It is not often in life that one has the good fortune to come across an unsung hero.
Dai Thomas was such a man. The epitome of that quiet, unassuming beekeeper, entirely in tune with his bees, always respecting their endeavours and treating them gently and patiently.
He was my mentor in beekeeping and I will always treasure not only his technical expertise but equally importantly his teaching in terms of taking your time, looking for what the bees will tell you in a colony and going about inspections in a quiet and methodical manner.
He was also one of the few folk I know, and not only in beekeeping that didn’t consider knowledge as a possession, to be guarded and kept to oneself.
He was free with all of those little nuggets of information, gleaned over decades of beekeeping and shared without a second thought.
In the hustle and bustle of modern life, we are sometimes apt to forget that beekeeping is a hobby, to be enjoyed, to be savoured and one that gives us fortunate few the opportunity to get closer to nature than most other people.
I’m not sure we will ever see the likes of Dai again. We can only strive to be as good a beekeeper as he was, to be as kind and thoughtful towards the natural world in general and bees in particular as he was and to ensure that his legacy lives on in all of us whenever we put on a beesuit.
– Jeremy
PBKA
David (Dai) Thomas
We are very sorry to announce the passing of David (Dai) Thomas, former PBKA Committee member and one of the most respected beekeeping names in Pembrokeshire.
Dai will be sadly missed by all who knew him, his generosity in helping other beekeepers was legendary.
We will post further details in due course.
Bees and Equipment for sale update!
See the latest list of bees and equipment for sale at https://pbka.info/for-sale-wanted/bees-for-sale/
AFB warning
Just a seasonal reminder for beekeepers concerning American Foul Brood (AFB).
We have been advised to direct you to the National Bee Unit (NBU) factsheet ‘Apiary Hygiene and Quarantine’, plus ‘Foulbrood Disease of Honey Bees and other common brood disorders’. These are available on Beebase at: http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
All beekeepers have a duty to keep healthy, disease free bees and the PBKA strongly recommends that beekeepers sign up to Beebase in order to ensure that they receive any warnings and can obtain advice etc. in the event of a disease outbreak.
Beekeepers within 3km of an AFB outbreak, with a current email address on Beebase, will receive an emailed alert from the NBU. All beekeepers within 5km of an outbreak should exercise vigilance as per the above factsheet, which also covers swarm collection and we strongly recommend that all swarms caught are quarantined for a period of 6 weeks with any concerns advised to your local Bee Inspector.
Please note if PBKA members see any hives in their area which appear to be abandoned, or are of unknown origin, contact the PBKA with details.
Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association 