Swarms Advice

If you have a problem with a swarm of bees, or suspect there is a swarm of bees on your property or nearby please help protect the UK's declining honey population by reading our swarms page.
 

Recent site activity

Club Apiary

 
 
 
 
The KBKA apiary is situated on the outskirts of Calne.
It is the site of our Spring/Summer meetings and allows hands-on experience and training for new or would-be members. During these meetings the hives are examined, and experienced members are on-hand to discuss beekepping
Visitors are always welcome, but please contact the club (see the contacts page) so we can ensure a bee suit is available.
 
 
 
 
 
2010
 
 
March
 
                        Hurray, Hurray it's March the First
                        For sweet nectar we've  thirst
                        But pollen is what we really need
                        To give our brood a really good feed
 
After an extended cold spell, March the First really raised the spirits.
Bees were flying everywhere!
As you can see there is some pollen being brought in .
The forecast is for still more cold weather, so apart from checking
for stores, we will continue to leave the bees in peace.
 
 
 
  
         
 
    
 
 
  
February
 
Just into the start of February and the cold weather is still with us. 
A quick visit to the apiary gave us a surprise - the bees were flying!!
It was still too cold to open the hives, so a post-christmas treat of candy was put on each hive as a precaution - rather too much than too little!!
Alas, the forecast is hinting at more snow this month.
 
 
January
The start of a new year!
Like most things in beekeeping, the range of opinions is
diverse, including when the "bee year" starts.
For ease of tracking, we are going with the calendar year -
which for us in the UK is the winter, when the bees are
inactive.
Given the winter we are having, the bees are definitely
inactive and until things warm up a bit there is nothing we
can do with them short of checking the hives haven't
suffered any weather or animal damage.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Experienced beekeepers tell beginners to learn to listen to our bees.
What do you think these bees are trying to tell us ?
 
 
 
 
  
 
2009

The KBKA Apiary started 2009 with a single hive and

anticipation of some reasonable weather. Though the

weather didn’t quite live up to promise, we did manage to

open the hive at each of the Apiary site meetings this year.

 

The decision was made to purchase a second hive for the

site. This arrived in August and was then populated with a

shook swarm from the original hive. Despite some initial

unrest the  bees have settled in and are doing well.

So we now boast a two hive club apiary.

  

The established hive yielded 30lbs of honey this year, which

was sold to the club members to add funds to the kitty.

Now winter draws on, mousegaurds are on, and all are

settled in for the duration.

 
  
 
Subscribe to posts