Apiary Schedule 2023
We’re delighted to be able to welcome our members back to our branch apiary for our regular apiary sessions.
These will take place on Saturday afternoons, starting at 14:00, on the following dates.
15 April
29 April
13 May
27 May
10 June
24 June
8 July
22 July
5th August
19th August
2nd September
11 November – Checking winter stores
IMPORTANT!
We aim to hold the sessions on the dates set out above. However, the welfare of the bees takes priority. If the weather is poor, or the colonies aren’t strong enough, the Apiary Manager might take the decision to cancel a scheduled apiary session. The decision to cancel might have to be made at short notice. If a session has to be cancelled, we will mailshot our members to let them know. Mailshots will be sent to the e-mail address members gave us when they applied for/renewed their membership, so please check that e-mail address on the morning of a scheduled session just to make sure that the session will be running.
About Our Club Apiary
We have excellent facilities, and members are welcome to join us for the fortnightly training sessions that we hold there throughout the beekeeping season.
During the season we carry out a variety of procedures, including:
- Queen marking/ clipping and keeping hive records
- Testing for varroa levels
- Disease inspections
- Treating for varroa
- Changing brood combs: new for old
- Changing a brood box
- Swarm control
- Queen rearing
- Clearing supers and taking honey
- Honey extraction
- Feeding colonies
Summer evening and everything is quiet…
As well as working directly with the colonies in the apiary, we have a well equipped club house which we use for apiary training during the beekeeping season. It’s also open after apiary sessions for a brew, a biscuit, and some chat about what we found during the inspections, and asking and answering each others’ questions about managing our own bees.
Our club apiary sessions begin each spring when the bees become active, and run through until late summer. We also hold a final session after autumn feeding and treatments have been completed to heft hives and check they have enough winter stores.
Club apiary session usually take place on Saturday afternoons, although the Committee is considering offering different days occasionally in order the ensure that all members have the opportunity to attend.
For more information about the branch apiary, please contact ApiaryManager-WWBKA@outlook.com