Dorchester and Weymouth Bee Keepers Association

On Saturday 14th March at the Colliton Club in Dorchester we will be holding the AGM. This is an important meeting since we will be electing officers to manage the association over the next year. If you don't like the way we are doing things then this is an opportunity to tell us. It is also an opportunity to thank us if you do like what we are doing.

Then there is the capitation which we all pay from our membership to Dorset Beekeepers. This year we are asking to put this up from next October. You may well ask why - and I will tell you. The Yellow Legged Hornet has been found in the county and we are now on the front line to prevent it getting a hold in this area. Fighting invasions costs money.

Well that was a very brief summary of the AGM but you deserve more - and more you are being offered. Before the business of the AGM there will be a presentation on the Yellow Legged Hornet and what we are doing about it. Hopefully the presentation will include examples of some of the newer traps and detection methods that are being developed. It promises to be an informative session.

If that is not enough to encourage you to turn out for the AGM perhaps the offer of a cake break between the presentation and the business part will tempt you.

We do hope to see you on the 14th March at 2:30pm at the Colliton Club Dorchester.

Normally the warmer weather is a sign of hope that soon the bees will be doing what we want the bees to do. This year is different.

As soon as the temperature gets above about 13C for several days hibernating Yellow Legged Hornets (previously known as the Asian Hornet) will awake.

Last autumn we had nests of Yellow Legged Hornets destroyed in Dorset. Almost certainly fertile queens had already left the nest and found a place to hibernate. Now they will be coming out of hibernation ready to create a new nest.

It is important that we are alert to this problem. We must be prepared to give time to eradicating this invasion before it can become established. I know that as the bees become active we are all very busy checking our hives but if we don't get on top of the Yellow Legged Hornet invasion we will have much more spare time as we may only have empty hives to check! You have been warned.

On a lighter note have a look at the BBC 1 Asia series1:4 Tangled Worlds. The programme is well worth watching but of particular interest is the section from 40 minutes to 46 minutes which shows the Yellow Legged Hornet at work. It is not quite the same as ours since it has more yellow bands but its modus operandi is the same. All I can say is bring on the Honey Buzzards. If you want to know why then you will have to watch the programme.

This could be you in 2026.

Dorchester and Weymouth Beekeepers will be running a course in the spring for those thinking of becoming beekeepers.

When? This will be in the Spring on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. It will be followed by practical sessions at our apiary at weekends. Why can't I be more precise on dates? Simple. The weather we may have a really cold wet spring and bees do not like their hives opened in cold weather. Then again we may have an early warm spring and we can open the hives in March.

Where? The theory sessions will be held at the Colliton Club in Dorchester. A very suitable venue - since it sells beer ( and coffee).

Course Content? We won't teach you all there is to know about bees. That takes a lifetime and even then you cannot cover everything. What we will teach you is enough for you to get your own bees and look after them. Perhaps they will even do so well that you get honey from them.

Who is the course for? This is not a course just for beekeepers. It is a course for anyone interested in bees. Several participants in previous years never intended to keep bees but they were keen to know about them. If you do want to keep bees then by the end of the course you will be able to open a hive and examine the colony - with confidence.

The cost? The cost is just £60. For that you get a course delivered by two experienced beekeepers, both ex teachers so they know how to deliver the course. In addition you will get several visits to the apiary where you will put on one of our bee suits and examine the inside of a hive.

Sign me up Contact our secretary dwbkasecretary@gmail.com

Want to know more? Download this pdf document which has all the details.