Author Archives: Meridian Beekeepers’ Association

The Hampshire Beekeepers’ Association Honey Show 2022 will be held at The Great Hall, Winchester on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October. The 13th-century aisled hall was once part of Winchester Castle built by William the Conqueror. The 750 year old Round Table dominating the Hall has been linked to the ancient legends of KingContinue reading “Hampshire Beekeepers’ Honey Show”

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History The Library was founded in 1884 with just 25 items listed in the catalogue. It was keenly used and quickly prospered thanks to new acquisitions, bequests and donations. In 1961, in recognition of great service to the Hampshire Association, the library became The H.P. Young Memorial Library. Later, with the permanent loan of FrankContinue reading “Hampshire Beekeepers’ Library Service”

For the past couple of years, I’ve been waiting patiently to film the perfect swarm collection. By ‘perfect’ I mean a massive swarm dangling, seemingly precariously, from a stout branch, at head-height unencumbered by foliage or prickles where the beekeeper simply comes along, places a box under the cluster, runs a hand between branch andContinue reading “Swarm collection and hiving”

So, my adventure began about three weeks ago. After being placed on the swarm list, I received my first call to a small swarm of around 300 bees. They were located in a bush about 4ft off the ground in the caller’s back garden. I was feeling pretty excited about this being my first soloContinue reading “My first swarm”

Hampshire Beekeepers’ Association hosted its Bee Health Day in partnership with our Regional Bee Inspectors on Saturday 18 June 2022. The free event was held at Sparsholt College, Winchester and combined talks from a variety of experts with practical hands-on learning. After teas and coffee and a catch-up with friends, the day started in theContinue reading “Hampshire Bee Health Day”

Despite their names, both European Foulbrood and American Foulbrood are present in the UK and are potentially so serious, that their presence in an apiary is notifiable by law. The National Bee Unit (NBU) is the authority charged with controlling foulbrood. Beekeepers are legally obligated to report any suspected diseased colonies under the Bee DiseasesContinue reading “Foulbrood”

Denise and Richard inspected the West End apiary on 20 June. In hive 1, they found the lovely new queen (split from hive 2 and marked yellow) was laying well in a great pattern. The bees in hive 2 are in the middle of a supersedure with three cells visible, one ready to go. RichardContinue reading “West End update”

The basic assessment is designed to provide new beekeepers with a goal and to give them a measure of their achievement so far in the fundamental skills and knowledge of the craft. To enter the basic, which is an oral assessment, a person must have at least one year’s experience of keeping bees. The basicContinue reading “BBKA Basic Assessment”