Bee kind

On the Isle of Mull

 

Remembering

"The telling of the bees is a traditional European custom in which bees would be told of important events in their keeper's lives, such as births, marriages, or departures and returns in the household." Here we remember our fellow Beekeepers. Karl Showler 1932-2022 The BBKA was saddened to hear about the death of a former past President Karl Showler who passed away at the age of 89 in a Brecon Care Home. Karl was a renowned seller of antiquarian bee books in later life and his god-daughter Christiane took this lovely photo of him in his study where she spent a lot of time talking to him about the articles he was writing. He and his wife, Betty, ran B&K books from their home in Hay-on-Wye.  Karl was a Quaker and took great interest in other religions and churches. He was President of the BBKA for two years from 1989-1990 and kept bees for at least 62 years. Former President Tim Lovett said "Karl was one of the beekeeping Greats and will b...

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Examinations & Assessments

As part of our charitable aims we raise the standards of beekeeping practices through a series of courses and exams. We have a long and well established exam course which is constantly being developed to keep up with new research in the field of beekeeping. Our exams start with a Basic Assessment covering basic skills and knowledge of the craft all the way up to becoming a Master Beekeeper. Please click here for more information.

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Resources

The BBKA have lots of resources available to help you learn about bees in the BBKA shop.Buy The BBKA Guide to beekeeping

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Practical Assessments

Junior Certificate Under 18 and want to test your beekeeping knowledge? Then this could be the one for you The Junior certificate consists of 4 elements 10 minutes of oral questions Present your beekeeping diary  Further information click Basic Assessment To take the Basic Assessment you should have managed at least one colony of bees for a minimum of 12 months The Basic Assessment syllabus can appear daunting at first glance but closer inspection will show that it merely lists the basic things which all beekeepers should know. Basic_Syllabus_2020.pdf General Husbandry Certificate Have you been beekeeping for 5 years and passed your Basic Assessment? Then this is the next practical step This assessment is designed for beekeepers who prefer the practical approach rather than the written examinations.  On the day, your assessment is conducted by two BBKA Assessors and consists of Inspection of the candidates apiary, equipment and honey hand...

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Syllabi for Written Exams

Click here for Syllabi for 2022 Modules 1 - 8 Click here for updated Syllabi for 2023 Modules 1-8 Module 1 - Honey Bee Management Module 2 - Honey Bee Products and Forage Module 3 - Honey Bee Pests, Diseases and Poisoning Module 5 - Honey Bee Biology Module 6 - Honey Bee Behaviour Module 7 - Selection & Breeding of Honey Bees Module 8 - Beekeeping and Honey Bee Management Module 8 must be the last module to be taken, otherwise they can be tackled in any order.After passing modules 1, 2, 3 and one other from 5, 6 and 7 you are awarded the Intermediate Theory Certificate and after passing all modules you are awarded the Advanced Theory Certificate.It is recommended that you have at least 2 years’ experience of beekeeping before sitting a module exam.To apply for the assessment, please contact your local Exam Secretary. They will be able to email you a link to the application form. You can use this to apply and pay online. You will get a r...

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Reading Lists for Written Exams

Module reading lists for the updated 2022 syllabi  (Updated 4th April 2022) Module 1 - Honey Bee Management Module 2 - Honey Bee Products and Forage Module 3 - Honey Bee Pests, Diseases and Poisoning Module 5 - Honey Bee Biology Module 6 - Honey Bee Behaviour Module 7 - Selection & Breeding of Honey Bees Module 8 - Beekeeping and Honey Bee Management These reading lists are intended as a guide for candidates. It is not intended that candidates should read all the books on the list and there are other books available, not listed, which are also suitable reading. Only parts of each book may be relevant to a particular module or assessment. Candidates should therefore pay careful attention to the contents of the syllabus concerned. General information on sources of books is given at the end of each list.

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Karl Showler

1932-2022 The BBKA was saddened to hear about the death of a former past President Karl Showler who passed away at the age of 89 in a Brecon Care Home. Karl was a renowned seller of antiquarian bee books in later life and his god-daughter Christiane took this lovely photo of him in his study where she spent a lot of time talking to him about the articles he was writing. He and his wife, Betty, ran B&K books from their home in Hay-on-Wye. Karl was a Quaker and took great interest in other religions and churches. He was President of the BBKA for two years from 1989-1990 and kept bees for at least 62 years. Former President Tim Lovett said "Karl was one of the beekeeping Greats and will be missed".  Karl entered The Kent Farm Institute in Tunbridge Wells in 1954, which later became Hadlow College, after his army service in the Queens Own Royal West Kent Regiment 1951-53.  After his study he worked from 1956-1970 for East Malling Research Station in Kent, the UK's larg...

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Geoffrey Hopkinson BEM NDB

1928 - 2022 Geoff passed peacefully away on Sunday 1st May in Stoke Hospital after a short illness (Non-COVID) just a few weeks short of his 94th birthday. The way Geoff got into beekeeping was an interesting anecdote. He was asked to help his uncle move some bees and in moving one of the hives on the back of a flatbed truck the hive came apart. The bees escaped and Geoff was badly stung all over his face and body. He went to bed and when he woke up the next morning, he was a folk hero in the village. The boy who had a hundred stings was alive. The rest, he used to say, was history. He was hooked and he was a beekeeper after that. Geoff did his beekeeping training under the guidance of Ivy Jakes and progressed quickly. He was the youngest person to be awarded the National Diploma in Beekeeping in 1960 at the age of 32. Being part of the beekeeping elite, the NDB, he was at the forefront of beekeeping education. He has been involved in training and examining the beekeeping greats o...

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Edward Hill

A very quiet and private man, Edward started beekeeping as a schoolboy during the war in 1942.  Has been a member of Ormskirk & Croston for all of those 79 years. He was the mainstay of Ormskirk & Croston Branch for many of those years. A committee member for most of the time being serving as Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. He also spent many years as a member of the Lancashire and Northwest Central Council, being the Education Officer, he organised the convention & honey show, representing us nationally on various committees. Most recently, he was our County representative at Beecraft/Wax Chandlers forums. During meetings Edward used to sit quietly and would usually end the discussion with a “pearl” of wisdom. A very practical beekeeper, he never wore a bee suit, always with his famous bowler hat and veil!  In earlier times most of our bees were not so friendly, Edwards’s advice was “give the bees a good smoking through the entrance...

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Sue Scott (Scottie)

Scottie took over the mantle of  after the passing of another beekeeping stalwart, Barbara Roderick. The three-day annual event was the culmination of a year’s hard slog for Scottie in making sure that every little detail was covered – which, of course,  they always were! She relished meeting members of the general public explaining the nuances of beekeeping finishing by thrusting a membership form in their hands with a cheerful “see you soon” parting phrase. Although the show itself was hard work it never failed to conjure up some amusing moments too.   On one such occasion an elderly gentleman and his daughter rocked up making enquiries about beekeeping and the suitability of keeping a number bee hives in their back garden. “Absolutely perfect!” Scottie replied, adding “though you need to make sure they won’t be troublesome for your neighbours”. “How many hives were you thinking about”? she enquir...

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John Annett

John Annett, a beekeeper who had a huge impact on the Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers Association’s development over the last 50 years has just died, aged 98. He joined the HRBKA in 1970, and at various times held most of the posts within the Association.  In 1988 HRBKA affiliated directly with the BBKA, and John will be remembered best from then on as the champion of beekeeping education, both practical and theoretical. Weekly public beekeeping demonstrations in the Harlow Carr and Harewood Gardens were established by John and presented beekeeping to hundreds of visitors every year.  He was strongly in favour of promoting beekeeping to non-beekeepers and as a result, HRBKA has an award-winning stand at 6 multi-day shows in and around Harrogate every year. He was an enthusiastic promoter of the BBKA exams. At one time over 40% percent of HRBKA members were Basic Exam Certificate holders, and Association members accounted for over 50% of all the BBKA Microscopy Certific...

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Bill & Mary Dartnall

Sadly Mary and Bill Dartnall passed away beside each other on Easter Sunday, 12th April 2020, in Southampton General Hospital. They had both tested positive for coronavirus.  Mary was a Past President of the BBKA from 1996 – 97 and an Honorary Member of the BBKA. During her presidency she campaigned for farmers to limit spraying of chemicals to protect bees. Both Mary and Bill were Joint Presidents of Southampton & District Beekeeping Association, a role they thoroughly enjoyed. They had been married for 63 years and their daughter, Rosemary, said "They came as a pair - they were a team. Life wasn't always a bed of roses but they got through it together and they left us together." There will be a Memorial Service for them later in the year.

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August In the Apiary

  Jeremy Quinlan Last month I advised everyone to get ready for the end of the beekeeping year in early August, and now we are there. Unless you go to the heather, when everything has to be delayed, you need to treat for Varroa close to the middle of the month and check that every full colony has at least 20kg of stores and, if they do not, to feed so they do. This can be difficult as many treatment manufacturers advise against treating and feeding at the same time. The timing of the treatment is most important. Feeding Before starting feeding, go through your colonies and assess what weight of stores each has. A National brood frame of fully capped honey will weigh about 2kg, a full super frame about 1kg. Add the weights together and subtract that from 20; that is the amount of additional stores needed. Do not trickle it in, try to feed the whole amount in one go as tiny feeders are a mistake. ‘Stores’ means the honey equivalent and honey is approximately 20% wat...

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