BBKA

• Dancing Bees

  Honey bee dances are amongst the most fascinating aspects of their complex behaviour. Honey bees live in large colonies of up to 60,00 in summer and communication is essential to make the colony efficient and to ensure survival. In the first half of the twentieth century German-Austrian scientist Karl von Frisch cracked the code for honey bees ‘waggle dance.’ He discovered that a dancing honey bee is communicating vital distance and direction information to other bees, so that instead of looking randomly for food they know exactly where to go. Karl von Frisch was later awarded a Nobel prize for his work. Photo credit: Heather Broccard Bell Now a new study by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that the honey bee waggle dance is not a one-way communication but, in fact, a dynamic, two-way interaction shaped by its audience. These findings challenge the trad...

• Golden Honey Braid

  Inspired by the giant pillowy poppyseed-topped loaves my dad used to bring home from a now long-gone Polish bakery in a nearby village, this loaf is my attempt to recreate that childhood memory. If you don’t fancy your chances at the four-strand braid (there are lots of good how-to videos online) simply form the dough into smooth rounds. Arrange them with just a little room to grow and with edges touching so they bake into a soft, tear-apart batch. Serves: Makes a large loaf   Time: 30 mins preparation, rising time and then 30 mins baking Ingredients 500g   Strong white bread flour 7g         Instant dry yeast 5g         Salt 175ml Warm water 2            Eggs 80g      Honey 25g      Vegetable/olive oil 10g      Poppy seeds Tip:  Salt flakes or nigella seeds would be great...

• Show Judge List

  List of current qualified BBKA Show Judges with their contact details.  If you have any questions regarding this list, please contact the BBKA Examinations Board Secretary on sec.exams@bbka.org.uk Honey show secretaries are encouraged to use BBKA Show Judges, particularly at large shows, where the cards will count towards the assessment portfolios of prospective and trainee show judges.  Only BBKA Show Judge Assessors can carry out assessments for trainees. Show Judge List

• Spring Convention

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• Winter loss survey – Data privacy notice

  The British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) is committed to protecting your personal data and being transparent about how it is used. This notice explains how the information you provide in this Winter Loss Survey will be handled. It supplements the BBKA’s main Privacy Policy, which is available on our website. For the purposes of UK GDPR, the BBKA is the data controller for the information collected in this survey. Purpose of survey This survey helps us understand beekeeping practices across the UK and gather information about over‑winter colony losses. Your responses contribute to a national picture of honey bee health and support long‑term monitoring across Europe. The findings are used in BBKA communications, scientific research, and wider sector reporting. By building a consistent record over many years, the anonymised data supports researchers in identifying trends and developing insights into the complex factors that influence colony losses What data we collect This surve...