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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.

This insect, pictured to the left, presents the biggest threat to British honey bees and other pollinators that we have seen in this country for very many years.

This is the Asian Hornet – a non-native invasive species that was first seen outside Asia when it was reported in France in 2004.
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.
So far in 2023 there have been 71 Asian hornet nests found in 55 locations.

Find the very latest information on sightings from Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit website ‘BeeBase’.
Advice from the NNSS (Non Native Species Secretariat) on what to do if you believe you’ve seen an Asian hornet.

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.

As reported below from the Mid Bucks Honey Show on Sept. 18th, this year’s MBBKA honey won some nods in local competitions. You can now buy this honey and decide for yourself !

Now (or shortly) available from the following outlets…

Kings Farmshop, Aylesbury
J&J Butchers, Warners End, Hemel Hempstead
Worlds Finest Fruits, Dobbies Garden Centre, Aylesbury
Waterton Butchers, Tring

Better get yours fast, ‘cos it’s buzzin’ off the shelves!!

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...

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Mar ’24 Association Meeting

March 20 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Fred Ayres from Lune Valley Beekeepers in Lancashire talking about “Alternative approaches to beekeeping.

We are a group of holistic beekeepers, based in the beautiful Lune Valley and its surrounding areas, who are passionate about promoting minimal intervention, beecentric beekeeping and also improving the environment in which our bees and other pollinators live.

The Lune Valley is in Lancashire and Fred will talk about beekeeping in a colder and wetter environment using their unique long hives. Fred Ayres is based in Lancaster but is kindly making the trip down to Buckinghamshire.

Details

Date:
March 20
Time:
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Series:
Event Category:
Website:
https://www.lunevalleybeekeepers.co.uk/

Organiser

MBBKA

Venue

Church of the Good Shepherd
Church of the Good Shepherd
Aylesbury, Bucks HP21 8NH United Kingdom
View Venue Website

...which starts in...

Mar ’24 Association Meeting

Hooray!

Also checkout these upcoming MBBKA events ...
For a complete list of upcoming events...

The South Bucks Honey Bee Swarm Reporting Service.
This is now closed for 2023.

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. Mid Bucks and High Wycombe beekeepers operate a volunteer collection service.

WANT TO KEEP BEES ?

The 2024 Beginners Course

The MBBKA run a New Beekeepers course each year and this sells out very very quickly.

The 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 2024 and registration is now open on Eventbrite (please click here).

Or for more details on the 2024 Beginners’ Course please click here.

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.