A talk by Nigel Boulton and John Badley 15/08/2026 Held at the Bee Shed. We start with a reminder of why we prepare the hives for winter. Everything revolves around keeping the bees alive and healthy through the cold period and ready for the start of the new season. There are three causes of colony …
Honey Extraction in words and pictures Demonstration by Nick Silver and Bob Mucket at the Bee Shed, 1st August 2026 The whole process can be divided up into discrete operations. Removing the honey frames There are many gadgets to clear bees from the frames of capped honey, but all of them require more than one …
Summer Meeting at Hunthay Apiary 18 July ’26 Talk and demonstrations by Nick Silver, Milly Frankpitt and Rodney White. IntroductionNick is Education Officer for East Devon Beekeepers, Milly is YLAH coordinator for East Devon, and Rodney is an East Devon member who is part of the team developing the ‘Buzz Copper’ system for detecting Asian …
I SPY…. I Spy….. Getting your eye in. 6th June 2026 Thanks to all those who came to this meeting and asked all the questions. We hope you benefited from the discussions and will put some of the hints and tips to good use in your own hives. As promised, I have duplicated the Task …
Use of Bait Hives to catch swarms A talk by Richard Simpson at Kilmington Village Hall, 2nd April 2026. 32 attendees Richard explained that he had been experimenting with bait hives for a number of years, with variable results. Sometimes, a swarm would turn up and take over spare equipment in the apiary. Other deliberate …
Processing Bee Products for the Show Table A talk by Liz Westcott from Torbay Branch, 5th March 2026 Liz was introduced as former President of Devon Beekeepers’ Association and many East Devon members will know her from her presence at Honiton Show, selling products of the hive. Honey extraction The first thing Liz pointed out …
Keeping Healthy Bees – Is being treatment-free possible? A talk by David Packham to East Devon Beekeepers and West Dorset Beekeepers 5th February 2026 Introduction Healthy brood. Courtesy The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Crown Copyright David listed some basic considerations leading towards a better understanding of how to keep bees healthy. This was …
EDBK Winter Social 4th December 2025 Cooking with Honey The Tasting Attended by over 30 members The Cooking with Honey event at last year’s Winter Social was a great success, so we thought we would repeat the exercise in 2025. Diane Shepstone from Bradford BKA has continued to print ‘Cooking with Honey’ recipes in BBKA …
EDBK Annual General Meeting Held at Kilmington Village Hall on Thursday 6th November 2025 Before the AGM, Hilary Kirkcaldie called for a minutes silence in memory of those members who had passed away during the last year: David Wiscombe, Chris Charlton, Ges Pelham and Baruch Livney. The AGM was efficiently run as all the reports …
An illustrated talk on solitary bees by Brigit Strawbridge