Index - BIBBA

Seasonal Nectar Gaps in Farmland Landscapes

Paper Review: Seasonal Nectar Gaps in Farmland Landscapes Timberlake et al. (2019) Phenology of farmland floral resources reveals seasonal gaps in nectar availability for bumblebees This paper is a straightforward observational study examining the seasonal availability of nectar sugars across farmland habitats in North Somerset. Although the work focuses on bumblebees, many of the findings…

Varroa Resistance: It Comes from the Queen

For those involved in bee improvement and breeding, a key question has always been:

Do bees learn Varroa-resistant behaviour from each other, or is it inherited?

The researchers showed that Varroa resistance is passed on through the queen and her offspring and not by workers learning from each other.

This means:

Resistance is genetic, not taught
Requeening is sufficient to change colony behaviour
There is no need to transfer “experienced” workers

Resilience in the Face of Winter Losses
Bee Rescues – getting people out of a ‘sticky’ situation
Varroa resistance – It Comes From the Queen

A recent UK study has shown something quite remarkable: your honey can reveal hidden disease in your colony before you see any symptoms.

Local markets, local honey. Martina shares what they do at Luffs Meadow Honey when attending markets and is interested in your hints and tips.

Resilience and Winter Losses
An Old Technique to Increase Honey Yield
Rethinking “Emergency” Queen Cells
Cascading the CaSCA Message
What Your Honey Can Tell Us About Bee Health

Recover

Resilience and Winter Losses Steve McGrath Winter losses are sad and frustrating, and in some cases they can be devastating. It will be a while before we have the survey data for the 2025/26 winter, but anecdotal evidence from multiple sources suggests that some beekeepers have experienced losses well above the historic norm, and in…

Loch Tay Black Bee Breeding Group

Queen rearing group based in Killin and around Loch Tay, focused on propagating the best of our locally adapted dark bees from the area. Our focus is on healthy, vigorous and varroa resistant bees that overwinter under the coldest and wettest conditions here in Scotland and build up quickly in springtime. We produce locally adapted,…

Sheffield Varroa Resistant Bees

Sheffield-based group of beekeepers seeking to identify varroa resistance in our local bee population and to promote the distribution of these resistance traits to our local beekeeping community. We are a group of Sheffield beekeepers seeking to identify, propagate and distribute queens derived from locally adapted colonies displaying varroa resistant traits. Using mite drop monitoring,…

A new model for sustainable business: Emma shares some insights into her company, Buckley’s Bees, the work it does with businesses and how the company’s initiatives not only make the world of bees more accessible to all but also provides the opportunity for beekeepers to earn an extra income.