Gloucester Honey Company

25/05/2026

Bees are doing a 14 hour day at the moment. They are coping better I with this heat.

21/05/2026

I spent an interesting time today giving a talk to the pupils at Beech Green school about the importance of Bees, aided by an excellent presentation by the reception teacher who skills far outweigh anything I could attain. The children (& staff) were very attentive & engaged throughout & interested in the wonder of bees. Long may it continue.

18/05/2026

Not too much to report on the 2026 beekeeping year due to the weather as it’s been both cold & damp with the ‘girls’ only venturing out when it’s sunny & warm, like me. I received a call Sunday from a a worried resident in epney where I have a nucleus with a newly introduced queen as she noticed lots & lots of bees leaving the hive! I told her not to worry as I suspected it was young bees on their maiden flight. Five minutes before the rain began they all rushed back inside. One of the worries is lack of stores inside the hives at present due to weather which will affect egg laying by the Queens, weather forecast is good for the end of week fingers crossed.

10/05/2026

🧬𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐍𝐀 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲?

A newly accredited DNA method is giving the honey sector a stronger tool for detecting counterfeit honey and improving market control. In Sweden, this approach is already showing its impact: most imported products tested did not meet reasonable expectations of authenticity, while the only Swedish honey in the test was approved.

This is the kind of progress the honey sector needs.🍯

Read more in EBA Magazine: https://bit.ly/4wkNwGO

04/05/2026

Find the queen, full video here https://youtu.be/Ju38WM-JH58?si=ZgZoSnATPewSRndH , , 3rd brood frame in

4 May 2026

27/04/2026

Despite the warm sunshine I’m still feeding two nuc boxes to encourage the bees to make wax to build frames for the queens to lay eggs. It takes 8 kilos of honey to make 1 kilo of wax thus reducing the potential honey crop. First “super” put on for cut comb production. Which is how honey was consumed by our ancestors.

24/04/2026

The year is starting to take shape with another “split” effected today, taking the nucleus to Epney until Queen commences laying then bringing back to main apiary. First super ready to go on tomorrow then more bees expected next week. It’s a job fitting it in with planting the winter cabbage, cauliflower & sprouts, repotting the melons, cucumber, peppers & tomatoes not to mention sowing the runner beans. Fruit set on the plum & greengage trees also looks good along with the pears & apples. It’s just the asparagus that disappointed this year. It’s called retirement!

15/04/2026

Lot of wildlife on the allotment this week including slow worms that an ecological survey conducted by a company employed by prospective builders failed to discover several years ago strange that I’ve been videoing them for 40+ years!

12/04/2026

Up & running with the 2026 beekeeping year. Conducted my first “split” making two hives from one yesterday even though the weather especially the wind was bitingly cold. Fed with syrup to encourage the bees to draw comb for the Queens to lay in. The 2025 queen had filled 6 frames with brood & the original nuc was full of bees. Introduced a new2026 f1 queen from Black Mountain Honey straight into the queen less hive much as Wainwrights do, they supply honey for Marks & Spencer so must be doing something right. The new Bee suit arrived from Gwenyn Gruffydd French made & therefore very smart. Popped into Hardwicke coffee & arranged for restock of soft set 2025 honey

22/02/2026

Springs coming, buds bursting on the plum & greengage trees & the clincher is the frogs making a racket in the pond, frog spawn by the end of the week means high protein food for the koi.