Several members of the committee are standing down this January so this is your chance to get involved and make a difference. Some committee members are officials with regular responsibilities but other just take things on as and when situations arise and they feel they can make a contribution.

The committee is friendly and welcoming and meets just four times a year so it is not an onerous thing to do. We are looking for people with a little time and energy, not necessarily people who have been keeping bees for a long time.

We are also looking for people with a few years experience who would be willing to mentor new beekeepers for their first season. You will remember it can be a very perplexing time because as David always says - 'Bees don't read the books'.

Bees are very much in the news again at the moment with a new TV series Bees, Butterflies and Blooms by Sarah Raven raising the profile of out pollinators.
The National Trust is doing its bit by putting honey bee hives onto its properties.
At Mottisfont they have produced some fabulous video to show what goes on in a hive.
Mottisfont honey bees.
I believe there are  also three  hives at the Vyne now and we will be appearing at the Orchard Day  in September.Their blog can be found here

Don't forget to check that your hives have sufficient stores to overwinter especially as the weather is mild. The bees may be tempted out to fly with no forage to reward their efforts. Also now is a good time to do an oxalic acid treatment before the queen comes back into lay.

There are signs that wasps are starting to cause problems. Bee keepers do not deal with wasps so please do not ask us. Contact a commercial operative to deal with your problem.

We have received a message from the National Bee Unit via our regional bee inspector that some colonies are struggling this year due to the dry weather. 

Just to say thank you to all those people who have generously volunteered to collect swarms this year. 

There have been quite a few enquiries about bees in airbricks etc which are likely to be red mason bees and bees under patios which are likely to be mining bees.There is now some information on solitary bees on a new page on this website. They are all harmless.

We were called out for our first swarm last week so please monitor your colonies carefully. The new system seems to be working quite well. If you need help with a swarm please try to contact the most local volunteer as we are trying to reduce both the volunteers time and the amount spent on fuel.There have been a number of calls due to solitary bees under patios so the swarm page is being amended with some extra information to reflect this.

Just a reminder that if you would like to subscribe to Beekeepers Quarterly you get it at a reduced price of £16 (instead of £26) if you do it through the club. There are 4 issues during the year.There is a space on the membership form to do this via our membership secretary Sharon Woodman. Alternatively contact our secretary David Coppock.If you already subscribe at full rate they will rebate the difference.

Beekeepers in need of bees who would like a swarm this year should contact Jenny and Eric by phone or send a mesage via the website here

Similarly any experienced beekeepers who would be able to collect swarms (for redistribution)  in areas not already covered by our team of volunteers please get in contact.See Honey Bee Swarms for current list

Best wishes, Chris