At The Apiary

Tips for the Month:

  • Make sure bees have easy access to water to dilute crystallized stores or fondant. 

  • Feed fondant if hives start ot feel light when hefting them.

  • Sort out equipment and make lists of anything you need to purchase at the Tradex show in early March.

  • Clean any dirty equipment to ensure it is ready if we have an early Spring.

  • Review your beekeeping notes and decide which colonies you may want to breed from in the current season.

  • Register for the BBKA March exams if you intend taking them, continue to study if not.

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At The Apiary
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Beebase

Beebase News Web feed
  • Beebase Registrations
    19 August 2019
    Due to an IT problem there may be a delay in processing some Beebase registrations. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
  • Reported Turkish bee has been identified as a UK native leafcutter bee
    05 August 2019
    DNA barcoding analysis of a suspect sample of Osmia spp. from Turkey has confirmed it to be a native UK species of leafcutter bee, Megachile centuncularis.

    The UK has a diverse variety of native bees and we encourage members of the public to seek identification of bee species through the many groups and societies with a particular interest in entomology such as; The ‘BWARS’ (Bees Wasps and Ants Recording Society) Facebook page, https://www.royensoc.co.uk/identifying-insects or https://www.nhm.ac.uk/take-part/identify-nature.html. Sightings may be recorded with the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology; https://www.brc.ac.uk/irecord/enter-casual-record.

    We encourage the reporting of non-native species identified by interest groups or members of the public. Guidance on where to report this information can be found on the GB Non-native Species Secretariat (GB NNSS) website (www.nonnativespecies.org/recording). The Government will then take action in accordance with the GB Invasive Non-native Species Strategy to minimise the risks they pose to our flora and fauna. We encourage everyone who travels abroad to check luggage especially if it has been kept outside during their trip. If you do spot a stowaway upon your return to the UK you should report it with the dates and places you went on holiday, and ideally a photo of the insect via the GB NNSS website.
  • Asian hornet in New Milton, Hampshire
    03 July 2019

    The National Bee Unit has today (Wednesday 3 July 2019) confirmed a sighting of an individual, female Asian hornet in New Milton, Hampshire, after it was reported by a member of the public. Based upon visual examination, the hornet is likely to be a queen.

    Further information can be found here.