Beekeeping at the Scottish Parliament

Neat magazine story here: https://uk.style.yahoo.com/meet-18-old-beekeeper-looks-104658017.html 

As a full-time cynic, (a) it's curious that Eilidh chooses to wear leather gauntlets, which says to me that she's less than confident, and (b) may I suggest a quick wash of the bee-suits might be a good plan.

Sentinel apiary

A sweet story, no less: https://uk.style.yahoo.com/sweet-chemist-emilys-250-000-180000188.html

Buried in the story: “The site is registered as an Enhanced Sentinel Apiary. This means that the National Bee Unit checks it for exotic pests and diseases,” explained Emily.

“It was requested for this monitoring due to its proximity to the ports. They are looking for any exotic pests and diseases arriving by boat which might attack the bees or affect their health. The idea is that anything would be spotted early and contained.”

Emily (whose last name is secret, it seems) is at The Wilton Centre, https://www.ukspa.org.uk/wilton-centre/

Are Disabilities Barriers to Beekeeping?

Living with a disability makes you rethink many aspects of life, including whether you are able to become a beekeeper, as Zec Richardson explains. All photos are courtesy of Zec Richardson. I first took an interest in beekeeping around about 1994. One summer, every lunchtime at work, I would sit outside behind the aircraft hangar where some bees had nested in an old hut that had a hole in the door. I sat close by and some of the bees would land on me before going into the hive. It was then that I became interested in bees. My wife had always said that if we had a garden over 70 feet long, I could then have a hive as she is not the most confident with bees, wasps or anything that flies near her. When we moved into the property we are living in now, the garden was 100 feet long, but she laughed and said: “no chance”, before I had said anything. So, it was a shock when one day, out of the blue she turned to me and said: “Okay you can have a hive!” Weigh...

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The inevitable UK rise of Asian Hornets (V velutina)

Neat report here: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/asian-hornets-confirmed-london-first-092449212.html

The Best Ukrainian Beehive of Vasyl Priyatelenko, Beekeeper of Ukraine. At Apiary, Kyiv, Ukraine.

 

Asian Hornet Week 2023 - Special Briefings for Beekeepers

Due to unprecedented demand, and restricted meeting numbers, we are sadly not able to accommodate everyone via Zoom for these briefings.  Therefore, we will also be live streaming the briefings to YouTube to enable as many people as possible to attend. The YouTube link will be available from 7.00pm on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th September. YouTube link will be here. In light of the increased number of Asian Hornet nests in mainland UK in 2023, we have arranged a special Zoom briefing for beekeepers during Asian Hornet Week, split over two nights. Our speaker will be the Cambridgeshire Beekeeper, Andrew Durham, a regular contributor to the BBKA News on the Asian Hornet and who for over 9 years has been studying the Asian Hornet situation in France with regard to its effect on beekeeping.  Drawing on his own research and on a wide range of authoritative and regularly updated sources, from local beekeeping groups to national beekeeping organisations, and from local ad...

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Becoming a Beekeeper

If you are interested in taking up the fascinating hobby of beekeeping you will no doubt have lots of questions and here we aim to provide some of the answers to help you find out exactly what might be involved. Keeping bees healthy and productive requires knowledge and skill. Beekeeping is made much easier by belonging to a local BBKA Association where you will be given advice, tuition and support.   Where do I start? Contact your local BBKA Association for advice and consider becoming a member.  Most associations run ‘Taster Days’ which are ideal for obtaining a basic understanding of bees and what is involved in beekeeping.  This can be followed by an ‘Introduction to Beekeeping’ course where you can learn some of the theory required to be a good beekeeper and gain valuable practical experience before you make any investment in equipment and honey bees.  Your local association will also be able to assign you a mentor who wi...

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Find Beekeeping Near You

There are over 270 area associations and branches who serve their local community with support and education.   The majority offer beekeeping experiences and training courses, support local events and sell honey.  Whether you are in Northumberland or the Isle of Wight there is a network of support. They will all be able to help you on your way to becoming a successful beekeeper. *   Find out what's on offer in your area using our interactive map *   Enter you postcode in the box below and click on 'Find nearest beekeeping association' to find your nearest BBKA branch *   Clicking the 'bee' will show you further information including the website address for your local beekeeper's association Before using the map, please ensure you have enabled essential cookies otherwise it will not work correctly. For Scotland please see the Scottish Beekeepers' Association For Wales please see the Welsh Beekeepers' Association Honeybee I...

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Royal Lancaster Hotel, London - plus Bees Abroad

The Royal Lancaster Hotel, London, keeps bees, and partners with Bees Abroad. Check out the "Bee Our Guest" offer from the hotel, https://www.royallancaster.com/promotions/bee-our-guest/

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/top-london-hotel-almost-million-161558617.html

Ivry-B hive adds to the long list of types: Langstroth, WBC, National, Top-Bar, Dadant, Warré, Smith, Flow...

The only thing is, feral colonies live for the most part in vertical cavities, such as hollow trees. For structural strength of the comb, bees naturally build comb with honey at the top, then pollen and brood. The extended horizontal pattern of the Ivry-B seems to go against that general principle.

Does my swarm look big in this?

Looks like a *lot* of bees in Glasgie: https://www.thenational.scot/news/23619113.63rd-1st-glasgow-restaurant-forced-close-huge-bee-swarm/ 

Brazen bee burlgary

See here on Twitter: https://twitter.com/i/status/1687108268584529920