“Asian hornets are a non-native invasive predator of medium to large insects. They pose a serious threat to our native pollinators and, throughout the summer, honey bees can make up a substantial part of their diet as they build their nests up to several thousand individuals.” Animal and Plant Health…
Apiary Setup
One of the most important factors regarding bee keeping is –Â where should you place your hives. There are a number of important issues to consider before going ahead and getting those bees. Beekeepers may want to keep bees in their own garden, on an allotment or farmland. Having a suitable…
Membership
Membership-Why Join Barnsley Beekeeping Association? The association serves to support the local beekeeping community and provides a focus of interest for anyone interested in beekeeping. As a member of our community, you’ll have access to a diverse network of beekeepers with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Other things included…
Swarm Prevention
Looking for help with a swarm that you have seen? CLICK HERE Swarming is a natural process that enables honey bees to increase numbers and colonise new areas away from the original colony. Honey bee colonies will begin preparing to raise new queens and swarm any time between mid-April to mid-June,…
Happy New Year….now what’s your plan?
Well with 2022 nearly over, I wanted to write and wish you all the very best for 2023. The new bee season started the minute that we put the bees to bed for winter with the first job being to plan for 2023. So what is your beekeeping plan for…
Honey bee starvation
Starvation of honey bees – recognition and prevention During prolonged cold, wet periods and/or when there is a lack of forage, honey bee colonies may use up all their honey or sugar stores. This can frequently happen in spring when colonies are using up their last remaining winter stores to…
The Hive
Historically, people collected honey from the wild. Wild hives in hollows in trees or hanging beneath over-hangs on cliff faces were cut away and the honey was eaten, honey comb and all. Early attempts to keep bees in an artificial hive largely made use of hives like the well know…
Swarms
Looking for help with a swarm that you have seen? CLICK HERE Beekeepers often take great care to avoid letting their bees swarm. To the beekeeper, a swarm represents a loss of bees resulting in less or no honey production and a reduced ability to over-winter colonies due to a smaller…
Making up Nucleus Colonies
It is good beekeeping practice to make up a number of nucleus colonies each year. Important reasons for doing so include, raising replacement queens, swarm prevention, swarm control, making increase, queen introduction and selling nuclei. Here we take a look at how to make up a nucleus colony. Preparation Making…
Swarm Control
If there is one aspect of keeping bees which is like a dark art to beginners (and quite a few seasoned beekeepers) it’s swarm control. There are numerous methods of swarm control (as opposed to swarm prevention) in common usage, each beekeeper tailoring their preferred method to suit. No one method…