Yorkshire Beekeepers Association -YBKA

26/10/2026

Starting out in beekeeping and trying to learn from YouTube? It’s a minefield. Some of it is cracking advice. A lot of it is tat. And plenty of the overseas stuff is on the wrong side of the year for us. An Australian beekeeper telling you what to do in October won’t help you much in Yorkshire.

So we asked our Master Beekeepers to help. They’ve done the BBKA modules and practical assessments, so they know what good looks like.

We’ve put together a page of videos and channels worth your time, including the BBKA’s own channel, The Norfolk Honey Company (our Chairman’s pick), BIBBA (our Vice Chairman’s pick) and some of our own YBKA videos. More picks from our Master Beekeepers are on the way.

https://ybka.org.uk/education/recommended-youtube-videos

25/10/2026

Someone has applied to trademark “The Yorkshire Beekeeper”. Yes, really.

If it goes through, one business could own a phrase that every one of us uses to say who we are and where our bees live. Labels, stall signs, websites, talks to the WI. All of it.

The YBKA is opposing it, because we think “Yorkshire beekeeper” belongs to everyone who keeps bees in the county. Not one person. Not one business.

Read why, and sign the petition here: https://ybka.org.uk/the-yorkshire-beekeeper

If you’ve used the phrase yourself, tell us where and roughly when. It really helps. And please share this with any beekeeper, customer or farm shop you know.

23/10/2026

Jerry Burbidge, YBKA and Halifax BKA member and the man behind Northern Bee Books, was at the National Honey Show as it wrapped up on Friday. 🐝

Jerry’s been coming to the show for around fifty-two years. He’s seen it move from Caxton Hall through a string of London venues to Sandown Park, which he reckons is the best site it’s ever had. Entries now run to nearly 3,000, and he calls it the Wimbledon of honey shows. He had Americans on his stand that day who’d come over just for the weekend.

There’s a good chat about the gift classes too, where beekeepers donate winning honey for sale in the foyer. Then it turns to heather honey, why it’s so hard to get right, and the skill it takes to produce it in sections with that white capping. Jerry calls it the ch*****ne of honeys. Hard to argue.

A retired schoolteacher, beekeeper and lifelong collector of apicultural literature, Jerry founded Northern Bee Books in Hebden Bridge in 1976, and it’s been publishing and stocking beekeeping books ever since. Thank you Jerry, for all of it.



Northern Bee Books

23/10/2026

Shirley Bond, a Yorkshire Beekeeper and one of our YBKA members from Darlington BKA, was live from the trade hall at the National Honey Show, and she’s got the best job going. 🍯

The video is a honey tasting at the ch*****ne bar, and it works through the same classes as the show itself. Light, medium and dark honeys first, then soft set and naturally granulated. Shirley explains what judges look for, like fine crystals in a soft set, and why a bit of incipient granulation costs you marks on the show bench. There’s honeydew, comb honey, and a taste of some fermenting honey that she somehow stayed upright after. Pure ling heather and the blends get plenty of love too, and it’s easy to see why the shop sells out so fast. Then it’s off round the world with honeys from Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Trinidad. Smoky, treacly, liquorice, burnt toffee. Quite a ride.

Great to see a Yorkshire face getting stuck in. Thanks Shirley.

Darlington Beekeepers Association

23/10/2026

Tony Jefferson, a Yorkshire Beekeeper and one of our own, is at the 26th National Honey Show, and we’re proud to see him there. 🐝

In this video, Tony, member of Whitby and District Beekeepers Association, talks about producing heather honey on the North York Moors. His whole year is built around two weeks of decent weather in August, and that means breeding the right bees at the right age. He covers why locally adapted bees matter, how the heather beetle has hit the ling this year, and how bell heather is holding up better. He also explains how he extracts that thixotropic ling honey with his heather loosener, which has been in his family for over 50 years, and what he looks for when judging it. Water content, bubbles and granulation all come into it.

It’s well worth a watch, whether you keep bees on the moors or on your back lawn. Tony, thanks for flying the Yorkshire flag.

27/09/2026

2026 YBKA Photography Competition Results

Our photography competition at this year's Great Yorkshire Show brought in some lovely entries from YBKA members, and we're delighted to share the results. We were lucky to have John Gregson Images as our judge. John is a photographer whose work has featured in the BBC Countryfile calendar, and he's the son of the actor John Gregson (Snr). He looked at every entry, and he was full of praise for what he saw....

Our photography competition at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show brought in some lovely entries from YBKA members, and we’re delighted to share the results. We were lucky to have John G…

13/09/2026

13/09/2026

That's Yellow-Legged Asian Hornet Week done, but the season isn't over. Keep watching through autumn, especially around apiaries. Thanks to everyone who shared a post, checked their hives, or signed up this week.

Fact: since being confirmed in the UK in 2016, most nests have been found and destroyed before producing new queens. That only happens because people keep reporting.

Sightings and volunteering always open at ybka.org.uk/help

12/09/2026

Early reporting is what stops Yellow-Legged Asian Hornets establishing here. We're building a network of standby volunteers across Yorkshire who can help monitor and support YBKA members to support the NBU.

Fact: early nest destruction, before autumn, is the single biggest factor in slowing the spread. Every trained pair of eyes helps.

Register on the CATCH website in five minutes at ybka.org.uk/help

11/09/2026

Don't approach a nest and don't try to catch the hornet. Nests can be defended aggressively if disturbed, so keep well back and never attempt removal yourself. Take a photo from a safe distance if you can, note the location, and report it. The Asian Hornet Watch app is the fastest route.

Fact: individual foraging hornets are generally no more likely to bother you than a wasp, but a disturbed nest is a different matter entirely. Multiple stings from a defended nest can be serious, which is exactly why nest destruction is left to trained professionals.

Report a sighting at ybka.org.uk/help