Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 16th September 2020 Now is the time to think about recycling frames for re-use next year. For detailed information on Steam Cleaning your frames and hives,... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 9th September 2020 Once your extraction is complete, do you store your extracted frames dry or wet? The extracted supers can be replaced on... Read full story »

For Beginners: September Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA President I went walking with a friend one evening in late July and came upon fields of borage as far as the eye could see.... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 2nd September 2020 In 1912, Francis Sitwell famously presented a paper on heather honey to a meeting of the BBKA. In it, he pondered the many factors... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder -26th August 2020 Our September magazine will shortly be arriving with you. It has a really important article on Lyme’s disease to watch... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 19th August 2020 We have some terrific news from our Shop Manager, Helen for you! As you can see from the graphic, our two new books can be bought... Read full story »

Asian hornet life cycle I was fortunate a few weeks ago to have a really interesting conversation with Jersey’s Asian Hornet Co-Ordinator, Andrew Christie - you will have... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 12th August 2020 Great news! Our second new book this year, Bee Hive to Beekeeper, the companion book to Bee Space to Bee Hive, will be in stock in the early part... Read full story »

Bee Hive to Beekeeper Sample Chapter of our new book - available soon Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 5th August 2020 So, how do you remove frames of honey from your colonies? Do you: talk to your bees before and during removal and thank them... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 29th July 2020 If you put varroa trays in your colonies last week, check the daily drop against the guidelines here, on the National Bee Unit website. Just... Read full story »

For Beginners: August 2018 Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA President As I write this, in June, the UK is in the middle of a heatwave. Most people think that the extremely hot weather... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 22nd July 2020 Now is the time to check for varroa in your colonies and plan any treatment that might be required. Looking to avoid the use of chemicals? ... Read full story »

Tracking Asian hornets - how it is done Tracking Asian hornets - how it's done At its closest point on the east side of the island Jersey is only fifteen miles away... Read full story »

Asian Hornet Update from Jersey - July As at the 6th July 2020 there have been 220 reports versus 246 this time last year, an 11% reduction. Of those 220 reports the number of flying queens... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 15th July 2020 Are you thinking about preparing for honey removal and extraction and finding a full super is too heavy? Why not use nucs? Each nuc will... Read full story »

For Beginners: July 2018 Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA President Theoretically, swarming should be almost over by now. I say theoretically because my bait hives are still busy.... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 8th July 2020 Graham, our Scottish representative, has sent this update on the situation north of the border. I'll be back again next week! I... Read full story »

For Beginners: June 2018 As I write this at the end of April, the weather is exceptionally cold and my bees will once again be clustered. They should be out foraging on the oilseed rape that surrounds them, but not one is to be seen. This year, with the wet winter and mixed spring weather, some beekeepers have lost colonies, so I must not complain. Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 1st July 2020 Having recently mentioned queens, our July edition has an interesting and detailed article from ‘Down Under’ on this topic describing... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 24th June 2020 Our newsletter will be out shortly telling you our July edition will soon be arriving. Our co-editor, Richard, was called to investigate... Read full story »

For Beginners: April 2018 April usually heralds the beginning of the beekeeping year proper, when we can inspect our hives in earnest. But remember that dates are not important to bees, it is the weather and availability of forage that count. Clearly, we all hope for fine weather, but we must carry out a full inspection of a colony only if the temperature is above 16 ºC. Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 17th June 2020 If you have queens recently or currently emerging, wet weather could be an issue in preventing their adequate mating. Unfortunately there’s... Read full story »

Short story from a subscriber Andrew sent us this little story he entered into the “Mogford Prize for food and drink writing”, aiming to win the first prize of £10,000. Read full story »

For Beginners: March 2018 See the rest of the series Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA President I'm an optimist, so I am looking forward to the coming season. I am quite... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 10th June 2020 It’s arrived! Our lovely new book Bee Space to Bee Hive is on our shelves! The time and dedication by many beekeepers over so many years have brought... Read full story »

For Beginners: February 2018 See the rest of the series Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA Chair of Trustees With the advent of February, those of us who have kept bees for a number... Read full story »

For Beginners: January 2018 See the rest of the series Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA Chair of Trustees For a few months now, our bees will have survived by clustering tightly... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 3rd June 2020 Our June magazine has hit the inboxes and doormats (whichever is appropriate!) and contains an article comparing polystyrene and wooden hives. Very... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 27th May 2020 Have you take any beekeeping related photographs lately? If so, don’t forget we run a photographic competition in BeeCraft so check... Read full story »

Your Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 20th May 2020 It’s been World Bee Day today! Have you spread the word? Did you post any photos or videos on social media? Take a look at... Read full story »

Bee Space to Bee Hive A sample of the content of our new publication Bee Space to Bee Hive, available early June, the first of two excellent books written as a collaboration between UK Master Beekeeper, Andrew Gibb, and the late Ann Harman, one of the first certified Master Beekeepers of the US Eastern Apicultural Society. Read full story »

Proof of the benefit I purchased some digital booklets a while ago and got round to making beeswax candles last week, initially forgetting that I had bought Recycling Beeswax. I... Read full story »

TIMELY REMINDER 13th May 2020 We couldn’t wait to tell you of a terrific new book we have just sent off to the printer! Bee Space to Bee Hive is a collaboration... Read full story »

Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 6th May 2020 Did you know that you can place ‘for sale’ and ‘wanted’ classified adverts in our magazine? Do you have an excess of... Read full story »

Mason Bees - The Bee Farmers USA A really interesting video on Renting out Mason Bees! https://www.remedypictures.com/documentary#/the-bee-farmers/ We really enjoyed this short... Read full story »

For Beginners: January 2020 Written by Clare Densley, Beekeeper, Buckfast Abbey, Devon I have been keeping bees since 1992 and now look after the bees at Buckfast Abbey with my... Read full story »

Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 22nd April 2020 Did you notice the deliberate mistake last week? Wax moth eggs are not the black dots in the silk trails. These are the droppings of wax moth... Read full story »

For Beginners: May 2018 See the rest of the series Margaret Murdin, NDB, BBKA president Now that May has arrived, our colonies should be expanding rapidly and there will... Read full story »

Bee Craft Timely Reminder - 15th April 2020 We hope you enjoyed your Easter weekend. Wax moth - this has to be the topic today. My colleague in Lincolnshire has managed to inspect her colonies,... Read full story »

From Seeds to Bees National Bee Supplies is one of the UK’s best-known beekeeping suppliers. Customers will have noticed a new look to the business in recent years,... Read full story »

Safe Use and Handling of Acetic Acid Safe Use And Handling of Acetic Acid Acetic acid is a clear colourless liquid used by beekeepers to sterilise wax comb to prevent disease during storage.... Read full story »

Website wins silver! The Bee Craft website, www.bee-craft.com, was awarded the silver medal at the Apimondia World Beekeeping Awards at Montréal in the class for... Read full story »

Autumn Feeding A guide to autumn feeding It is important to make sure colonies have sufficient stores to last them through the winter until pollen and nectar... Read full story »

Britian's Youngest Ever Beekeeper Archie Cridland: beekeeper: Britain’s youngest-ever qualified beekeeper Aged five and standing just 3 feet 8½ inches (113... Read full story »

Brood and a Half Brood-and-a-half I have kept bees for nearly 60 years and for much of that time I have used single British Standard brood chambers. Many say... Read full story »

Genetic Diversity of Honey Bees Genetic diversity of UK honey bees The original population of honey bees found in the UK was the subspecies Apis mellifera mellifera (A.m.m.),... Read full story »

What Did You Do in the Great Hornet War? What did you do in the great hornet war? Much has been written about the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina or yellow-legged hornet) and rather... Read full story »

Honey Bee Stings and Anaphylaxis Honey bee stings and anaphylaxis An allergy is a hypersensitivity (overreaction) of the immune system to something that usually causes no... Read full story »

For Beginners - March For beginners: March If you acquired your bees as a nucleus last year, as most beginners do, this will be your first full season and you have... Read full story »

The Value of a Frame of Brood The value of a frame of brood When inspecting a colony, we take many things for granted if they do not appear out of the ordinary. However,... Read full story »

The Honey Bee Landlord: every tenant's dream The honey bee landlord: every tenant’s dream Have you ever considered why so many creatures want to get into honey bee colonies? It’s... Read full story »

Bees, Baskets and Brimstone In last month’s Bee Craft (pp 9–11), we reported on a bee-driving event held by former BBKA president and beekeeping historian, David... Read full story »

Gremlins - 2019 Bee Craft Calendar The gremlins have had a hand in putting together the 2019 Bee Craft calendar. The first day of May 2019 disappeared and September thought it was 2018,... Read full story »

For Beginners - December Even though it is now December and the nights are dark and there are few, if any, flowers around, it is still important to continue with our beekeeping. The... Read full story »

From the Lab The Latest in Bee Research Bumblebees with a Neonicotinoid Addiction Experiments designed to determine the effect of pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids,... Read full story »

Raw Honey Honey labels are increasingly carrying the words ‘Raw Honey’, but what does the term mean and what do the relevant authorities think? Definition Raw:... Read full story »

Should I Keep Bees I keep bees for the pleasure they give me. I admit it; pain is also involved but their beautiful organisation is a wonder. Their industry is astonishing.... Read full story »

Tealight Candles in Bottle Tops Bottle tops can be used make colourful tealights to brighten up the dark winter nights. by Pauline Aslin Each one takes just 10 g of beeswax, so... Read full story »

Asian Hornet Awareness With many press reports, awareness of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) in the UK is increasing. However, correct identification is key as the great majority... Read full story »

Feeding Bees In bee-Utopia, feeding is not necessary. The colony collects sufficient nectar during the summer months to feed all the bees and a surplus which they convert... Read full story »

Bait Hives Free Bees? By Margaret Cowley, MSc What is a bait hive? A bait hive is an empty hive which is deliberately set up to attract a swarm. You... Read full story »

Learning About the Bees (And the Birds) Some folks say that as you drive down the lane to Englefield Primary School, just west of Reading, you enter a sepia-tinted... Read full story »

Varroa Treatments To try to ensure the survival of their colonies, beekeepers will want to minimise the varroa mite load in colonies as winter preparations begin. One way... Read full story »

Swarm Control By Adrian Waring, NDB Swarm control is what you do to a colony of honey bees that has actually started swarming preparations – if you want to... Read full story »

Honey Shows By Adam Leitch, Master Beekeeper, NDB Autumn is a time that many associations host honey shows, with opportunities to compete for various prizes and... Read full story »

Bricks or Butter Quite probably, oil seed rape (OSR) honey is what keeps commercial beekeeping alive in Britain, but it can pose extraction problems for beekeepers... Read full story »

Where on Earth is Pimpalner? In February 2018, Martin and Marianne were invited to Pimpalner by Sujana Kirshnamoorthy to visit an Under the Mango Tree (UTMT) bee project in India.... Read full story »

The Shook Swarm The beginning of a new season is the time to assess the health of your colonies as well as the quality of the comb they inhabit. Old brood comb can... Read full story »

Neonics Appear In Honey After the Ban Traces of neonicotinoid pesticides have been found in honey one year after the start of the European Union ban on their use on flowering crops. In a beekeeper-citizen... Read full story »