BBKA

• Invasive Species Week: 22nd – 28th June 2026

  Organised by the Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS), this annual event aims to raise awareness about the environmental and economic threats caused by invasive non-native species and what we can do to prevent their spread. Invasive plants and animals are a threat to our native wildlife, cost the UK economy approximately £2 billion a year and can also be harmful to our health.  Information about how you can get involved together with resources to help raise awareness can be found on the NNSS website. A non-native invasive species which affects honey bees is the Yellow-Legged Asian Hornet (YLAH) which poses a significant threat.  We need everyone to be actively looking and to report sightings using the Asian Hornet Watch app.  Additional information from the NNSS website. Illustration by Sarah Bunker The BBKA, with support from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), is developing a new, FREE, fully re...

• Burnt Basque cheesecake with honey-macerated strawberries

  Basque cheesecake is a famously simple, creamy, crustless baked cheesecake with a deep brown, almost blackened top. A high oven temperature creates that burnished skin and rich caramel flavour while keeping the centre soft and custardy. Achieving the perfect texture depends on combining the ingredients in the right order - a smooth emulsion is the difference between a silky interior and one that ends up grainy or dry.  My honey version is just as straightforward as the classic and lets the honey shine through. Use a strong, characterful honey if you have one. This is a make-ahead dessert: the cheesecake needs time to cool and then set overnight in the fridge. Serve with fresh strawberries – letting them sit for a few minutes in a small drizzle of honey really lifts the sweet-sharp contrast.  Ingredients 600g Full‑fat cream cheese, room temperature 170g Honey 225g Double cream 4 Lar...

• World Bee Day

  World Bee Day is celebrated on 20th May each year, marking the birthday of Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern beekeeping. The event is designated by the United Nations to raise global awareness of the importance of bees and all pollinators. BBKA Press Release 2026 YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBQJGN1sc-k You can help bees by planting bee friendly plants in your garden and encouraging your local council to plant wildflower meadows and leave grass verges to allow wildflowers to bloom.  You can also take part in 'No Mow May', a Plantlife initiative, where people are asked not to mow their lawns to allow wildflowers to grow to provide pollen and nectar as food for all pollinating insects.  Planting for Pollinators May is a busy time for beekeepers who are tending their bees, watching them progress into strong colonies and often bringing in a spring honey crop depending on the weather...

• Dancing Bees

  Honey bee dances are amongst the most fascinating aspects of their complex behaviour. Honey bees live in large colonies of up to 60,00 in summer and communication is essential to make the colony efficient and to ensure survival. In the first half of the twentieth century German-Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch cracked the code for honey bees ‘waggle dance.’ He discovered that a dancing honey bee is communicating vital distance and direction information to other bees, so that instead of looking randomly for food they know exactly where to go. Karl von Frisch was later awarded a Nobel prize for his work. Photo credit: Heather Broccard Bell Now a new study by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that the honey bee waggle dance is not a one-way communication but, in fact, a dynamic, two-way interaction shaped by its audience. These findings challenge the trad...

• Swarm Collection

  This page redirects to the category listing page for swarms.