The Welsh Beekeepers’ Association (WBKA) is the national support organisation for beekeepers in Wales. It is a registered charity (number 509929) managed by a board of trustees supported by various officers, all of whom are volunteers.
Founded in 1943, WBKA is the umbrella organisation for 19 local associations across Wales. Representatives of these 19 associations, and specialist members, form the WBKA Council which meets three times a year.
The WBKA works to support its member associations, specialist and individual members by:
developing co-operation amongst beekeepers and other bodies, including Welsh Government and other national associations and bodies
improving the standard of bee husbandry by supporting the beekeeping education system in the UK.
We hope our website gives you an insight into the ways in which we support the objects of the WBKA as set out in our Constitution – the encouragement, improvement, advancement and promotion of beekeeping to provide a benefit to the public and the environment throughout Wales.
Carrying out inspections – the Why and the How
Lynfa Davies, Master Beekeeper
Thursday, November 19th 7.30pm
Inspecting our colonies is one of the joys of beekeeping. We get up close and personal with our bees and learn about their lives. But why do we actually need to intrude and what is the purpose of an inspection? This webinar is aimed at beekeepers looking to improve their skills and we will start by looking at some of the behaviours that underpin the workings of a colony of bees and what might impact those behaviours.
We will then look at what an inspection can tell us and how we can use that information to influence colony performance. Our handling techniques can make an inspection an efficient, productive exercise or if done in a clumsy manner, can rile the bees and make the experience very stressful. We will look at some simple techniques to improve our handling skills and make an inspection more enjoyable.
Lynfa lives near Aberystwyth in mid Wales and has kept bees for 20 years. She is a Master Beekeeper and in 2019 was awarded the National Diploma in Beekeeping.
Lynfa has 30 colonies which she manages for honey production and for the joy of looking after bees! She raises her own queens and uses these to produce nucleus colonies and to replace her own stock. In Spring 2022, Lynfa’s first book, The Miller method of queen rearing, was published by Northern Bee Books, followed by her second book, The Beekeeping Year, in 2024.
