This classroom course covers the basic theory and handling of bees and is delivered by experienced beekeepers. See Training/Introduction to Beekeeping for more details.
Category: Training Event
2023 Beginners Course (Bedford)
This classroom course covers the basic theory and handling of bees and is delivered by experienced beekeepers. See Training/Introduction to Beekeeping for more details. Note: this course is now underway and not suitable for new joiners. For further information, please use “Contact Us” from the “About Us” menu.
New Year Workshop 2020
This is our New Year Workshop aimed at beekeepers who would like to learn more about how to keep honey bees.
After a welcome coffee or tea and biscuit the workshop will be divided into 3 sessions with a Q&A at the end.
- Managing Colonies for Winter Survival – Wally Thrale
- How to keep Varroa under control using IPM – Simon Barrow
- Ensuring the Bees Thrive in Spring – Gill Brewer
- Q&A (please submit your questions to Gill by email at the_brewers@btinternet.com either before the day or by lunchtime on the day)
Hot drinks and biscuits will be provided. Please bring your own lunch. Tesco is a short walk for those who would like to buy a sandwich.
To purchase your ticket please go to Webcollect
Bee Refreshed Day
“Bee Refreshed Day”
Especially for beekeepers in their first few years, but everyone welcome.
To refresh knowledge of the basics and prepare for the next steps.
When: Saturday 26th January 2019
Where: Flitwick Village Hall
Time: 09:45 till 16:00
Cost: £10 (payable on the day)
Food: Drinks provided. Bring a packed lunch.
Programme:
9:45am. Registration and coffee
10am. “Challenges faced by new beekeepers” Simon Barrow
11am. “All about swarming” Gill Brewer
12noon. “How to Harvest Honey” John Macdougall
1pm. Lunch
2pm. “Keeping Healthy Bees” Colin Hall
3pm. “Getting Bees Safely Through Winter” Wally Thrale
4pm. Close
To book a place email Gill Brewer the_brewers@btinternet.com
Winter Talk
Pete Folge, our Seasonal Bee Inspector (SBI) is coming along to talk us on his role and his experience as a beekeeper. Peter runs over 50 colonies of his own as well as inspecting bees every day.
Wally our Secretary says:
“How these inspectors manage to do so much beekeeping in a week is beyond me. Personally, I look forward to a visit by the Bee Inspector (quite different from a tax one) as I always learn something from them. They go through hives looking for brood disease. If there is disease I am not confident I would always find it so to have an expert do this for me is very re-assuring. Fortunately to date no serious brood disease has been present in my hives. During inspections I have the opportunity to ‘pick their brain’ which I find so useful.
You too can have this opportunity if you come along to listen to this talk. It will be a practical one and, beginners and more experienced beekeepers will gain from it.”
Please do try to come along.
Introduction to Beekeeping – Moggerhanger
Session 1 of 6
To book a place please go to our booking page
Introduction to Beekeeping – Luton
Session 1 of 6
To book a place please go to our booking page
Beautiful but Dangerous!
As pictured at Queen Bee Day: Beautiful but Dangerous!
One queen has lived in Gill Brewer’s memory since 2009! Her daughters stung her apiary landlord and his dog. She culled the whole hive because the extreme aggressive-defensive behaviour might have been passed on to other colonies through the drones.
Our training day on ‘The Queen Bee’ at Flitwick Village Hall dealt with many fundamental issues of real practical importance, attracting 48 participants. Among the matters covered were just how the female egg becomes a fully-fledged queen, pros and cons of different strains of bee, different queen rearing methods and whether to buy in professionally produced queens – or raise our own “British Mongrels”, with a clear majority perhaps leaning towards this approach.
We were privileged to have Peter Tompkins as one of our teachers, who gave us with insights into pioneering bee research at Rothamsted as well as the benefit of his huge fund of know-how about working successfully with bees.
Introduction to Beekeeping – Session 6
Wintering
Feeding, hefting hives, and storage of equipment. Robbing, Wasps, Mice, and Woodpeckers. Practical – hefting, and netting a hive.
Brood Diseases
Recognising healthy and diseased brood. Getting help. The National Bee Unit (NBU), NBU Inspectors, BeeBase. Disease Quiz.
Introduction to Beekeeping – Session 5
Flower to Honey
Pollination. The waggle dance. The collection and use of nectar, pollen, water, and propolis by bees.
Honey Harvest
Checking whether honey is ‘ripe’. Clearing bees, extracting honey, licking out. Storing, bottling, and labelling honey. Reclaiming wax. Hoeny tasting.