Home

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.

Asian Hornet Sightings

2024

Updated 5/11/24

GBKA Asian Hornet Action Teams

  • There is now evidence of nests reaching maturity and successfully overwintering (2023/24) in South East England.
  • The hornets trapped in Four Oaks, Kent are offspring of a nest destroyed in East Rye, Kent (Nov. 2023).
  • A hornet trapped in Denton, Kent is an an offspring of a nest destroyed in Alkham, Kent (Oct. 2023).
  • Some hornets trapped in Kent are related to hornets trapped the previous year – possibly suggesting they are from an undetected 2023 nest.
  • Hornets from the destroyed small primary nest found near Canterbury, Kent also appeared to be unrelated to any of the previously known nests. They were all triploid (queen mated with a single diploid drone) and unlikely to be fertile.
  • As of 5/11/24, 23 primary and secondary nests have been reported. Thirteen secondary nests (mainly in Kent and Sussex with one in Hampshire) have been found and destroyed.

Events

  • September, 2024

    October, 2024

    Friday 11th
    19:30
    Bee Disease Insurance by Martin SmithC&G BKA, Uckington Village Hall, GL51 9SR

News

  • Royal Three Counties Show 2024

    Online entry to the Royal Three Counties Honey Show is now available (closing date May 15th). The theme for this year’s Bees & Honey Show is ‘The Beekeeping Year’ organised by Worcestershire on behalf of the three counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Read more…

  • GBKA Auction

    The GBKA auction will take place on Sunday, 12th of May 2024 at the Westbury-on-Seven Parish Hall, Rodney Road, GL14 1PF. GBKA Auction

Do you have land suitable for bees or an apiary?

If so please contact your local GBKA association secretary here.

National Bee Unit News

RSS Error: WP HTTP Error: cURL error 28: Operation timed out after 10002 milliseconds with 0 bytes received

BBKA News

  • Module Examinations Online Module examinations:  Saturday 16th November 2024 The next module examination date is 16th November 2024, applications are now closed. When completing the application form, you will need to select your preference for online or in person at a local venue. Both formats of the exam are the same exam and will be run […]
  • Frequently Asked Questions Where and when is the Convention for 2025? The Convention is held at Harper Adams University, Shropshire, TF10 8NB 4th -6th April 2025, with a Welcome dinner at 6.30pm on Thursday 3rd When is the Trade Show? The Commercial Trade Show is on Saturday 5th only: 08.30 – 16.30 There is a […]
  • The BBKA are putting on a series of Zoom talks for beekeepers which will also be recorded and made available on YouTube for those unable to watch live.  All talks start at 7pm unless stated otherwise. Next Talk: 'Varroa' with Kirsty Stainton: Tuesday 19th November 2024, 7pm  Kirsty Stainton works as the Technical Manager for […]
  • Roy Maunder was passionate about bees and before his sad passing made it his wish that he would like donations to this fantastic charity as we all know we need bees. We may take bees and other pollinators like butterflies and hoverflies for granted, but they're vital to stable, healthy food supplies and key to […]
  • Supporting The British Beekeepers' Association has many benefits attached and in many cases can fulfil business CSR obligations. Some of the benefits include free advertising in our BBKA News publication which reaches up to 30,000 individual members each month, 'taster days' for staff and also expert knowledge in the importance of bees. Contact us to […]
  • It is crucial that any possible sightings are reported so experts can take quick and effective action to eradicate Yellow-Legged Asian Hornets. The best way is to use the 'Asian Hornet Watch' app to record and report any sightings. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Photos and videos can also be sent by […]