Public Info
Why We Love Honey Bees!
A honeybee is… … a social insect that lives in a perpetual colony. They do not ‘hibernate’ in winter, but reduce their activity and overwinter as a cluster within their nest. They expand the colony size very rapidly each spring and summer, meaning they can go out foraging for pollen and nectar in force, earlier than other pollinators. They don’t think of themselves as individuals but live their lives with the sole aim of supporting their colony. So how do they work together? They are very complex creatures. They communicate with each other: through pheromones (scents that prompt responses from other honeybees) ‘dances’ (to pass information to other members of the colony about nectar sources, the time to swarm, the...
Honey Bee Swarms
If you have identified a honey bee swarm, we may be able to help The Basingstoke & District Beekeepers' Association receives a small grant from Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council to provide a honey bee swarm removal service in Basingstoke and the Borough Council area. This goes towards paying the travel expenses of volunteers from the association who help members of the public when a swarm of honeybees appears from May to August. We are not able to collect wasps, hornets, solitary bees or bumblebees. More information on Solitary bees can be found here. Pictures of wasps, hornets and bumblebees can be found on the British Beekeepers website. YOU WILL be charged £20 if volunteers are called out for swarms...
Asian Hornet
The Asian Hornet is a non-native species How to identify the Asian Hornet and what beekeepers can do - here is the advice from BBKA Report sightings of this species to alertnonnative@ceh.ac.uk Species description A highly aggressive predator of native insects. Poses a significant threat to honey bees and other pollinators. Scientific name Vespa velutina AKA Yellow-legged hornet Native to Asia Habitat Nests usually high in trees and man made structures, sometimes close to the ground; hunts honey bees, other insects and also feeds on fruit and flowers. Notes Not easily confused with any other species. Dark brown or black velvety body. Characteristically dark abdomen and yellow tipped legs. Smaller than the native European Hornet. Introduced to France in 2004...
Solitary Bees
There are about 240 different kinds of solitary bee in the UK. Many are tiny and hardly recognisable as bees but there are a number which are similar enough to honey bees for them to be mistakenly identified. Solitary bees do sometimes nest communally but they don't fly for very long and do not sting. Red mason bees These bees look similar to honey bees but perhaps a little smaller and they will nest in a variety of aerial locations including airbricks and small holes in masonry. This year there have been many reports of bees in breathing tubes for cavity walls and in holes in doors. These bees are harmless and only fly between late April and May. They...