Norfolk Bees

25/09/2026

Bee keepers pride themselves on providing proper uk honey, with the love and care for every single bee in every single hive. 🐝🐝🐝

20/09/2026

A MITE BRITISH BEEKEEPERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT 🐝

Most of us are very familiar with Varroa. But there’s another parasitic mite that British beekeepers are likely to hear considerably more about: Tropilaelaps.

It isn’t currently thought to be present in the UK, but its continuing spread westwards, including a confirmed outbreak in Turkey at the end of August, has already prompted new British import restrictions.

So what exactly is Tropilaelaps? How did a parasite of the giant Asian honey bee make the jump to our western honey bees? How does it differ from Varroa, what might an infestation look like in the hive, and what should you do if you spot something suspicious?

I’ve put together a straightforward guide covering what we currently know, including the signs beekeepers should be looking for and why early recognition matters.

👇 Read the full article here:

https://www.norfolkbees.co.uk/post/tropilaelaps-the-mite-british-beekeepers-need-to-know-about

If you know another beekeeper who might find this useful, please share it with them.

18/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1LvNXGCECZ/

When a fellow beekeeper calls, you turn up 🐝

Paul from Bramblebee Farms called me in to lend a hand with something rather special.

These hives belonged to his late mate Merv. Paul and Merv once partnered on around 80 hives together, so there are a lot of memories tied up in them, along with plenty of laughs and, apparently, a rather competitive approach to getting each other stung!

The hives have probably been down for at least a year, so this was phase one of reclaiming them - getting them upright again before Paul rehomes them at his apiaries.

He plans to put a bench there too, somewhere he can sit, remember Merv and ponder the old days.

I was glad Paul called me in to lend a hand. Beekeeping has a way of bringing people together, and sometimes it’s about far more than the bees.

Here’s phase one. 🐝

11/09/2026

🐝 Is That Really a Swarm? Meet the Ivy Bee

Twice in the last couple of weeks, Tristan has been contacted by people who thought they’d found a swarm of honey bees. On both occasions, the photographs suggested something rather different: ivy bees.

They’re relative newcomers to Britain, they can gather in surprisingly large numbers, and at first glance they’re quite easy to mistake for honey bees. But they behave very differently - and, importantly, usually need absolutely nothing doing about them.

Our latest article looks at how to recognise an ivy bee, why you might suddenly see lots of them at this time of year, what those rather frantic-looking gatherings on the ground are all about, and how to tell when you really have found a honey-bee swarm.

As Tristan says, sometimes the most useful thing you can learn around bees is not when to intervene, but when not to.

Read: Is That Really a Swarm? Meet the Ivy Bee

https://www.norfolkbees.co.uk/post/is-that-really-a-swarm-meet-the-ivy-bee

Not every group of bees is a swarm. Meet the ivy bee, discover how it differs from a honey bee and find out what to do if these fascinating autumn visitors turn up in your garden.

22/08/2026

07/08/2026

Norfolk bees honey harvest is in full swing supers coming of all the ladies hives thick and fast , lots of yummy honey 🍯

19/06/2026

However, there’s no beehive that would make that better🐝🐝🐝🐝

10/05/2026

The ladies of Norfolk Bees looked like they were swarming however, on the other side of the hive entrance, they were going back in just as fast as they were coming out. I knew that it wasn’t swarming behaviour because that colony was requeening 🐝🐝🐝