We are a friendly, helpful and inclusive association supporting all with an interest in honey bees and beekeeping in The Scottish Borders.
🐝 Bee Alert May 🐝
We are entering peak spring swarm season. Older queens will be the most likely to swarm, and even younger queens may do so if their brood boxes become congested. Providing adequate space is essential to reduce this risk.
Summer Apiary Visits
Nothing beats getting inside a live hive. We are running a series of apiary visits across the Borders from April to August. It is a practical way to pick up hands-on skills. You get to see how other people manage their setups. The dates are now live.
Saturday 9 May, Swinton Mill, 12.30 – 16.00
Enjoy extended hospitality as well as an apiary visit at Swinton Mill, to include lunch from 12.30.
Finlay Mitchel writes: “Let’s chat about Swarm Control over lunch then, weather permitting, out to apiary to put Swarm Control measures into place. With 3 busy hives to work with we’ll touch on Snelgrove, Demaree, Pagden and splits.”
More details to follow for attendees.
Sign up here for this and later apiary visits:
Sunday 24 May, Ayton, 14.00 to 16.00
Sunday 14 June, Roxburgh, 14.00 to 16.00
Sunday 5 July, Melrose, 14.00 to 16.00
Sunday 19 July, Hawick, 14.00 to 16.00
… and probably one near Jedburgh, to be confirmed.
Honey Jar Orders: Volunteer Needed
We are looking for a volunteer to coordinate the physical side of our bulk honey jar orders this year. All orders and payments will be handled automatically through the BBA website, so the admin is light. We just need someone to receive the pallet and manage the collection days for members. Once we have a volunteer, we will open up the storefront for purchases.
Update Beebase …
We’d like to remind all beekeepers to take a few minutes to log in to BeeBase and check that their records are up to date. With foulbrood spreading this resource is ever more important.
BeeBase is our best tool to monitor and control the spread of honey bee pests and diseases. However, BeeBase is only as good as the information it is given. Up-to-date information also helps to build a clearer national picture of colony numbers and distribution across Scotland.
What to update this spring
As you prepare for the season ahead, please check:
Your contact details – name, address, email and phone number
Apiary locations – including any apiaries that have moved to rapeseed for example, closed, or been newly established
Colony numbers – to reflect winter losses, splits, or new colonies
Activity status – if you are no longer keeping bees or are taking a break this season
You cannot be alerted of a disease outbreak in your area if BeeBase does not know that you have bees there. If you are no longer actively beekeeping, please mark your account as “non-current” on BeeBase.
If you need help updating your BeeBase record, or if you have forgotten your username or password, please get in touch with us by email at Bees_Mailbox@gov.scot
All the information you enter into BeeBase is confidential and secure.
Scottish Government’s Honey Bee Health Team
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