Our monthly meetings include beekeeping talks and demonstrations. We will also hold a question and answer forum during which members can pick each others brains for that useful tip.
We enjoy meeting new people and as a result non-members are welcome to come along to meetings to find out more and decide if you’d like to join our club.
For our monthly meetings this season we aim to run a combination of meetings in person and via Zoom.
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Monday 19th February 8pm by Zoom
David Evans ‘The Apiarist’ will give a talk on Swarms and Bait Hives
This talk covers theoretical and practical aspects of swarms and bait hives. It covers the role of scout bees in identifying the new nest site, the process of swarming, bivouacking and then relocation to the chosen site. The setting up of bait hives, the choice of box, location and contents is covered (including foundationless frames) . As is common in his blogs, both scientific studies and practical beekeeping are included. He also talks about how to manage your bait hive once you have attracted a swarm of bees.
*********************************************************************************Sunday 24 March 10:30 – 14:30 Offshoots Apiary
Swarm Control workshop
Swarming is the area of beekeeping that most worries beekeepers (and their neighbours) especially in the first few years of keeping bees.
Feeling confident that you understand and can use a method of swarm control when your bees are preparing to swarm will help address your concerns and make your beekeeping through swarm season much more enjoyable.
The main questions we hope to answer at this workshop are:
- How will I know that my bees are preparing to swarm?
- I am confused by all the methods of swarm control. Which one should I use?
- I might not be able to find the queen. What do I do?
- They’ve swarmed! How do I get them back? What do I do with the colony that swarmed?
There are two talks by different speakers and a series of small group practical interactive demonstrations of swarm control methods.
For the practical demonstrations we will have enough equipment available at each station for a full demonstration of a method of swarm control. There will be an opportunity for those who wish to practice to move the hive parts and frames around. The only thing missing will be live bees!
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Sunday 7 April, 11:00 – 13:00 Offshoots Apiary
Apiary Social ‘Maintenance and Clean up Day’
This session is the really the first of the club apiary sessions for the season. Apiary hygiene is very important in every beekeeping oper
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