Location of the Apiary

Apiary

The Association Apiary started in 2006 with five hives bought by the association and has increased in size in each successive season.

The Training Apiary is located at Priory Farm, Blackborough End PE32 1SQ. The Training Apiary is at Priory Farm, Blackborough End. and is about 10 minutes along the A47 from Lynn to Norwich Map

The idea of the apiary is to 'try before you buy' - you perform routine inspections throughout the season, accompanied by an experienced beekeeper and then at the end of the season you take on a hive of your own.

You can come and visit the Apiary on open days and/or join one of the training courses that we run.

Contacts Training Apiary Coordinator : Barry Thrower “ Riverside ” St Germans Road , Setch, Kings Lynn. PE33 OBB 01553 810001 Mobile :07747426888 eMail : apiary @ wnklba.co.uk

New Queens for the Blackborough End Apiary

Having set up the apiary, now we need to “set up the Bees” so beginners have gentle, quiet bees which don't raw when the hive is opened or run in all directions when a frame is removed.

It was decided to order a number of Oakfield Queens from Ged Marshal, these bees have a good reputation and should fit our requirements. The queens are yellowish on colour, which are much easier to spot than dark queens.

The bees are a Buckfast strain originally developed by Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey. Ged uses breeder queens supplied by Keld Brandstrup, Buckfast Denmark. From which he produces about 800 queens a year and he says “have an excellent temperament and out produce all other bees we have tried”.

Our aim is to re-queen the hives at Blackborough End. Then later in the season to set up a “Queen Rearing Training Group” to rear our own queens from those supplied by Ged, to sell to association members. While the quality of these queens will not be as good as the ones supplied by Ged they should be an improvement on our “Norfolk Mongrels”.

The training group will start work be at the end of May and will go through each stage of queen rearing. Numbers will be limited, if interested contact Barry Thrower “ Riverside ” St Germans Road , Setch, Kings Lynn. PE33 OBB 01553 810001 Mobile :07747426888 eMail : apiary @ wnklba.co.uk