bees, I am most certainly not an expert. I opted for a top bar hive because I have developed

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