Apis bee consultancy

Join us in “The Honey Trap”- on BBC R4 11am Friday 30th January exploring the enduring scandal of honey fraud. Hidden by complex supply chains, fake honey degrades our artisan production. Here’s our simple hack for consumers: don’t buy honey with the word “blend” on the label.

For some, it’s the first snowdrops, sticky buds or perhaps chirpy birdsong. For us, the first sign of Spring is the beep of an email requesting a new beehive installation in Central London. Request declined, with a gentle advisory to consider planting for pollinators instead.

Hat-tip to my inspirational beekeeping mentor, John Chapple, here at my “Preparing Honey For Show” talk. John noted that I’d turned out in regulation blues - yet full-dress requires Old Town jacket & red polka-dot scarf. Memo to self: Can’t let sartorial standards slip in 2026!

Here’s our Markshall apiary, set in an 200-acre arboretum and adjacent to the venerable Honywood Oak (which was here when Magna Carta was signed !) Its first year has been a resounding success. We’re grateful for the dedication & collaboration of everyone at @markshallestate .

Good to step back from the actual beekeeping (a full-on job in the last couple of months!) & take a moment to reflect on bee-dependant outcomes, like this strawberry from one of my raised beds (an echo of our farm’s historic crop: Tiptree is just up the road from us). Contextual.

Here we go again…. By the way, Saint Valentine is also the patron saint of beekeepers. Shoppers issued urgent warning over buying honey in supermarkets thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/ar…

The last 3 bee-notebooks of 2024 ready for recycling. “Notebooks!” I hear you cry- “which century are you living in?” Well, if you’re working a hive, adding honey, wax, propolis & debris to your mobile’s charging point isn’t a great idea. Write first, then upload to the Cloud.

Heavenly honey. Take a little time. Enjoy.

New year, new apiary site. This chilly weather is an ideal time to move bees, since they are warmly clustered together inside their hives, with no temptation to attempt outbound flight. Which means that we leave no bees behind in their former location. Job done.

Winter trees and Winter bees. At this time of year, both look skeletal and still. But, deep down, the sap is stirring and the bees are budding.

Nice to see our hives strong & well-provisioned just before Christmas (as the varroa treatment went on). Especially since the first half of 2024 was dreadful - so we risked leaving the honey supers on our hives in August, delaying the harvest for a month. The bees filled them up!

A little last-minute Christmas shopping…

Since Brexit, we’ve aligned our food regulations with those of the EU. But wait! Back in 2021, I posted this French supermarket honey with a list of the countries of origin on its label, yet we still have no such information on UK “Blend of EU / non-EU” labels. It’s a scandal !

Considering that bees are always said to be busy, it may seem a little odd that we’re decade-long supporters of @slowfooduk Our honey is an archetypal Slow Food - a single harvest, bee-built over a year, sustainably curated by hand - as the definition of a unique local terroir.

Here’s a snapshot of Beeman’s 😆chewing gum, taken at @pisgahinnNC on 21st September and a serene early morning panorama from our lodge. 5 days later, on 26th September, Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina. Over 100 lives & 60,000 beehives lost. It’s a capricious world !

Here’s @gbf_mag ‘s elegant portrait of our comb (including a honey dipper, for good measure!) & the Judge’s commentary. But there’s ALSO a Silver Medal @gbf_mag award for our Royal Albert Dock Honey. Yes, that’s right - it was runner-up to our only other entry, the Gold winner!

Bermondsey Street Bees has been keeping a secret for a while. Our honeycomb has won the Gold Medal at the Great British Food Awards from @gbf_mag. It’s the U.K.’s Best Honey! Our secret? We take care of our bees and they take care of the honey. Can’t put it simpler than that.

This.

At this year’s @nathoneyshow (the Cruft’s of beekeeping), Bermondsey Street Bees had a dozen awards from the stringent, white-hatted honey judges. Best of all, our three 1st places all featured our exquisite honeycomb - the purest expression of the honeybee’s health & happiness.

A giggle from a winning novelty exhibit at @nathoneyshow .