The BBKA welcomes its newest corporate donor Hatch Mansfield

hatchmansfield.com/about-us/

Don't worry it's just a few stragglers, oh hang on!

Julie Coleman (BBKA trustee) and Jan, enjoying swarm collection in Kent.

A warm spell following a cold April with limited opportunities to inspect is resulting in an upswing in swarm reports.
Check your colonies at the earliest opportunity.

May is here and so are the Big Eight 🎱🐝 #BumblebeesAreBack

This month, some queens will produce their first daughters (workers) while others will welcome new males 💼🚹

What bumblebees have you spotted so far this spring?

A series of 4 useful laminated sheets to assist with comb changes and artificial swarming:

Bailey Comb Change
Bailey Comb Change for a Weak Colony
Shook Swarm
Pagden swarm method

bbka.org.uk/shop/laminated…

Plantlife calls for people to get involved with #NoMowMay every year, and let wild plants get a head start on the summer.

plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomo…

Two further Asian hornet queens have been found by the NBU in spring traps.

Both hornets were found in a single trap near Four Oaks, Kent, with one being found on 22nd April and a second hornet found on 24th April.

3 queen hornets have been found at this location

BBKA Zoom session on media support for yellow-legged Asian hornets

youtube.com/live/tFFbKGiR7…

The National Bee Unit has updated its guidance on replacing old brood combs

nationalbeeunit.com/resources-for-…

When adding foundation to frames, older or stored sheets can have a whitish tinge (right). Bees seem less inclined to draw this out. Gently warming with a hairdryer restores colour and aroma (left) and the bees seem to prefer.

Each year, Defra celebrates Bees’ Needs Champions.
Applying for a Bees’ Needs Champion 2024 award
Applications close on 12 May 2024.
For more information on the awards and how to apply, visit Bees’ Needs Champion awards: 2023 to 2024.
gov.uk/government/pub…

RHS National Gardening Week
29th April - 5th May

rhs.org.uk/get-involved/n…

Rainy day jobs

On National Great Poetry Reading Day (April 28th)

The Bee and the Blossoms
by John B. Tabb
'Why stand ye idle, blossoms bright,
The livelong summer day?'
'Alas! we labour all the night
For what thou takest away.

More bee poetry at:
discoverpoetry.com/poems/bee-poem…

Despite high annual bee losses, the number of colonies bred in Switzerland has grown over the last decade, new statistics show. However, they are being looked after by fewer and fewer beekeepers.
swissinfo.ch/eng/alpine-env…

A question on the BBKA Forum has asked what event management and ticketing websites associations are using. Changes in pricing and limits on numbers attending free events has led to a search for best value. Any suggestions welcome.

National Bee Unit Alert - Starvation

The NBU are raising this concern during this cold spring weather...

During inspection visits this week our Inspectors have witnessed many colonies struggling with starvation.

Making sugar syrup: nationalbeeunit.com/assets/PDFs/3_…

Thousands of members of the British Beekeepers Association from all over the UK and further afield attended their Spring Convention and enjoyed a packed programme

lordlieutenantofshropshire.org.uk/news/the-bbka-…

This BBKA News Special Issue is to help those looking to improve their skills and knowledge of queen-rearing, by giving detail on key operations in raising and use of home-grown queens

bbka.org.uk/shop/queen-rea…