BBKA News

BBKA News

• Summer Term Blog 1

  May 2023 – New King and Queens Well what a busy term we have had! We have seen sunshine, swarms, new queens and a new King! Our colonies have thrived over winter and it is lovely to see the bees flying daily, bringing back pollen and nectar from the hundreds of dandelions we have around school, and not forgetting all the other flowers and trees that are blooming now. The air is full of the sweet smell of the Hawthorn and the buzz of the bees sounds wonderful. Our time is now dedicated to raising new queens and keeping an eye on swarming and expansion. We celebrated the coronation of King Charles III, and our children took great delight in ‘telling the bees’ that we have a new King. A gentle knock on the front of the hive followed by the children shouting ‘We have a new King’ ensured the bees were aware of the good news.     The children have spent their outdoor learning days inspecting the bees, catching swarms and getting ready for the br...

• Asian Hornet Sighting

  18th May 2023 The National Bee Unit received a credible report of an Asian Hornet discovered in a workshop approximately 15 miles from Ashford in Kent. The insect was caught and will be analysed by scientists. This was a single hornet incursion and follow up activities will take place to raise risk awareness. It is crucial any possible sightings are reported so experts can take quick and effective action to eradicate Asian Hornets. The best way is to use the 'Asian Hornet Watch' app to record and report any sightings. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Photos and videos can also be sent by email to: alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk

• Save the Bees

  Decisions have been taken to continue to use pesticides when we know so much about how we have upset the balance in the environment causing the loss of 60% of our insects since the millennium. I do not understand how people use pesticides to produce nice flowers and veg and kill the very pollinators that we need to continue to grow food. If you feel passionately about the loss of bees, like I do - here is your chance to do something about it.

• May In the Apiary 2023

                                                                                                                      Karl Colyer With an abundance of forage and flying days, colonies grow very rapidly. The natural impulse to swarm will need to be managed. With swarms, there are three overall approaches: let them swarm if they want to, but this is not recommended unless you live on an island or a very remote area; manually prevent them swarming or, allow the swarm process to be proactively enacted but under ‘artificial’ or controlled circumstances. Swarming is a natural process It is normal for bees to want to swarm. It is their sole method of naturally replicating the colony. In nature...

• Swarm removal

  In summer we get many calls and questions from people with bees in their houses, outbuildings and gardens.   There are over 250 types of bees in the UK but there is only one european honey bee (Apis mellifera).  As well as honey bees there are around 24 species of bumblebee and over 240 species of solitary bee in the UK.  Please see below to help identify what type of bee you have and who to approach for help and information.   If you have honey bees in the structure of your property Click here. If you feel you need to have the bees destroyed please contact a local reputable pest control company.  Bees are endangered but they are not protected.  Click here for the link to the Health & Safety Executive guide to Honey bees and biocides:  Our volunteers beekeepers can only assist in cases of swarms OF HONEY BEES. See our page of photos of honeybee swarms To Jump straight to the Swarm map click here To support the work of the BBKA pl...

• Save the bees

  I want to support and educate on biodiversity and the positive impact bees have on our ecosystems.

• Find a local Swarm Collector

  Enter your postcode below and then click on the red markers which appear nearest the 'bee' for details of your local swarm collector. If you can't find a swarm collector local to you on this map please get in touch with your local beekeeping association. Please note that swarm collectors from south of the Thames cannot assist with swarms across the water in Essex. Our volunteer beekeepers can only assist in cases of swarms of honey bees. Before using the map please ensure you have enabled essential cookies otherwise it will not work correctly. For Scotland please see Scottish Beekeepers Association For Wales please also see Welsh Beekeepers Association To support the work of the BBKA please DONATE HERE

• Eat Cake , Save Bees

• Identify Asian Hornet

  Three Easy Steps  1. Does it look very black? 2. Has it got a wide orange stripe on 4th segment of abdomen?  3. Do its legs look as if they have been dipped in yellow paint? Animal & Plant Health Agency have put together a short film to help you identify them too:  YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4DRki97wzg Sound of an Asian Hornet  This was recorded in a bathroom at BBKA trustee Bob Hogge's house in Jersey where he is keeping a colony of Asian Hornets for study. The Asian Hornets have a very deep buzz:  hornetbuzz.mp3 hornetbuzz(1)(1).mp3 Insect Look-A-Likes         This is an European Hornet                        This is a Giant Wood Wasp                       ...

• Asian Hornet Sightings

  2023 Asian Hornet Sightings  18th May 2023 The National Bee Unit received a credible report of an Asian Hornet discovered in a workshop approximately 15 miles from Ashford in Kent.  The insect was caught and will be analysed by scientists.  This was a single hornet incursion and follow up activities will take place to raise risk awareness. 17th April 2023 The National Bee Unit received a credible report which included a clear photo of an Asian Hornet on the deck of a Ferry from Poole to Cherbourg taken on 10th April 2023. Monitoring traps have been set up in the area. 13th April 2023 Confirmed Asian hornet sighting in Folkestone, Kent.  Monitoring traps deployed in the area. 5th April 2023 The National Bee Unit received a credible report of an Asian Hornet discovered inside a cauliflower within a weekly vegetable delivery in Northumberland, approximately 20 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The cauliflower wa...