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"

The perfect swarm collection! Why can’t it happen to me? 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 aContinue reading "Swarm collection and hiving"

The bees worked hard over the first couple of weeks to draw out this beautiful comb 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 groundContinue reading "My first swarm"

Learning how to identify a notifiable disease is much easier in a real life situation 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-onContinue reading "Hampshire Bee Health Day"

What can you see? 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 coloniesContinue reading "Foulbrood"