The Hertfordshire Beekeepers Spring Show and AGM is being held on Saturday 25th March at the Christchurch Peartree Hall, 20 Tewin Road, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 1BW, doors open at 10.30am. Entry to the show is free of charge and open to all. Please sign-up if you’d like to attend, here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/herts-bees-spring-show-and-agm-tickets-519630046457.
Programme
| 10.30am | Trade Stalls Open |
| 11.00am | Honey Competition entries close |
| 11.30am | Herts BKA AGM |
| 1.00pm | Speaker : Marin Anastasov - Wax production |
| 2.30pm | Results of Honey Competition |
| 3.00pm | Close |
The Spring Show will have trade stalls selling beekeeping supplies, so you can stock-up ready for the new season. We’ll also have a honey competition, teas and coffees on sale and space to eat if you want to bring along your own lunch.
Honey Competition
The honey competition is open to all HBKA members. If you’d like to enter, please bring along a jar of honey (any size between 8oz and 1lb) with no label and drop it off before 11am. The honey is judged by the attendees at the show according to which they like the best. We’ll be presenting the Frank Croll cup to the winner at 2.30pm.
AGM
We’ll be holding a short AGM at 11.30am. This will review the activities and accounts from the last year and also elect new Trustees and officers of the Exec Committee. The agenda for the meeting and the associated documents can be found here.
Speaker
Marin Anastasov, NDB
Marin started beekeeping in his teens and developed his initial beekeeping knowledge and skills while studying towards BSc in Animal Science in Bulgaria. Later, he completed an MSc in Organic Farming at Aberdeen University. He is passionate about sustainable food production and his entire working career has been in organic food and farming. Marin is a Master Beekeeper and gained his NDB in 2017. He currently manages 30 colonies in Gloucestershire. Marin is Trustee of Gloucestershire Beekeepers Association and is the Chairman on the BBKA Examinations Board. He is an assessor for the Basic, General Husbandry and Advanced Husbandry certificates and has contributed to the development and running of the General Husbandry and Advanced Husbandry training programmes for the BBKA. Marin is co-author and led the implementation of the BBKA Certificate in Honey Bee Breeding, including providing the training and support to both future candidates and assessors.
Marin will be talking on wax production and replacing old comb (colony management).
The wax that bees use for comb building is secreted by their wax glands and unlike honey, propolis and pollen it is not collected and brought in to the hive by foragers. This talk covers the aspects of wax secretion by the honey bee, the nutrients needed for its production as well as some of the properties of wax that makes it perfect for storage of honey and brood rearing. We will also discover how much and what nutrients the bees require to produce wax, as well as some of the important physical and chemical properties of bee’s wax. As beekeepers, we need to ensure we replace the comb in our colonies on regular basis and we will also look at the different techniques for replacing comb, methods of melting wax, management of wax moth and comb sterilisation.
Tickets
Entry to the show is free of charge and open to all. Please sign-up if you’d like to attend, here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/herts-bees-spring-show-and-agm-tickets-519630046457.
Venue
Christchurch Peartree Hall,
20 Tewin Road,
Welwyn Garden City,
AL7 1BW