Blogs

Introduction In summer, worker bees typically live for about six weeks. In winter, however, they need to survive for six months or more. A colony therefore depends on producing enough healthy winter bees to carry it through the cold months.…

There’s been a lot of discussion in scientific circles about whether animals are sentient beings. Most recently, The New York Declaration of 2024 states; ….. there is strong scientific support for attributions of conscious experience to other mammals and to…

This article combines a field case study with a summary of current evidence on Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus. It begins with the signs observed in one Hampshire colony, then reviews distribution, pathogenesis, transmission, risk factors, management options, and the later…

Varroa infestation, and the effects of the viruses transmitted, are the main causes of winter losses and must be treated at the right times of the year: get the timing wrong and the winter bees which are essential for the…

“In the world of the honey bee there are only 2 seasons, winter and preparing for winter” Anon Introduction The honey bee colony builds up to its maximum foraging force in July for the summer flow when it must accumulate…

Introduction The NBU stresses that swarms of unknown origin can carry disease or pests. Swarms should be treated as potentially infected until proven otherwise. Newly collected swarms should be kept separate from existing colonies. Ideally place them in a quarantine…

Winter is upon us, and we have tucked up our colonies for the colder weather. Here on this corner of the south coast we enjoy a little microclimate, sheltered by the South Downs to the north, the Isle of Wight…

The session was held in my home/queen rearing apiary, where all the equipment is on hand, instead of the teaching apiary. This is to be the last opportunity to rear queens as I’ve already noticed a drop in the number…

We’re into July already and the summer flow is full on with Bramble and Lime in bloom. The warm, sunny weather has helped to stimulate nectar production, and plants or trees with deep roots can still find plenty of moisture.…

In early May one of the colonies in my teaching apiary started to display excessive defensive behaviour, following and stinging people for about 100 metres from the hive. I practice a zero-tolerance policy for this kind of behaviour for the…

The first bees evolved around 60 million years ago. Since then, they have survived massively destructive events, including meteorites hitting the earth with mass extinction of species such as the dinosaurs, great geological upheavals, ice ages and more. The secrets…

Association Colony The colony that was kindly donated by David Marsden, a former FDBKA member, has completed its quarantine. It has been treated with Oxalic Acid for phoretic varroa and passed a health and temperament assessment before being moved to…

Many beekeepers suffer colony losses in winter and early spring and wonder what happened. Most losses are avoidable so let’s have a look at some of the common reasons why colonies die out, how we can prevent it and what…

The days are getting longer and lighter, birdsong is in the air, there’s a growing sense of the earth awakening, reenergised after a long sleep. The winter bees in the darkness of their hives can feel this change and they…

Introduction The honey bee colony builds up to its maximum foraging force in July for the summer flow when they must accumulate enough food stores to last for the next 7 or 8 months. The population of ‘summer’ bees rapidly…

The day was divided into two sessions, one for beginners and beekeepers with less than 2 years’ experience and the second for improvers and those preparing for the BBKA Basic Assessment. The programme was built around the following topics: Beginners…

It’s the time of year when beekeepers are buying in new queens and are faced with the uncertainty of whether or not the queen will be accepted in her new colony. The following method was first described by L.E. Snelgrove…

There have been many reports of winter and spring colony losses this year for which there could be any number of causes. One answer to the mysterious death of a previously productive colony is infection with a microsporidian, or spore-forming…

General Every intervention by the beekeeper is disruptive and stressful for the bees and the hive should only be opened if there’s a good reason for doing so. It is particularly important to recognize this in spring. The population of…

HAPPY NEW YEAR! GENERAL The subject of trapping is surrounded by controversy, mainly concerning its effectiveness and its impact on other species and can risk pulling beekeepers in different directions. Naturally, we all want to be fully pro-active, use the…

Introduction The purpose of spring trapping is to catch and kill queens which have newly emerged from hibernation at a time when they are most vulnerable. The theory is that if they are caught and killed at this stage they…

One of the queens I raised this year has turned out to be a drone layer. Signs of Drone Laying Queen How does it happen and how do we know whether it’s a drone laying queen or drone laying workers?…

The swarming season has been particularly intense this year due to a long, cool spring followed by a sudden spell of warm weather. Although the worst seems to be over there are still some swarms around and the season is…

There have been two cases of this virus among FDBKA members’ colonies so far this spring/summer, including one of mine. It may be present in low levels in colonies that show no symptoms until put under stress. The disease presents…

This weekend I was due to go on a Queen Rearing Course at the Devon honey farm of Ken and Dan Basterfield, two of Britain’s most renowned beekeepers. Unfortunately for them they have been struck by an outbreak of EFB…

If you don’t want to increase the number of colonies in your apiary or you’re short of space, this very simple method is the one for you. Remember the principle of swarm prevention is to trick the bees into thinking…

There is a lot of controversy about the feeding of pollen in spring. We all want to do the best for our bees, including making sure that, having survived the winter, they don’t succumb to spring starvation. We know there…

Happy New Year WINTER TREATMENT FOR VARROA Mid-winter is a good time to treat our colonies for varroa as part of an Integrated Pest Management System (IPM). For most of the year Varroa mites live and breed on larvae but…