F1 mated Buckfast queen for sale from this year from Black Mountain Bees. She was only dispatched yesterday and marked blue for this year, but discovered the colony concerned already had a Queen. I’ve currently got her in a cage in my spare room, so very keen to find her a new home.
£40 ono.
My number is 07825 345632. Best thing to do is text me, as I have bad signal and miss calls but I’ll get texts.
Thanks, Jessica
There are still a few colonies available.
If you are interested, please call Steffan on 07776354817
Also for sale are brood boxes, supers plus various beekeeping equipment.
Dear Beekeepers
We are looking for articles about beekeeping, news items about associations, or letters about beekeeping concerns for the autumn edition of the Welsh Beekeeper magazine.
All contributions should be sent to the editor, Basil Wolf, at editor@wbka.com by July 31st. Basil will always be interested in talking to you about your ideas and can help you to edit your article.
Keep Snapping: remember to take photographs for our Annual Photo Competition. Anything to do with beekeeping will qualify. Just remember to use your phone in landscape position: i.e. hold the phone horizontally and not vertically, and aim for quality files in excess of 2MB.
Basil Wolf
Golygydd /Editor
Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru /Welsh Beekeepers’ Association
E-bost/Email: editor@wbka.com
Gwefan/Website: www.wbka.co
I found this report in the Guardian, it tells of the catastrophic effect VAROA mites are having on bee colonies. The report is very worrying. It says Varoa are becoming resistant to miticides. Hopefully this link I share works and you can read the article for yourself. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/08/record-us-bee-colony-dieoffs-climate-stress-pesticides-silent-spring-aoe
Peter Kirkup
PBKA Asian Hornet Coordinator
A brief comment on the Asian Hornet or Yellow Legged Hornet, it seems the new term is preferred, in June, Kent and East Sussex provided the only confirmed reports. PLEASE DO NOT try to deal with a nest if you find one, REPORT IT. https://risc.brc.ac.uk/alert.php?species=asian_hornet
Let’s talk about… WASPS, that time of year is upon us, time to reduce the entrance gap to one bee space. I am reluctant to kill wasps, they have their role to play in nature, perhaps my observations and ideas will be helpful to you when you inevitably face a wasp invasion. Putting out wasp traps I abandoned long ago, they cause the demise of wasps and other insects, even worse, the wasps that escape seem to tell other wasps they found a sweet drink and more start appearing. It is likely a wasp nest is near by, to find it can be tricky. Wasps are easy to catch so you can glue a bit of foil to one, release it and see where it goes. This year, if I get a problem (shouldn’t do as hives are big and strong) I will offer the wasps a sweet liquid treat away from my hives, they might choose the easy option and not harass my colonies. What do you think, do you have other solutions? If my attempt fails I plan to adopt a biological weapon, watch this YouTube video to see how organised wasps can be and what secret defense you can employ. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9RfjS6rVoE&t=216s&pp=2AHYAZACAcoFFEFjcm9iYXRpY3MgbWluaXNjdWx
Peter Kirkup
PBKA Asian Hornet Coordinator
Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association 