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April has brought a beautiful start to the season, and an early one at that! Compared to last year, the weather is so much better and the bees are out flying, bringing in pollen and nectar, and it is shaping up to be an ideal start to 2025.
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Please note that all of our branches will be closed on both Bank Holiday Mondays this May, apart from our Rand branch which will be open from 10am to 3pm (this does not include the Buzz Stop restaurant at our Rand branch - this will be closed on the bank holidays).
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If you are local to Lincolnshire, we still have a few spaces left on our June beginners course. The course will be on Wednesday 4th June and will be aimed at the novice beekeeper with no experience, or someone who feels they need to revisit the basics. Follow the link below to read more and book.
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Ideal for those just out of reach swarms. Made from canvas and metal with nylon rope pull cord for closing the top. Place the bag underneath the swarm and gently ease the bag upward to enclose as much of the swarm as possible. Pull the cord and shake gently.
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& Api-Bioxal Liquid Bundle
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For the month of May we are offering the Budget Swarm Catcher & bottle of Api-Bioxal Liquid for the reduced price of £50 when bought together. Read about the Budget Swarm Catcher in our Equipment Focus above.
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Marking queens - why do it?
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The lecture video release for the first Friday in May, at 5.15pm UK local time is Sean Stephenson’s overview of microscopy and how it relates to beekeeping. Sean covers microscopy techniques employed to investigate honey bee diseases, the anatomy of the honey bee and what bees forage on. The talk covers the equipment required, the methods for disease diagnosis, anatomical dissections, and the preparation of both anatomical and pollen slides.
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Sean is a Master Beekeeper, Chairman of Bucks County BKA and a BBKA Exam Moderator. He runs the Bucks Microscopy Group which has over 40 members and meets at least 10 times a year. Sean is keen to promote microscopy, to help people understand the basics, develop skills and to introduce an awareness of botany and entomology. You can view the lecture on the show’s YouTube Channel.
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Sean Stephenson’s 2024 lecture on microscopy
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If this fires your enthusiasm for microscopy, remember that there are several interesting microscopy classes to enter, with of course the exhibits to browse at The National Honey Show itself. Details can be found in the Show Schedule of classes: www.honeyshow.co.uk/schedule/ There are also often microscopy workshops at shows, so do check out the information on the website around August for Sean’s Microscopy workshops at this year’s show. Booking for National Honey Show workshops is from September, online.
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Northern Bee Books have many microscopy books to choose from and are re-printing Val’s father’s book on ‘Pollen Microscopy’. The new edition should be available in a couple of weeks’ time, new ISBN: 9781912271986.
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We have a special leaflet featuring the junior classes, which will be distributed with your June issue of BeeCraft. Do encourage our younger bee enthusiasts to enter classes. Some of the entries are to be sent in advance. Entries (including junior entries) that need to be delivered in person on the Wednesday of the show can be sent, if arranged in good time, via any of the Thornes distributors south of the border, or Northern Bee Books. They are happy to deliver your entries for you. Remember we invite teachers and group leaders to book for our schools day visit on Saturday 25th October 2025. George from the Thornes team has compiled a video from the Schools Day visit 2024 which you can view.
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We look forward to seeing you at this year’s show:
National Honey Show Thursday 23rd to Saturday 25th October 2025 at Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9RT, UK.
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Bees for Development at RHS Chelsea May 20-24, 2025
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Bees for Development is thrilled to announce that they will be exhibiting at RHS Chelsea from Tuesday, May 20 to Saturday, May 24. This year, they’ve created a unique Balcony Garden inspired by the profound connection between people, bees, and biodiversity.
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Designed as an urban retreat, this garden is a sanctuary for pollinators. It beautifully combines elements of both English and African beekeeping traditions, offering an uplifting and practical message: we can all make a difference for pollinators, even in the smallest of spaces.
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Named “Making Life Better with Bees,” the garden has been made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of EH Thorne, London Honey Co., and Protek, with design by The Humble-Bee Gardeners.
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Bees for Development looks forward to welcoming you to this inspiring space!
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Monmouth Bee Festival -14 June, 2025
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Join Bees for Development on Saturday 14 June for the Monmouth Bee Festival 2025, a vibrant community celebration of bees, pollinators and the vital role they play in our lives.
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Taking place in the beautiful Nelson Garden in Monmouth from 12pm to 4pm, this free, family friendly event promises something for everyone. There will be face painting, seed ball making, beekeeping displays, homemade cakes and refreshments and much more, all set to the sound of live music.
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Visit our website HERE for more details.
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Beekeeping with the Batwa Community in Uganda
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The Batwa of southwestern Uganda were evicted from their ancestral forest land in the early 1990s following the gazetting of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National parks. Since then, many have lived landless, economically vulnerable, and socially excluded.
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With support from Bees for Development (BfD), and The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organization (TUNADO), in collaboration with local partners like Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust (BMCT) and local leaders, beekeeping is emerging as a pathway to self-reliance. Through hands-on trainings, Batwa youth and elders alike are learning how to weave and manage bamboo hives, harvest honey hygienically, and care for their bees sustainably.
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Read the full blog post HERE.
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Where do the bees go?
An exploration of key UK forage species for pollinators
By Lesley Jacques, NDB
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“A beautifully detailed exploration of the key forage plants that sustain UK pollinators, blending stunning high-resolution pressed botanical scans, ecological insights, and expert beekeeping knowledge. Essential reading for beekeepers, nature lovers, and anyone fascinated by the vital relationship between plants and pollinators."
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Northern Bee Books (1st ed. 2025)
Paperback (A4)
122 pages
£20
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Reviewed by Ann Chilcott
Scottish Expert Beemaster and author of The Bee Listener
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Where do the bees go? An exploration of key UK forage species for pollinators by Lesley Jacques is a detailed guide to 24 of the key UK families of important pollinator plants for bees. Jacques is a scientist by profession with a special interest in biology and botany relating to beekeeping. She is a Master Beekeeper and was inspired to compile this plant portfolio while studying for the National Diploma in Beekeeping which is unique to the UK.
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What makes this publication stand out from similar beekeeping books is the attention to detail and its timely focus on all UK bee pollinators which are currently under threat from climate change, habitat loss, disease, and pesticides. It is a beautifully illustrated book and the pressed flower photographs are superb. The author has painstakingly and skilfully collected and preserved an elaborate herbarium, and photographed pollen grains from each collected plant.
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The book is written in a field guide format though its A4 size probably restricts its use to indoors. We find information relating to each plant family including the number of genera and species, and features such as leaf shape, petal numbers, fruit type, flowering times and habitat. The most valuable information for the beekeeper or conservationist relates to the food value of each plant which is reflected in its nectar and pollen production. The protein value of each pollen is explained and shown as a crude protein level. We learn that plants whose pollen falls in the crude protein range of above 25% are considered to be of most value to foragers. The other key features are bee forage potential, and notable foraging bee species which are shown in tabulated form. We learn whether a particular plant produces pollen, nectar, or both, and if it is of value to honey bees, long-tongued or short-tongues bumble bees, or solitary bees. The different foraging bees are listed by both common and binomial names.
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Some families contain more useful plants than others and here the pea family (Fabaceae) section, for example, features five important plants all with similarly sized and shaped pollen grains and crude protein values.
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A contents page to help the reader navigate the book, and an extensive reference list contribute to the value of this book for beekeepers and beekeeping students with impending examinations. However, the readership of this informative and topical book will be wide-ranging—farmers, botanists, conservationists, gardeners, research scientists and many others will find this a very useful book.
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