Book III of Geoffrey Chaucer’s epic Medieval poem, Troilus and Crisedye, contains the line:And after winter folweth grene MayEven with only a cursory understanding of Middle English, it’s pretty obvious that Chaucer is commenting on May being the first month of the year when everything is verdant.Winter is over, the…
Latest information regarding Asian hornet early season surveillance
From the analysis conducted at Fera Science Ltd a number of areas have been identified where there is a low risk that Asian hornet queens have overwintered. In response the NBU are making plans to carry out spring trapping, including how to work collaboratively with stakeholders to monitor traps at…
Snelgrove Method
The Snelgrove method was first described by Leonard E Snelgrove in his 1934 book, “Swarming – It’s Control and Prevention”. It follows on from decades of hive manipulation using various kinds of board to separate queen from brood. Leonard Snelgrove introduced his specific design of board that makes use of entrances…
Beekeeping records
All around the country, new beekeepers – fresh from attending a How to start beekeeping winter course – will be buying their first nuc, eagerly watching a bait hive for scout bees, or precariously teetering up a stepladder trying to entice a lost swarm (someone else’s) into a skep.Your first…
Informed decisions
One of the attractions of beekeeping is the seasonal variation, both within a single season and between one year and the next.Early colony expansion enables the spring nectar flow to be exploited, and leads simultaneously – almost inevitably and so reasonably predictably – to swarming. Colonies are re-queened (or re-queen…
Honey Bee Species
There are almost 20,000 species of bees in the world which have been identified to date. Bees are close relatives of ants, wasp and hornets. One genus under which all honey bees fall, Apis, contains all the known species of honey bee forming at least 44 sub species. Bees in…
Equipment and Bees
Bees & Queens for Sale Some of our members breed their own queens and bees and either sell them as part of their income or sell surplus stock. Find sellers on our map so that you can identify local stock. Find bees and queens First Year Essential Hive Complete national…
Bees and Queens for Sale
Bees and Queens for Sale Some of our members breed their own queens and bees and either sell them as part of their income or sell surplus stock. Find sellers on our map so that you can identify local stock. Disclaimer: Barnsley Beekeepers Association does not recommend a specific seller.…
Asian Hornet Sighting Update – Preston, Lancashire and Romford, East London
Photograph credit: Chris Green On the 20th and 21st of March the National Bee Unit received credible reports of lone Asian hornets. The first was in Preston, Lancashire at a warehouse with regular trucks arriving from France. A bee inspector attended, set traps and is monitoring the location with support from the…
The Demaree Method
A more extreme mechanism for preventing swarms is the Demaree method of swarm prevention. The method was first explained by George Demaree in an article in the American Bee Journal in 1884. This method is similar to most methods of artificial swarming in that it relies on separating the eggs…