About Suffolk Beekeepers

Suffolk Beekeepers' Association is a thriving community of over 700 beekeepers, with 6 branches in Suffolk. It's purpose is to promote good beekeeping. This involves crop pollination and the collection, sale, showing and use of honey and wax. Read more

Special Notice

- Bulk Bee Feed is now available for order - see here
- Beekeeping Best Practice Day at Wickhambrook Village Hall Cemetery Road, Newmarket CB8 8XP rom 9.30 am to 4.00 pm on Saturday 25 June 2022. More information is available here.
- Streamed Video Content of training and educational sessions by the Ipswich team for beekeepers:
  - Look inside a Beehive
  - Swarm control
  - Honey Extraction
  - Grafting
  - Look inside a top bar hive
  - Mucking about with queens

See Videos

Join Us

Interested in becoming a beekeeper?

Contact your local branch:

Ipswich Suffolk Coastal Stowmarket Waveney West Suffolk Norwich & District Bee Keeping Association

Branch Map

Hot Tips

Seasonal advice for the beekeeper

Swarming should be over by early July, allowing the colony to concentrate on collecting nectar.
Set up wasp traps a few metres from your hives (jam jars containing water and a spoonful of jam work well).
Honey can be harvested in early August allowing the bees to keep what more they make for themselves.
After the honey has been harvested, remove the queen excluder, and put a crown board below any supers that you are leaving on to be cleaned out.
Treat the brood box for varroa (Apiguard gel or ApiLife Var strips are recommended). Record the varroa drop in the following two weeks so that you know how badly your colonies are infested.
In early August reduce the size of the entrance so the diminishing colony can defend itself against wasps.

Time to feed the colony for the winter, replacing the honey taken. Feed continuously with standard strength sugar syrup (1 kg added to one pint of water). The colony will need at least 15kg of syrup (more for the bigger hives) to take it through the cold months ahead.
Feeding needs to be completed before the end of the month to give the colony time to drive off the excess water.
varroa treatment should be considered.
Fit a mouse guard to the hive entrance.

Ipswich & East Suffolk Spring Newsletter

Ears3 Project Summary

The Association

The Association is a thriving community of over 700 beekeepers, with branches in Ipswich, Suffolk Coastal, Stowmarket, Waveney, West Suffolk and the Norwich & District Beekeepers Association. It's purpose is to promote good beekeeping. This involves crop pollination and the collection, sale, showing and use of honey and wax. We provide instructions and demonstrations in these subjects, leading to an understanding of these fascinating insects and how to keep them healthy. There are facilities for courses in beekeeping and nationally recognized examinations can be taken. There are also branch libraries with beekeeping books. Come and meet us at the Suffolk Show and other local agricultural shows.
Regular indoor meetings are held at Kesgrave, Barsham and Bury St Edmunds with practical apiary meetings, social gatherings and events at other locations in the county during the year. Attendance at these events is open to non-members and more information about these meetings can be found on the events page.
The annual subscription is about £26.00 but may vary from branch to branch. This includes affiliation to The British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) which provides representation, help and expert advice at a national level and a public liability insurance cover for up to £10 million. There is also cover in case of the more serious bee brood diseases.

Beginners and those who are just curious are particularly welcome. There are one-day events for those who are interested to find out more about bees and beekeeping. The best way to find out what beekeeping entails is to have a closer look.

Officers