Dorchester and Weymouth Bee Keepers Association

Yes it is the highlight of the beekeeping year here in Dorchester and Weymouth - the Dorset County Show.

The schedule for the Honey Show is now available here and for those who wish to enter the entry form is here. For those who downloaded the schedule before the evening of the 1st August then I suggest downloading it again.

OK so your harvest was not up to much and you don't think you have any honey to enter then how about making some fudge or a honey cake or even a tin of polish - there are entry classes for all of these and many more.

And dates for your diary

• Weekend 6th and 7th September -Dorset County Show
• Wednesday 13th August - Social at the Colliton Club 7pm to 9pm
• Wednesday 10th September - Committee meeting - anything you want raised?
• Wednesday 17th August - Social at the Colliton Club 7pm to 9pm
• Saturday 11th October - Dorset BKA Convention in Dorchester
• Wednesday 22nd October - Our AGM and a social
• An evening in November - talk by Kevin Pope on Tropilaelaps
• Wednesday 4th February 2026 - Zoom talk by David the Apiarist on Varroa.

I have added a few For Sale notices on the For Sale page and this is also a reminder of the Basic Assessment Mock at the Stinsford Apiary this morning. I expected it to be an unbearably hot day and not the soer of day you would be wanting to put on a bee suit. Not so. It is quite chilly. If you want to see more on how to handle bees then get yourself down to the apiary and see an expert manuipulating bees.

Saturday 17th May -at 11am a Mock Basic Assessment will be held at the Stinsford Apiary. Lesley will be demonstrating what is involved in doing the Basic Assessment. I attended last year's mock and despite having kept bees for many years I still learned more. If you are thinking of taking the Basic Assessment then this will be an excellent opportunity.

Tuesday 17th June at 6:30 there will be a BBKA Zoom lecture at the Colliton Club on "Small Scale Queen Rearing". We have held two of these sessions and they have been popular. An opportunity to listen to an expert and then discuss with others what we have heard.

Sunday 22nd June - at 2pm Kevin will be at Stinsford Apiary. He will inspect the hives and comment on what he sees. With his vast experience he can always add to our knowledge of what is going on in our hives. The session will be followed by a picnic - if you bring some cake! Last year we had a similar session and we had an excellent social time as well as learning a lot.

Wednesday 30th July- at 7pm there is a committee meeting. OK that is for committee only but speak to any of the committee if you have requests or suggestions and it will be discussed. It is your Association.

Wednesday 13th August - at 7pm there will be a social at the Colliton Club. Come along and tell us how it is going in your apiary.

As the beekeeping season really gets under way we have more dates for you to put in your diary:

Thursday May 15th -at 7pm Social at the Colliton Club. With the threat of Yellow Legged Hornet ever present we will be selling traps. We will also be having a demonstration of how to set one up. We will also be having a demonstration of the "Pollenizer". This is a device the Yellow Legged Hornet team can use to attract the Yellow Legged Hornet. Why would you want to do that? Well if we can attract it we can see in which direction it flies away and hence we can locate the nest.

Saturday 17th May -at 11am a Mock Basic Assessment will be held at the Stinsford Apiary. Lesley will be demonstrating what is involved in doing the Basic Assessment. I attended last year's mock and despite having kept bees for many years I still learned more. If you are thinking of taking the Basic Assessment then this will be an excellent opportunity.

Tuesday 17th June at 6:30 there will be a BBKA Zoom lecture at the Colliton Club on "Small Scale Queen Rearing". We have held two of these sessions and they have been popular. An opportunity to listen to an expert and then discuss with others what we have heard.

Sunday 22nd June - at 2pm Kevin will be at Stinsford Apiary. He will inspect the hives and comment on what he sees. With his vast experience he can always add to our knowledge of what is going on in our hives. The session will be followed by a picnic - if you bring some cake! Last year we had a similar session and we had an excellent social time as well as learning a lot.

Wednesday 30th July- at 7pm there is a committee meeting. OK that is for committee only but speak to any of the committee if you have requests or suggestions and it will be discussed. It is your Association.

Wednesday 13th August - at 7pm there will be a social at the Colliton Club. Come along and tell us how it is going in your apiary.