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The Barefoot Beekeeper


The Barefoot Beekeeper was the title of my first book, published in 2007. Since then, I have written several more books, aimed at people who want to keep bees in a simple, reasonably natural way, without investing a lot of money and free from the synthetic chemical treadmill.

This podcast is irregular, variable in content and hopefully somewhat useful and interesting to beekeepers of all flavours.

You can find my website at www.biobees.com and you will find me on Facebook and rarely on Twitter.

 

 

 

Jan 30, 2020

The Asian Yellow-Legged Hornet - Vespa velutina - has rampaged through France and for the last three years has occupied Jersey in the Channel Islands, threatening to invade mainland Britain using any means possible.

Several nests were found and destroyed in 2019 near the south coast of England, but we cannot be certain that others went unnoticed. This insect presents a clear and present danger to honeybees especially, with beekeepers in France losing about one in three of their hives every year to this pest. It will also cause big problems for other bees and other insects, as it has a voracious appetite and a talent for hunting down its prey.

Beekeepers will be very much on the front line in the battle to keep V. velutina out of this country, as we are likely to be the first to spot it. Do familiarise yourselves with its appearance and behaviour, and educate others so that we stand the best chance of intercepting it before it becomes established.

Visit http://ahat.org.uk for some excellent photos, which will help you distinguish it from similar-looking insects. If you can spare some time, join your local AHAT and learn how to trap and track it to its nest.

(For some reason, the AHAT link has been sending to the wrong site. it should go to ahat.org.uk )