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Ian Campbell, Newcastle & District BKA and BBKA Social Media Manager
It’s hands off now until spring! There are lots of books and magazine articles to read, webinars to watch and kit still to be cleaned. Leave the bees in peace!
Inspections Leave alone, but check for damage after storms. A monthly check is often sufficient. At this inspection check all looks OK, heft to assess stores and add fondant if required.
Feeding Syrup feeding normally stops by early October; it’s fondant from now on until spring. Fondant consumption varies widely between colonies – top up those that need additional supplies.
Entrances Watch for blocked entrances especially when mouseguards are on. Some suggest having the entrance block upside down to avoid it getting clogged with dead bees.
Varroa A winter oxalic acid treatment as part of integrated pest management is commonly used if monitoring shows it is required. Mo...
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Here, minimum effort results in maximum flavour as a long, slow roast creates melt-in-the-mouth pork. You can prepare this in advance so it’s an easy crowd-pleaser, but it also freezes well. For extra flavour you can also marinade the meat overnight, if you have time, but this step is not necessary.
Serve the tender meat in a wrap or rolls with salad and coleslaw and make the most of the gravy by pouring it into small dishes for dipping. The pork and its delicious cooking juices also go well with mashed potatoes and buttered greens.
Servings: Makes enough for 6 - 8 people Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking: 6 hours
Ingredients
1.5kg Pork shoulder (collar) without rind 50g Honey 50g Grain mustard 2 tbsp English mustard 4 &n...
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Planning for 2025 BBKA Spring Convention
More Convention Information
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The British Beekeepers' Association celebrates National Honey Day on 21st October each year and in 2024 our ‘Bee Smart, Choose Local’ campaign aims to further celebrate the unique taste and regional variation of local honey.
BBKA Press Release for National Honey Day 2024 with accompanying 'Bee Smart' poster.
Printer friendly Bee Smart' poster.
According to the International Trade Centre, the UK imported an average of 50,917 tonnes of honey in 2023. Some of this will have been adulterated and may feature a blend of products from a number of different countries. We want people to be able to recognise honey produced here in the UK and be able to have a choice in what they are buying.
Local honey means real honey – made by bees collecting nectar from the surrounding environment and featuring all the goodness that comes with keeping the final product as close to nature as possible. As the product is extracted and sol...
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The BBKA are putting on a series of Zoom talks for beekeepers which will also be recorded and made available on YouTube for those unable to watch live. All talks start at 7pm unless stated otherwise.
Next Talk:
'Varroa' with Kirsty Stainton: Tuesday 19th November 2024, 7pm Kirsty Stainton works as the Technical Manager for the National Bee Unit. She worked at Fera Science from 2016 to 2020 where she performed research for the NBU that included molecular detection of the invasive pests, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Asian hornet) and Aethina tumida (Small hive beetle), molecular analysis of the Asian hornet diet and research into the use of antivirals to treat honey bees. She then spent 2 years working on honey bee virus research before moving into science communication. She wrote the monthly beginner's series for BeeCraft in 2023 and wrote the book - 'A practical guide to Varroa management'.
In this talk, Kirsty will describe the biology o...
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Photo taken in May 2013
Derrick Richardson, a longstanding beekeeper within the North Hertfordshire Association has recently passed away, a month before his 103rd birthday.
He had been the President of Hertfordshire at one stage and a regular member of the North Hertfordshire Committee, the Chairman for several seasons. He was a well-known recycler before the term became popular, using spare wood from timber yards to make bait hives and other essential beekeeping kit; multiple bait hives being the main part of his swarm control. He did move to Herefordshire in 2016 but remained a member and continued to keep bees until his 100th birthday. The Herefordshire manufacturing side replaced the bee hives with hedgehog houses and bird boxes, again using wood from the local timber yards.
He was a guaranteed source of knowledge and keen to remind us that interventions cause stress that can make bees more susceptible to disease, describing the smoke and manipulation process as ‘a f...
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Ian Campbell, Newcastle & District BKA and BBKA Social Media Manager
As October is a much less busy month it gives me the opportunity to reflect on the ups and downs of this season and catch up on a very long to do list. It’s about now that I appreciate that we don’t have a longer beekeeping season!
Feeding
Feeding syrup normally stops early in the month – continuing to provide syrup risks stores fermenting due to their high water content, which can harm colonies. The amount of energy used by bees to process syrup late in the year can also be inefficient. If stores are low, fondant may be a backup – this is often placed directly above the cluster or on top of the hole in the crown board.
Pests
Mouseguards Fit mouseguards before the early frosts when mice look for a cosy home. You could also turn entrance blocks upside down to prevent entrances from getting blocked with dead bees during winter.
Woodpeckers If green woodpeckers are...
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October is the start of the squash and pumpkin season, when beautiful British produce begins to appear in shops and markets. Firm-fleshed pumpkin or squash is needed here, not the scrapings from large Halloween lanterns which tend to have a high water content.
This recipe uses grated butter (rather than the usual rubbing method) and it gives a wonderfully light-textured scone with a crispy buttery base. These come together in minutes and may only last the same amount of time when fresh out of the oven! They are delicious with butter and a drizzle of your best honey but also pair well with cheese or soup because they are not overly sweet.
Servings: Makes 8 large scones Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 14 minutes
Ingredients
150g Butter (cold) 200g Pumpkin or squash 350g Wholemeal plain flour 2tsp &nbs...
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In 2024 all member Associations and Branches have been given the opportunity to plant sesquicentennial trees in their apiaries, funded by the BBKA as part of the 150 year celebrations. Honey bees, bumblebees and many other species depend on trees for food, and the BBKA trees will last well into the future - even another 150 years!
Frome BKA in Somerset purchased some mixed British hedging to act as a barrier for the Club Apiary from members of the public. They held a planting day which involved a number of members putting in the small plants. Since then the hedging has done very well.
Nuneaton & Atherstone BKA have planted a commemorative crab apple tree at their teaching apiary. The tree was nurtured during the summer and recently planted on a rainy October day. The crab apples are really sweet with a background astringency - very nice.
Swindon & District BKA planting their trees to mark the BBKA 150 year...
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With thanks to the presenters involved and sponsors, particularly The Worshipful Company of Wax Chandlers for supporting the recordings, the BBKA is delighted to bring you presentations from recent Spring Conventions. These presentations are available on the BBKA YouTube Channel. Please click on the titles below to access individual recordings. Subscribing to the channel is free, and if you subscribe to the channel and 'click the bell' you will receive updates when more videos are uploaded. Back to main Spring Convention Pages
2024
Dr Eleanor Jones: '2023 Asian hornet outbreak' Plus Q&A with Dr Belinda Phillipson (DEFRA Bee Health Policy Lead) and Professor Nicola Spence (DEFRA Deputy Director for Bees)
Prof. Tom D Seeley: Nature-based beekeeping
Dr Sandra Rojas Nossa: Asian hornet: establishment & management globally
Dr Alexandra Sapoznik: Beeswax in medieval England
John Hendrie: British beekeeping for 150 years (available soon)...