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Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association

A warm welcome to Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association (GBKA). New members of all ages and experience are welcome to join us.

GBKA is a registered charity with the principal objective of promoting and furthering the craft of beekeeping. GBKA has been doing this for over 100 years and has members from all over Gloucestershire and its neighbouring counties.

GBKA is a member organisation of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), the national organisation that provides a wide range of services to beekeepers including insurance, information, newsletters, examination programmes and legal advice.

The seven Branches of GBKA support beekeepers in their area and run their own programmes of meetings, talks, and training sessions. GBKA members can attend the meetings of any Branch.

Events

September 25

Friday 12th
19:30
Honeybees, Bumblebees and Solitary Bees – the same but different by Lorraine WheelerC&G BKA, Uckington Village Hall, GL51 9SR

October 25

Friday 10th
19:30
Honey, efficiency and humidity by Derek MitchellC&G BKA, Uckington Village Hall, GL51 9SR

November 25

Thursday 27th
19:30
Trees & Bees by Richard RickittNewent Community Centre (Glebe Chapel)

News

  • Royal Three Counties Show 2025

    Online entry to the Royal Three Counties Honey Show is now available (closing date May 14th). The theme for this year’s Bees & Honey Show is ‘Honey & Health’ organised by Herefordshire on behalf of the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Read more…

  • GBKA 2025 Spring Lecture Day, County Honey Show and AGM

    Saturday, February 22nd. Hosted by the South Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association at Hawkesbury Upton Village Hall,  GL9 1AU. This year we have three exciting talks from two speakers (Professor Francis Ratnieks and Brigit Strawbridge) covering the Ivy Bee, integrated Varroa control and the life cycle of our native bumblebees and solitary bees. Read more….

Yellow-legged Hornet Sightings

GBKA Asian Hornet Action Teams


Government Confirmed Sightings
Updated 12/9/25
  • At the start of 2025 two single Asian Hornets were captured. One in Oswestry (January) and one in Canterbury (March).
  • More single hornets were captured in April (9) and May (4) and a nest destroyed in Kent.
  • Additional single or multiple hornets captured in June and 5 nests destroyed (Kent and West Sussex).
  • There has been a large increase in sightings from mid-July.
  • As of the 19th of September, the NBU rolling update reports 462 credible sightings and 112 nests found and destroyed. The majority are in Kent.

Do you have land suitable for bees or an apiary?

If so please contact your local GBKA association secretary here.

National Bee Unit News

  • Please report sightings of Yellow-legged hornets (YLH), also known as Asian hornets, on this online form or download the free Asian hornet Watch app for Apple devices or android devices. As of 24/10/2025: To view the location of destroyed nests, please visit the map page and choose the Asian Hornet map layer. 527 credible yellow-legged hornet […]
  • The National Bee Unit is pleased to launch the 2025 National Hive Count today, 1st of November. The hard slog of summer beekeeping is done so make yourself a nice cup of tea, grab your laptop and sink into your favourite chair. It's time to update your BeeBase records! We would like to ask all […]

BBKA News

  • Supporting The British Beekeepers' Association has many benefits attached and in many cases can fulfil business CSR obligations. Some of the benefits include use of our logo and free advertising in our BBKA News publication which reaches up to 30,000 individual members each month. Please contact us to discuss how we can work together. BBKA […]
  • Membership of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA)  We recommend, particularly if you are a new beekeeper or want to start beekeeping, that you join your local BBKA affiliated beekeeping Association who will be able to provide training and support.  You will also be part of the national organisation.  Partner, Junior, Country and School memberships are […]
  • Projects which the BBKA has supported in the past and which have now been completed are listed here:   Dr R Vinkenoog & Catherine Baldock; Northumbria University Quantifying the importance of tree floral resources for pollinators in urban landscapes. Gema Martin-Ordas, University of Stirling: Towards an understanding of how pollution affects bee cognition – a pilot […]
  •     Mr Wurm; Queen Mary University of London     Use of molecular medicine for early and effective diagnostics and monitoring of honeybee health. Dr Maria Clara Castellanos, University of Sussex Journal of Pollinator Ecology:  Open access publication of papers from around the world.     Dr Richard Gill, Imperial College London     […]
  • If you have a research proposal that you believe would be of interest to the BBKA and wish to apply for funds, please complete an application form. Please be aware that the committee meets in January, May and September to consider applications and we need at least a further 8 weeks after the meeting to […]
  • Enhance your association activities and extend your educational programme by booking a speaker. Tips for looking after your speakers:  Make contact with potential speakers well in advance, many are booked up to a year ahead. Send your speaker a reminder a week or so before, with clear directions and map on how to find the […]