Welcome to the
Mid Bucks
Beekeepers Association
Serving the bees and beekeepers of Buckinghamshire since 1966.
The Mid Bucks Beekeepers Association was founded in 1966 to serve the needs of beekeepers in central Buckinghamshire and is one of four local associations within the county of Buckinghamshire.
With more than 200 members, the MBBKA has a thriving and active membership who strive to support their fellow beekeepers, as well as providing related educational services to the wider community.
The 2025 MBBKA Beginners' Course opens for registration in December 2024.
The MBBKA beginner’s course in beekeeping is your gateway to a captivating and rewarding hobby that not only connects you with the natural world, but also plays a pivotal role in supporting our ecosystems and food production.
The Threat of the Asian Hornet
The latest information circulated by the BBKA, “Just One Asian Hornet“, details the destructive potential of this invasive insect and what WILL happen if its ingress into this country is left unchecked.
The Asian Hornet, a non-native invasive species, was first seen outside Asia when it was reported in France in 2004. It is a highly effective predator of insects (including honey bees and other beneficial species and native pollinators), with no local natural predators to help manage its spread, it has destroyed bee hives and bee colonies across France as it’s been making its way north and across the English Channel. Recorded sightings in the UK have been on the rise since 2016.
Find the very latest information on Asian Hornet sightings from The Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit website ‘BeeBase’ and advice from The NNSS (Non Native Species Secretariat) on what to do to report any sightings of Asian Hornets.
See it ! Swat it ! Stamp on it !
What else is buzzin' around the apiary ?!
Here’s a short list of recent happenings that have been going on and/or are coming along shortly. To see a full list of previous and forthcoming events and activities, meetings, shows, talks and apiary sessions, please see our Events page.
The BBKA have confirmed that the £10 million Public & Product Liability Insurance for BBKA members was renewed 4-10-23.
The BBKA have said: “The Public & Product Liability Insurance Confirmation Letter for those members who need to provide certification for e.g. hiring a market stall, is available to download from the bbkanews.com website. You will need your membership number and postcode to login. From the ‘Select Publication’ drop down menu, click on BBKA Documents.“
They have worked with the insurance brokers to review and expand the attached FAQs document to include more clarity in regards to members who generate income from their hobby – see questions 14-17.
We are getting lots of reports that the wasps are out in force this year and colonies are under attack!
Wasp attacks on your colonies are very stressful for the bees as they try to defend the colony and protect their stores. You can help them by closing the entrance down as much as possible, just room for one or two bees. This gives the guard bees the best chance of seeing off the wasps.
Also check your boxes to make sure there are no other possible entrances; old and warped boxes can sometimes leave just enough space for a wasp to squeeze in. If you have a colony that is under attack it would be worth moving it out of the apiary if you can as the wasps will come back to the same site.
You can build anti-wasp entrances to put over the entrance to the hive and here we have provided details of how to make them and how they work in the attached document.
Basically wasps don’t like to enter the hive via a long tube but your bees will get the hang of it whilst the wasps hang about outside wondering why they can’t get in!
With many thanks to Sean Stephenson for these instructions.
Our next Association event is...
Nov ’24 Association Meeting
November 20 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
“The History of Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey” with Martin Hann and Clare Densley.
An online presentation – details to follow
Related Events
Also checkout these upcoming MBBKA events.
WANT TO KEEP BEES ?
The 2025 Beginners Course
The MBBKA run a New Beekeepers course each year and this sells out very very quickly.
Theory sessions are held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Aylesbury over a 6 week period, with practical sessions running throughout the Spring and Summer.
Our next course starts in March 2025 and registration will open in December of 2024.
Learn more about beekeeping
Keeping bees can be an absorbing and rewarding pastime... learn more with the MBBKA.
training and education
We run courses for beginners, as well as intermediate and experienced beekeepers.
Come along and join the MBBKA
Whether you have bees already or are thinking of getting some, we'd love you to join us.
The South Bucks Honey Bee Swarm Reporting Service is currently closed.
From April to September you may come across a honey bee swarm. If found and reported in good time, honey bees can often be successfully captured and re-homed into more appropriate accommodation.
APHA's BeeBase RSS Feed
Please note that if this area does not show the BeeBase RSS feed, it’s likely to be down at their end… 😉