Canterbury Beekeepers

We will have our next apiary meeting of the season on Saturday 5th July in the afternoon. On this occasion we will be doing a “Bee Safari”, wherein we visit different members’ apairies. We will start at 1130 in St Nicholas-at-Wade, where Bob Heddle has several hives, including 2 Zest hives, one in a double brood chamber. We will then move on to Kathleen and Frank Muller’s house, who have offered to entertain us with tea and cake, at 1310. Our last stop will be in Chartham Hatch, at 1500, where Alan Hawkins has 4 hives in Abelo boxes, plus a nuc.

Full joining instructions are included in the recent email to all members, including the important w3w locations, and parking instructions. If you didn’t get this, please contact us at mailto:secretary@canterburybeekeepers.org.uk

On this occasion, as a courtesy to our hosts, please let us know before 10am on Friday which apiaries you will attend, by RSVP.

It’s encouraged to visit all 3 locations, but you can just visit the most convenient for you. As usual, bring clean beesuits, and no leather gloves. If you need to borrow PPE, let us know ahead of time.

Our next apiary meeting will be on 2nd August in Stanford, near Folkestone. We will demonstrate extraction of honey from supers collected at our branch apiary, courtesy of Debbie Burton’s well-appointed honey house (aka double garage!)

Mark Hobday has invited the branch to visit his apiary in Chilham on 26th April, from 2-4pm.  He’s got 6 colonies in place at the moment, and with the good weather through March and April, they all should be developing nicely, and I imagine Mark will be looking for signs of congestion that might lead to swarming.

You will find joining details in the email sent to all members. If you want to come along as a a visitor, you are very welcome, just drop us an email at chairman@canterburybeekeepers.org.uk, and we’ll provide the precise location information.

As usual, please come with clean suits and gloves. Continuing Kent BKA’s policy from 2024, we will ask folks to sign a disclaimer form, acknowledging the (small) risks inherent in beekeeping.

If you don’t have a suit, please let us know ahead of time so we can arrange to bring loaner suits.  We don’t like leather gloves, but kitchen marigolds are fine, as are hospital/surgeons’ gloves.  Wear wellie boots (to keep the bees from your ankles), and preferably avoid woollen/hairy clothing, as bees can get caught up in the fibres.