Beekeeping in the United Kingdom is the maintenance of bee colonies by humans within the United Kingdom. It is a significant commercial activity that provides those involved with honey, beeswax, royal jelly, queen bees, propolis, flower pollen and bee pollen. Honeybees also provide pollination services to orchards and a variety of seed crops.
Many beekeepers keep bees as a hobby. Others do it for income either as a sideline to other work or as a commercial operator. These factors affect the number of colonies maintained by the beekeeper.
"Hive beekeeping was almost certainly introduced in the east of England from continental Europe and transmitted through Britain from east to west. We do not know when the introduction occurred".[1]
Skeps or baskets made from wicker or coils of straw or grass were used as hives to house the bees and protect them from the weather and predators.
Due to the vital role beekeeping played in British agriculture and industry, special allotments of sugar were allowed for each hive during World War II.[2] In 1943, the Ministry of Food announced that beekeepers would qualify for supplies of sugar not exceeding 10 pounds per colony to keep their beehives going through the winter, and 5 pounds for spring feeding. Honey was not rationed, but its price was controlled - as with other unrationed, domestically produced produce, sellers imposed their own restrictions.
In the winter of 2008, about 20% of the UK's bees died.[3] The losses were highest in the north of England and lowest in the east. These winter losses subsequently increased in the following years as some of the treatments used to combat Varroa lost their efficacy. New treatments have since been licensed for use in the UK to reduce the losses.[4]
The government researches bees at its National Bee Unit, run by the Food and Environment Research Agency at Sand Hutton in North Yorkshire, close to A64.[5]
The Bees Act 1980 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to stop the damage caused by diseases, chemicals (such as Imidacloprid and pests that damage the well being of bees). It repealed the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1941. The act currently does not extend to Northern Ireland[6] which, since devolution, has enacted its own equivalent legislation called the Bees (Northern Ireland) Order 1980.[7]
The National Bee Unit is responsible for the delivery of the Bee Health Programme in England and Wales. It is based in Sand Hutton in North Yorkshire.[8]
The National Honey Show, the first of which was held 1923 at The Crystal Palace, is an annual British show of honey and other bee products.[9]
The BBKA Spring Convention is an annual event which has 20+ Lectures; 60+ Workshops & Seminars for beekeepers of all abilities. It would have been held at Harper Adams University in Shropshire on 3–5 April 2020, however it was cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The 2021 event was a virtual event for the same reason however in 2022 it was again held at Harper Adams University.[10]
The National Diploma in Beekeeping Examination board[26] was established in 1954 to meet a need for a beekeeping qualification, above the level of the certificates awarded by the Beekeeping associations.
It was originally intended as an appropriate qualification for County Beekeeping Instructors and Lecturers, of which there were some forty full- and part-time appointments across the United Kingdom at that time. The prime movers in this development were Fred Richards, the C.B.I. for Norfolk and H.M.I. Franklin, whose brief included rural education. Although the County Lecturers have disappeared from the beekeeping scene since the privatisation of the agricultural colleges, there are still beekeepers wishing to pursue their studies to an advanced level. The NDB offers them the opportunity to undertake such study.
