Author: apiarymanager

WBKA – Articles wanted and photo competition!

apiarymanager WBKA

Dear Beekeepers,

We are seeking articles and other items for the Winter Edition of The Welsh Beekeeper magazine. The closing date for receiving them is the end of October. Maybe you have some timely tips for the Winter or Spring Season that you find very helpful or you tried something new last year – we would love to hear all about it. If you have something to say or ask why not write a letter to the magazine. Do you have a favourite recipe that includes honey? Has your Association had an interesting speaker that you would like to write  a short report about or maybe you have read a useful book recently that others might enjoy? If you have any thing for the magazine please send it to editor@wbka.com as soon as possible.

This is your last chance to enter our Annual Photo Competition – submission by the 31st October. Photos need to be landscape (horizontal) format and should be a minimum file size of 2MB. Full competition rules are on the back cover of the summer and autumn editions of the magazine.

Thanks you for your continuing support of the magazine.

Selwyn Runnett

WBKA Chair

Asian Hornet webinar Thursday 9th October, 7.30pm with Andrew Durham

apiarymanager Bee Health, Hornets, WBKA

Please see the details below of our next webinar on Thursday 9th October, 7.30pm with Andrew Durham. As usual this webinar is open to every one and free to attend. As the Asian Hornet gets ever closer to us, this webinar is well worth listening to.

The Asian Hornet with Andrew Durham
Thursday October 9, 2025 7:30 PM 
 

Register now!

As the hornet continues to make ground on the continent and is threatening to get established in mainland UK, this is an important and timely contribution to a debate that beekeepers are going to have to have before the NBU withdraws from the front-line battle to eradicate the hornet.
Calling on the evidence that he presented in his recent book, Andrew Durham puts forward the argument that nest destruction schemes have proved to be “a dangerous delusion”, promoted by scientists but ultimately failing to make any impact on the hornet’s expansion and, more often than not, coming too late to protect biodiversity or to help beekeepers in the apiary.
He presents the argument that the spring trapping of foundress queens, something previously discouraged by scientists, offers much more potential to protect our biodiversity and is more effective at reducing predation levels in the apiary.
Andrew outlines what the beekeeper needs to do to best protect their bees and looks at defence against the hornet in and around the apiary.

Andrew Durham is a Cambridgeshire beekeeper who started his research into the Asian Hornet (a.k.a. Yellow-legged Hornet – Vespa velutina) in 2014, travelling around France and researching the impact of the hornet on French beekeeping. He has written regularly for the BBKA News and given talks in BBKA Asian Hornet Weeks/Conferences. His book “Asian Hornet – The Beekeeper’s Guide to Defences against the Yellow Legged Hornet Vespa Velutina” was published by Northern Bee Books in April 2025 and is widely available on a number of bookselling websites including Amazon.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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