New beekeeping at the Warwick and Leamington Branch, by Nicki Maritz
Do you remember for the first time when you started beekeeping? The wonder of looking in the hive and being absolutely fascinated by the bees, their work and the privilege of being there? (I still get that feeling all these years later!)
This week Warwick and Leamington beekeepers set off another cohort of 23 new beekeepers, five of whom were juniors, on that wonderful experience. They all had completed their “Introduction to Beekeeping” course in March 2023.
Lighting the smokers, donning their suits and having their own mentor and hive enabled the experience to be enjoyed, and interactive, for everyone. We heard: ‘ow s and arhs, it’s awesome, where’s the queen, we’ve found the
queen!, there’s a drone-look at his big eyes!, is that a queen cell? So many comments and it was just fantastic to palpate the enthusiasm and feel that special wonderment in the new beekeepers.
Big thanks to our amazing apiary team who generously share their time, knowledge and passion for the beekeeping craft. May the wonderment of beekeeping always be with you.
The new training season started with a flourish on Tuesday 18th April, when nineteen new members got suited and booted for their first look into the hives! After our “Introduction to Beekeeping” courses in March, twenty-two people signed up for the practical training sessions – which take place at King’s Hill Nurseries every Tuesday evening through to September. To our great delight, this includes five new junior members. As in previous years, we work in four teams, (one trainer to five trainees) each looking after three colonies. The weather was not quite as we would
have liked, and inspections had to be done fairly briskly to avoid chilling the brood. Even so, one group was lucky enough to find queen cells and do the first split of the year.
Lets hope the weather warms up for the rest of the season!