News & Events
SWHBK Members' Meetings & Events​
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02/04/25 Dan Basterfield - 'Managing common diseases and disorders'
07/05/25 Club practical session - 'Simple mistakes to make in the apiary and how to avoid them'
04/06/25 Andy Barnes Willis - 'Wax refining'
July & August - no meetings
*all meetings take place at Brockenhurst Village Hall on the first Wednesday of each month starting at 19:30, unless otherwise notified.​
​For all BBKA talks available on YouTube click here.
April
Managing common diseases and disorders
Dan Basterfield gave an excellent talk on 'Managing common diseases and disorders' earlier this month. We learned more about the importance of monitoring the health of the hive with a focus on nosema and chalk brood.
Dan grew up with beekeeping around him. He joined his father in 2005 to expand their bee business and built a brand new Honey Farm as the centre of their honey production, queen raising, and teaching activities. He is a Master Beekeeper and has a National Diploma in beekeeping.
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He co-authored the BBKA's 'Healthy Hive Guide' pocket book - ideal to have with you when inspecting hives. He has a National Diploma in beekeeping and is a Master Beekeeper as well. ​
March 2025
Feeding bees
Peter Higgs from Beegone gave a great talk to members on 'Removal of bees from difficult places' on Wednesday 5 March.
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He took us through how he built his business up and his learnings along the way. The message we took away is that removing a colony/swarm from a building such as in a chimney, the roof etc is best left to the professionals. Always try to use 'pest' removal firm that will rehome the bees and not kill them.
February
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
South West Hampshire Beekeepers held their AGM on Wednesday, 5 February.
Simon Lewis took members through the reports and the major achievement of the year - the new club apiary. The meeting was well attended and a good discussion was had once the formalities were completed.
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Thank you everyone for coming.
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January 2025
Feeding bees
Welcome to the New Year.
Two of our favourite speakers - Clare Densley & Martin Hann from Buckfast Abbey gave a great Zoom talk on 'Feeding Bees'.
How, when and why? Different systems were explored and we gained a deeper understanding of how what we do affects the bees' development and survival.
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As normal we all took away some great ideas to follow up.
