WBKA

Microscopy Course

apiarymanager Training, WBKA

Dear Beekeeper

Microscopy Course – An introduction to honey bee anatomy and dissection.

Venue: Plas Dolerw, Newtown

Date: 30 August 2025, 10 – 4

Cost £33

Tea and coffee provided but you are required to bring your own lunch

Registration link:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/microscopy-for-beekeepers-honey-bee-anatomy-and-dissection-tickets-1507854656869?aff=oddtdtcreator

We have a spare place on this course which is available to members. No previous experience of microscopy is required as full training will be given. However, you will need to bring a low powered, dissecting microscope with you. If you are unsure if you have the correct equipment please contact Lynfa Davies on lynfa.davies@btinternet.com to discuss. There is no spare equipment available so it is essential that you check if you have the correct equipment.

Thanks

Lynfa

Highly Recommended Webinar! Tropilaelaps with Maggie Gill on July 3rd, 2025 at 7:30 PM

apiarymanager Bee Health, Training, WBKA

Tropilaelaps with Maggie Gill. Join us for a webinar on Jul 03, 2025 at 7:30 PM BST.

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Like Varroa, Tropilaelaps are brood parasites that feed and reproduce on honey bees. Originating in Asia, they have jumped species from their native hosts the giant Asian honey bees to our western honey bees. In much the same way as Varroa did in the 1980s are spreading westwards and were confirmed for the first time in Europe in 2024. Unfortunately, Tropilaelaps poses a much greater threat than Varroa, causing colony losses of between 50 to 80% in areas where they have recently been detected for the first time. Their faster rate of reproduction, shorter phoretic phase and apparent ability to survive on alternative hosts make them more difficult to control and treat.
Find out more about the biology, behaviour, and distribution of this exotic pest and the threat it poses to UK beekeeping.

Maggie Gill has been a beekeeper for 20 years, producing queens and nucs on a small scale and also working in honey bee research. Her research has seen her work with universities and beekeepers in Thailand, Lao, Canada, Chile, Sweden, Iran, USA and most recently Georgia to study honey bee pests and diseases. Currently a senior entomologist at Defra, Maggie worked as a seasonal and regional bee inspector for Wales for 10 years.

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

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Webinar – Bee Problems to be Aware of with Keith Bartlem – Thu, Jun 5, 2025 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

apiarymanager Education & Training, Events, Starting Beekeeping, Stories of Interest, Training, WBKA
Bee Problems to be Aware of with Keith Bartlem

Join us for a webinar on Jun 05, 2025 at 7:30 PM BST.

Register now!

This is a talk about common bee diseases, virus’s, and conditions which can effect any honeybee colony. A disease talk can be a bit depressing. So, there are anecdotes about my time as a bee inspector as well as my time of beekeeping in North Wales.

Keith is a former Seasonal Bee Inspector for the North East of England. Keith lives in North Yorkshire, just outside of Bedale. He is a Master Beekeeper, BBKA examiner, BBKA exam board member, and an active member of the Richmond and District Beekeeping Association. Currently, he manages twenty colonies, mostly using 14 x 12 hives.

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

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Webinar – Swarming and Making Increase with Alan Baxter – Thu, May 8, 2025 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM

apiarymanager Education & Training, Events, Stories of Interest, Swarms and Swarming, Training, WBKA
Swarming and Making Increase with Alan Baxter. Join us for a webinar on May 08, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Register now!

Alan’s talk begins by outlining the reasons why bees swarm, a little of the biology that explains why and how swarming occurs, then the swarming process itself including the communications that the bees use when choosing their new home.

In the second part of the talk Alan walks us through the ‘countdown’ to swarming, the signs to look out for, and the moment in the process when swarm prevention (or Pre-emptive control) becomes swarm control (or Re-active swarm control).

Finally, we will look at the practical steps a beekeeper can take to prevent a swarm occurring, then move on to methods of simple swarm control involving making increase, why we talk about artificial swarms, and simple methods of control for beekeepers who don’t want more colonies.

Alan Baxter is a Royal Marines Veteran who began his beekeeping adventure in the Loire Valley in France, where he attended University then worked in adult education and training for 23 years. His apiary there was the target of heavy predation by Asian Hornets and he developed apiary management techniques to help his bees survive the onslaught.

He moved to England in 2020 and manages 20 colonies of gentle bees in 3 apiaries in Hampshire. He has founded and runs a Teaching Apiary with courses, exam preparation and coaching sessions for his local beekeeping association. He has completed all the BBKA Modules and holds the General Beekeeping Husbandry Certificate. He continues studying to be a BBKA Master Beekeeper and is halfway through the Cornell University Master Beekeeper Program.

Alan writes regular blogs and articles and gives talks and seminars around the country on Beekeeping, the Asian Hornet, the Wines of the Loire Valley, and the 1982 Falklands War.

He is the author of the Hampshire Asian Hornet Contingency Plan and a book Fit2Fight- A Practical Guide to Managing the Asian Hornet published by Northern Bee Books Ltd.

https://www.alanbaxtersblogs.co.uk

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

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Reminder: Simple Queen Rearing with Dan Basterfield Thu, Apr 24, 2025 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM BST

apiarymanager WBKA
 

Register now!

Dan grew up with beekeeping around him, earning pocket money by clipping and marking queens. Having spent 15 years working in large companies, he returned to the family beekeeping business in Devon in 2005, and with his father
expanded the business and built a brand new Honey Farm as the centre of their honey production, queen raising, and teaching activities.
The bees can do it, so can you! Aiming to raise perhaps half a dozen queens to use for re-queening or making splits, we look at three very straightforward approaches that require little fiddling or additional equipment: making queenless nucs, the Demaree method, and the Miller method.
Dan grew up with beekeeping around him, earning pocket money by clipping and marking queens. Having spent 15 years working in large companies, he returned to the family beekeeping business in Devon in 2005, and with his father expanded the business and built a brand new Honey Farm as the centre of their honey production, queen raising, and teaching activities.
Dan holds the National Diploma in Beekeeping (NDB), is a BBKA Master Beekeeper, and is an examiner for the BBKA and NDB examinations. He is a regular lecturer around the UK on practical beekeeping topics. Daniel wrote some of the BBKA’s Course in a Case training courses, has contributed to the BBKA’s Liquid Gold and Swarming videos, and co-authored the BBKA’s Healthy Hive Guide book. He has just published Using Apideas, a manual for queen mating nucs.
He is a member of the Bee Farmers Association, and has been a Trustee and Chairman of the International Bee Research Association (IBRA), and Chairman of the NDB Examination Board.

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

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