Newbattle Beekeepers Association

The Scottish Beekeepers Association  winter monthly webinars continue! These beekeeping webinars are free and open to all, you just need to register your attendance beforehand for access on the night.

Andrew Abrahams is the next guest speaker in the series. On Wednesday the 1st of November at 19:30, he will be talking about 'The Bees of Tasmania'. Tasmania is home to one of Australia's only populations of pure Black Bees (Apis mellifera mellifera), their native honey bee.

To book your place please click on the link below

I WANT TO BOOK MY PLACE

Find downloadable resources on the BBKA website via this link

National Honey Day Resources

Despite their reputation as nature’s buzziest pollinators, the vast majority of bee species spend most of their lives underground. Now, thanks to a hospital computed tomography (CT) scanner, researchers have revealed new insights into how these insects build their subterranean lairs. The method could help scientists learn more about how bees contribute to healthy soil and find ways to protect these critically threatened creatures.

Read the Article Here

Let’s celebrate!

Friday 21 October is the first ever National Honey Day in the UK. The aim of the day is to promote delicious local honey and to highlight the increasing problem of fake ‘honey’.

Honey has been used worldwide for centuries both as food and medicine. It’s a natural source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and is antibacterial. The ancient Egyptians offered honey to their deities and used it to heal infected wounds. It’s widely used in modern medicine infused in wound dressings. 

Pure honey comes in a huge range of different flavours, colours and textures. These qualities are determined by which plants the foraging bees have collected nectar from. The flavour can range from light and floral to dark and bitter.

Honey is so delicious to eat but at NBA we also add it to our skincare products as it is antibacterial, nourishing and moisturising.  

But bee aware! There’s lots of fake honey out there. Sadly, honey is one of the most faked food in the world! Suppliers mix cheap sugar or corn syrup with honey to bulk it out and bring down the cost. This 'honey' lacks the natural, delicious flavour of pure honey, as well as the health benefits. Look for pure honey with the country of origin clearly shown on the label. Ideally buy a jar of local honey from Newbattle Beekeepers Association from their Online Shop or call by the Bee Academy at Newbattle Abbey College.

Take Me To the Online Shop

Bumblebees have developed a remarkably successful method for fighting off Asian hornets, new research shows.

Scientists at the University of Exeter found buff-tailed bumblebees drop to the ground when attacked - taking the hornets down with them.

Read More on the BBC News Website

Strap your hives down ahead of the winter storms so they don't end up as a "natural disaster" statistic in the surveys of winter losses. Some examples of good and bad practice, and the consequences of not battening down the hatches.

Read More Here

A recently introduced initiative by the Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association (BIBBA) provides help and support for commercial and semi-commercial apiarists. To access the support you must be a BIBBA member and have at least one regular sales outlet, keep locally adapted bees and support the aims of BIBBA.

For More Details Click Here

Find out More on the BBC News Website

For all you budding honey competitors, The Scottish Smallholder Festival is being held on Saturday 14 October at The Highland Hall, Ingliston and there is a small honey competition for you to enter.  To date they have received no entries and are most keen to recitify this situation. 

The courses are aimed at beekeepers with experience who want to pass this on to others - a perfect fit for our mentors!

Course participants should have gained their Basic Beekeeping Certificate (BB)

The course is run over two days and will run from 09:00 - 17:00 on both days

The course is subsidised by the SBA and Newbattle Beekeepers Association is willing to further subsidise the fee by £50 making the cost to an NBA participant £50.

Places are very limited. To book a place contact Alan Riach Phone or text 07702 436612

Book your place, pay the SBA fee of £100 and reclaim £50 from Newbattle Beekeepers Association