Beginners course 2025 - Swarm control
2025-04-12 11:30 - 2025-12-04 13:00 (Europe/London)
Saturday 12th April – 11:30am-1pm – Swarm control (RG, KO, DP)
Navigating your way out of disaster. A theory session at the Horsted apiary in the hangar

Beginners course 2025 - Swarm control for real
2025-05-10 10:00 - 2025-10-05 12:00
Saturday 10th May – Swarm control for real (MW, M.Wilcox)
Horsted apiary 10am to 12pm (or longer if necessary)

Beginners course 2025 - Building your hive
2025-05-10 13:00 - 2025-10-05 16:00
Saturday 10th May -1pm – 4pm
Building your hive (MW, PC, RG, SB, M.Wilcox)

Beginners course 2025 - Bee Safari
2025-06-28 10:00
Saturday 28th June – 10am to 4pm – Bee Safari
To lead: SB, PE, KO, DP

Beginners course 2025 - Varroa control options
2025-07-12 11:00 - 2025-12-07 13:00
Saturday 12th July – 11am to 1pm – Varroa control options – (MW, RG)
Horsted apiary

Beginners course 2025 - Honey extraction
2025-08-02 10:00
Saturday 2nd August – 10am to 3pm – Honey extraction (PC, PL)
Beginners and members
Horsted apiary

Beginners course 2025 - Preparing hives for winter
2025-09-13 10:00
Saturday 13th September – Preparing hives for winter – 10am – 12pm (KO, RG)
Horsted apiary

Talk by David Evans - Rational Varroa Control
2025-12-03
David Evans
theapiarist.org
talks.theapiarist.org

The British Beekeepers’ Association Annual Delegate Meeting, 10 January 2026 at 9.30am
2026-01-10 09:30 - 17:00
Dear Secretary
The British Beekeepers’ Association Annual Delegate Meeting, 10 January 2026 at 9.30am
The British Beekeepers’ Association is planning the 2026 Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) and warmly invites your association to send a delegate. The ADM will be a hybrid meeting, both in person at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire and simultaneously on the Zoom online platform.
Your first step is to nominate the delegate from your association; please complete and return the Delegate Nomination Form. Prior to the ADM, we will provide full details of how to participate.
We are seeking nominations for Trustees of the BBKA. In 2026 there will be four Trustee vacancies for three-year terms, to be voted on at the ADM. Additionally, there is a vacancy for President of the BBKA who will be elected for a two-year term. Information about being a Trustee or President is available on the BBKA Learning Online platform (see link below) and we encourage you to consider and propose candidates. Nomination forms are due by Friday 17 October 2025.
Similarly, there are opportunities to join the BBKA Examinations Board, which oversees examinations and delivery. We encourage you to consider and propose candidates who have good beekeeping experience and/or professional experience with other examination boards. Once again, nominations are due by Friday 17 October.
In addition, if you have a Proposition for the BBKA ADM, then please complete the Proposition Form to be reviewed by the Standing Orders & Governance Committee. Propositions are also due by Friday 17 October.
Delegate, Trustee, President, Examinations Board nomination forms, the ADM Proposition Form, plus guidance and policy documents, are all available in the Admin & Compliance section of the BBKA Learning Online platform: https://learning.bbka.org.uk/
To remind you again, please ensure that your nominations and propositions arrive at the BBKA Office (post or by email) by 4.00pm Friday 17 October 2025 – and of course, earlier is always better! Please note that timings are prescribed by the BBKA Constitution.
Naturally, if you have any questions, please contact me by email gen.manager@bbka.org.uk and I will always be very happy to help.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely
Leigh Sidaway General Manager, British Beekeepers’ Association

Sussex BKA Communications Workshop
2026-02-24 19:00 - 21:30
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer, mobile app or room device
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 937 052 266 341 9
Passcode: [REDACTED]

SBKA AGM 2026
2026-03-07 14:00 - 17:00 | Luxford Centre Uckfield, Library Way, Uckfield, TN22 1AR, United Kingdom
The agenda will be posted here soon!
In addition to AGM we will also have Tom Bickerdike our Regional Bee Inspector as invited speaker to talk about YLH/AH Spring trapping.

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-04-16 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
A county-wide course designed to help beekeepers feel confident, capable, and calm with the core skills of beekeeping.
The programme covers the full BBKA Basic syllabus, with integrated honeybee health throughout, and also supports those
considering the Honey Bee Health Certificate.
Format
• 6 online (Zoom) evening sessions
• Approximately 2 hours per session
• Delivered by experienced trainers from across Sussex
This course stands alone as a confidence-building programme. Taking an assessment is optional.
Session 1 – Swarming, Varroa and Keeping Colonies Viable
Thursday 16 April 2026
Trainer: Malcolm Wilkie
This session tackles two of the most important factors affecting colony survival and beekeeper confidence.
We will cover:
• Why honeybee colonies swarm and how to recognise the signs
• A clear, straightforward method of swarm control
• Taking and hiving a swarm
• Detecting and monitoring varroa
• Effects of varroa and associated viruses on colonies
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches
• Re-infestation, mite resistance and Parasitic Mite Syndrome

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-04-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Session 2 – Bees, the Beekeeping Year and Feeding
Thursday 23 April 2026
Trainer: Ian Smith
Understanding how bees live through the year underpins good decision-making.
We will cover:
• Development of queens, workers and drones
• Life cycle timings (egg, larva, pupa, adult)
• Forage, nectar, pollen, water and propolis
• How colonies pass the winter
• The annual cycle of work in the apiary
• Feeding bees: recognising need, syrup preparation, when and how to feed
• Detecting and dealing with colony starvation
• Supers: when to add them and how to clear bees
• Robbing: causes, risks and prevention
• Small-scale honey extraction, straining and bottling

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-04-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Session 3 – Hives, Equipment, Hygiene and Records
Thursday 30 April 2026
Trainer: Jude New
This session focuses on working cleanly and confidently with modern equipment.
We will cover:
• Parts of a modern hive and their function
• Bee space and comb spacing in brood and supers
• Frames and foundation
• Apiary and equipment hygiene
• Comb replacement and disease prevention
• Procedures to reduce disease transmission
• Record keeping and treatment records

SBKA Bee Market 2026
2026-05-09 09:00 - 16:30 | Uckfield Community College, Downsview Crescent, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 3DJ, United Kingdom
SBKA Bee Market 2026 | Sussex Beekeepers Association

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Session 4 – Confident Hive Handling and Inspection Skills
Thursday 14 May 2026
Trainer: Graham Stuart
A practical confidence-building session on opening colonies and reading what you see.
We will cover:
• Calm handling of bees and reasons for opening colonies
• Use of smoker and hive tool
• Removing and handling combs
• Identifying workers, drones and queens
• Identifying brood at all stages
• Recognising stores: nectar, honey and pollen
• Shaking bees from combs
• Taking adult bee samples for disease diagnosis

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-05-28 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Session 5 – Queens, Colonies and the Apiary Environment
Thursday 28 May 2026
Trainer: Peter Coxon
This session focuses on colony continuity and practical apiary management.
We will cover:
• Recognising queenlessness and testing for it
• Laying workers and drone-laying queens
• Simple queen introduction
• Uniting colonies safely
• Apiary siting and avoiding nuisance to neighbours and livestock
• Stings and first aid
• Wax moth control
• Excluding mice and other pests
• Cleaning wooden and poly hives

Basic Confidence Course with Sussex
2026-06-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Session 6 – Bee Health, Disease Recognition and Responsibilities
Thursday 4 June 2026
Trainer: Simon Tuck
The final session brings together bee health awareness, statutory responsibilities, and next steps.
We will cover:
• What healthy brood looks like (sealed and unsealed)
• Recognising brood diseases, including AFB, EFB, chalk brood, sac brood, chilled and bald brood
• Nosema and acarine: detection and effects
• What to do if disease is suspected and who to contact
• Use of lateral flow devices
• Notifiable diseases and legal responsibilities
• Spray poisoning: signs and actions
• Emerging threats to UK beekeeping
• Shook swarm and Bailey comb change (as health management tools)
• What’s involved in BBKA Basic and Honey Bee Health (optional progression)
