Beekeeping is a fascinating and rewarding hobby with plenty to learn but for new beekeepers, piecing it all together can be a little daunting. In this book, Lynfa Davies, NDB, walks you through the beekeeping year month by month. She outlines what to expect each month and the key tasks that are required with the aim of keeping you one step ahead of your bees.
Aimed at beginners and those in the first couple of years of their beekeeping, this book will help you understand what your bees are doing throughout the year and what you need to do to manage them. From inspections through to feeding and disease management, this guide will hopefully give you the confidence to look after your bees well and keep them healthy, and they may even reward you with some honey.
Lynfa has kept bees with her husband, Rob, since 2005. During this time she has held a variety of roles with the Welsh Beekeepers' Association (WBKA) including General Secretary and Exam Secretary. She is currently a member of the Learning & Development Committee where she inputs into the development and delivery of courses and workshops for beekeepers across Wales.
Davies, Lynfa: - Lynfa has kept bees with her husband, Rob, since 2005. During this time she has held a variety of roles with the Welsh Beekeepers' Association (WBKA) including General Secretary and Exam Secretary. She is currently a member of the Learning & Development Committee where she inputs into the development and delivery of courses and workshops for beekeepers across Wales.Learning new skills has always motivated Lynfa. Once she realised there were a range of opportunities to develop her beekeeping skills, she embarked on the path to acquire beekeeping qualifications through the WBKA, BBKA and the National Diploma in Beekeeping (NDB). Lynfa remembers clearly how daunted she felt when she took her Basic Assessment under the watchful eye of the late Pam Gregory. It proved a pivotal moment, and with huge encouragement from Pam, Lynfa worked her way through the exams and assessments to become a Master Beekeeper in 2015. But it didn't end there as she went on to study for the NDB which she was awarded in 2019. Her journey highlighted to her the importance of access to quality training courses, without which, she believes that her success would not have been possible. Currently, Lynfa keeps approximately 30 hives which she manages for honey production. She rears all her own queens which, apart from being very cost effective, provides a huge amount of pleasure. Her bees are what she would describe as locally adapted, which she considers important in an area which can be quite challenging due to the high rainfall.While beekeeping certainly takes up plenty of her time, Lynfa also enjoys cycling, walking, gardening, and generally being outdoors watching wildlife. Her garden is very unkempt, which she justifies because of its value to nature and her bees!Lynfa acknowledges how, since becoming a beekeeper, her interest in plants and other pollinators has developed. Only bee friendly plants get planted in the garden and she is even known to leave leeks in the vegetable patch go to flower because the bees love them!
Paterson, Simon John: - www.sipat.co.uk
