Why have a queen rearing and breeding group?
Breeding groups form a vital part of the work of the Scottish Native Honey Bee Society. They work well by pooling their expertise, sharing equipment and having access to larger numbers of good locally adapted stocks. Although groups show differences in their organisation reflecting local circumstances and preferences some features are likely to be shared.
Continue reading “Queen rearing and bee breeding groups”
[I apologise for the very late publishing of Kate’s post about the Lothian and Borders Breeding Group. Perhaps this can serve as a reminder that it soon will be time for all of us to think about next year’s breeding programme. We look forward to hearing more from the Lothian and Borders Group.
Kitta 7 December 2019]
13 April 2019:
Four members of SNHBS met in Humbie, East Lothian today to look at ways of working together to promote A.m.m. bees in the area south of Edinburgh. On the agenda were group aims, bee breeding and queen rearing techniques, skills development needs, access to suitable areas for mating apiaries and protocols for the use of such apiaries by members of the group. Continue reading “Forging Links in Lothian and the Borders”
[Article from the August 2019 newsletter]
World leading honeybee researcher Professor Tom Seeley from Cornell University, Mass. U.S.A. recently honoured Colonsay’s Black Bee Reserve with a two-day visit to study at first-hand the behaviour of our native honeybee, Apis mellifera mellifera, and also to learn about the conservation work, breeding and management systems being carried out by the island beekeeper, Andrew Abrahams.
Continue reading “Colonsay’s Honeybee Reserve given international acclaim”
Many of you will know by now that Martin Leahy, a member of Tarland Bee Group, won the title of International Young Beekeeper 2019 at the competition held recently in Slovakia. Martin is a member of SNHBS and believes at least some of his success at the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers (IMYB) is attributable to his attendance at SNHBS events. Continue reading “SNHBS member, Martin Leahy, becomes International Young Beekeeper 2019”
With the agreement of the SBA’s Events Committee, a small area of the Honey Tent at this year’s Royal Highland Show was made available to the Scottish Native Honey Bee Society for a promotional stand. In the three to four weeks before the show, the trustees put together a presentation to fill the allocated space. Our stand proved to be good enough to attract Countryfile presenter, Ellie Harrison, who stopped by for this promotional photo opportunity with SNHB trustee, Sandy Scott.
Over 70 members attended our 3rd Annual Meeting (again at Loch Leven Community Campus, Kinross), renewing friendships and meeting fellow beekeepers who shared their passion for the native honey bee. Andrew Abrahams and Dylan Elen were our guest speakers while Gavin Ramsay (SNHBS chair) gave the latest news on the Conservation Project and led the business meeting.
Continue reading “Scottish Native Honey Bee Society Annual Meeting – 30 March 2019”
Cheviot Breeding members, joined by East Lothian, Edinburgh & Peebles beekeepers, met to learn more about the raising of queens, led by Kate Atchley.
A lovely sunny day greeted the eight participants of the Queen rearing course on the 7th June at Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders. After the initial meeting and greeting it was down to work. A quantity of young worker bees were required to make up mating nucs. Kate has a nifty way to get them off the super frames and into a bucket without too many escaping! [See header photo] Continue reading “Cheviot Breeding Group’s queen-rearing day with Kate Atchley”
The North East of Scotland has a long history of beekeeping and a large number of active beekeepers organised into associations at local and regional level. In the 70s and into the 80s the so-called Aberdeenshire “Maud” strain of bee was discovered as having native bee characteristics and traits, and lineages from this strain were spread far and wide around Scotland. It seems appropriate therefore that the North East now has a group interested in the conservation and breeding of Apis mellifera mellifera.
Continue reading “North East Bee Breeding Group’s First Meeting 2019”
Newbattle Bee Academy – 17 Nov 2018
First of all, a note about the Bee Academy at Newbattle Acdemy: what a wonderful place for a workshop. For those of you who haven’t visited, it’s a beautifully restored wooden hut, adjacent to the main college building, built for military purposes in the run up to WWII. It’s now a cosy space – helped by the huge, well stacked wood burner! – well equipped for events such as this and home to an impressive library of bee-related materials.
Continue reading “Identify Those Native Honey Bees – Winter workshop 2018”
Queen rearing for SNHBS was initiated in May and interested people formed a very loose group in the North East of Scotland, with a good percentage of SNHBS members responding to a request to help out.
