the whole trade
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Associations, bee health services, laboratories, equipment makers and queen breeders across the United Kingdom. Every entry has been checked against its own website.
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29 listings
Associations and bee healthMutual bee disease insurance
Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI)
Insurer owned by the beekeeping associations that join it. It compensates beekeepers in England and Wales for equipment lost when colonies are destroyed or treated under the statutory foulbrood orders.
England and Wales
Associations and bee healthTrade association of professional beekeepers
Bee Farmers' Association (BFA)
UK trade association for professional beekeeping, representing around 450 bee farming businesses, from part-time operations to farms with a dozen or more staff.
The whole UK
Useful websitesBeekeeping magazine
BeeCraft
British beekeeping magazine, available in print and digitally, with articles for new and experienced beekeepers.
The whole UK
Associations and bee healthBee breeding charity
BIBBA – Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association
Charitable incorporated organisation working to conserve and improve Apis mellifera mellifera, the native dark bee of Britain and Ireland, and to encourage locally adapted bees elsewhere.
The whole UK
Associations and bee healthNational beekeeping charity
British Beekeepers Association (BBKA)
Charity representing around 30,000 hobby beekeepers in England and Wales through its area associations. It runs education programmes, keeps a directory of local associations and is based at the National Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park.
Stoneleigh, West Midlandsthe whole UK
Queens and nucsQueen breeder and nuc producer
BS Honey Bees
Gloucestershire business rearing queens and raising nucs, mainly Buckfast. Queens are posted across the UK; nucs are collected or delivered.
Churchdown, Gloucester, South West Englandthe whole UK
Associations and bee healthCounty beekeeping association
Devon Beekeepers' Association (DBKA)
Registered charity (no. 270675) that supports beekeepers in Devon through local branches, with courses, honey awards and a members' magazine.
South West England
UK equipment makersBeekeeping equipment manufacturer
E.H. Thorne (Beehives) Ltd
Maker of beekeeping and candle-making equipment for over 100 years at its factory in Rand, near Wragby, Lincolnshire, with shops in Windsor, Scotland, Stockbridge and Devon. Frames and foundation are made in Lincolnshire.
Rand, near Wragby, East Midlandsthe whole UK
Honey testing labsFood and honey testing laboratory
Fera Science
Science company whose laboratory offers honey authenticity and quality testing aligned with the Codex Alimentarius standard, pollen identification and residue screening, as well as bee health analyses.
The whole UK
Queens and nucsBee farm, nucs and supplies
Gwenyn Gruffydd
Family bee farm in Carmarthenshire that started in 2010 and now runs nearly 400 hives across South Wales. It sells nucs on National or Langstroth frames, Welsh honey and beekeeping supplies, and runs courses.
Dryslwyn, Wales
Queens and nucsNuc and queen supplier
Hagen's Bees
Kent beekeeping supplier at Cleve Farm, Graveney, selling 5-frame nucs on National or Langstroth frames, with a Buckfast or locally bred queen, as well as queens and hive kits.
Graveney, South East England
Useful websitesBee health plan for England and Wales
Healthy Bees Plan 2030
Ten-year plan launched by Defra to improve honey bee health and husbandry in England and Wales, with an implementation plan published on BeeBase.
England and Wales
Associations and bee healthBee science charity and publisher
International Bee Research Association (IBRA)
UK charity founded in 1949 that shares information on bee science and beekeeping worldwide. It publishes the Journal of Apicultural Research and Bee World; its Eva Crane Library is held by the National Library of Wales.
Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire and the Humberthe whole UK
Associations and bee healthCounty beekeeping association
Lancashire & North West Beekeepers' Association
One of the oldest beekeeping associations in England, founded in 1882 and affiliated to the BBKA, with nearly 900 members in eight branches across Lancashire and parts of Merseyside and Greater Manchester.
North West England
Queens and nucsHygienic queen breeding programme
LASI Queen Bees (University of Sussex)
Queens from the University of Sussex Laboratory of Apiculture and Social Insects, bred from hygienic colonies tested with the freeze-killed brood assay, posted to beekeepers in the UK.
South East Englandthe whole UK
Honey testing labsHoney and food testing laboratory
Minerva Scientific
UK laboratory offering about forty tests on honey and bee products, many of them UKAS ISO 17025 accredited, from water content and HMF to pollen analysis, residues and adulteration.
The whole UK
UK equipment makersBeehive maker
National Bee Supplies
Devon company making cedar beehives and supplying beekeeping equipment, with a trade counter in Okehampton.
Okehampton, South West Englandthe whole UK
Associations and bee healthGovernment bee health service
National Bee Unit (BeeBase)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency's bee health unit, which delivers the bee health programmes of Defra, the Welsh Government and Scotland. Its website, BeeBase, holds the voluntary register of beekeepers and apiaries.
The whole UK
Honey testing labsHoney pollen DNA monitoring study
National Honey Monitoring Scheme
Scientific study begun in 2018, with around 3,300 subscribers, in which beekeepers send honey taken straight from the comb; the samples go through pollen DNA analysis to show what the bees have been foraging on.
The whole UK
Honey testing labsGovernment bee disease laboratory
SASA – Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture
Scottish Government science division that analyses the samples taken by Scotland's bee inspectors for notifiable diseases and pests, and advises on how confirmed infections are dealt with.
Scotland
Associations and bee healthNational beekeeping association for Scotland
Scottish Beekeepers' Association (SBA)
Scottish charity (SCIO SC009345) that supports honey bees and beekeepers in Scotland, runs its own examinations and links the affiliated local associations across the country.
Scotland
Associations and bee healthBee health inspectorate for Scotland
Scottish Government Bee Inspectors
The Scottish Government's bee inspectors examine colonies for notifiable diseases and pests in Scotland; samples are analysed by SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture).
Scotland
Associations and bee healthNative bee conservation society
Scottish Native Honey Bee Society (SNHBS)
Society working to identify and conserve the Scottish native honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. It runs a conservation project begun in 2018 and supports small queen rearing groups.
Scotland
Useful websitesBeekeeping science blog
The Apiarist
Blog by David Evans, emeritus professor of virology at the University of St Andrews, who keeps bees in the Scottish Borders. A new article appears every Friday, linking bee science and practical beekeeping.
The whole UK
Honey and honey showsAnnual honey show
The National Honey Show
Annual show held in October at Sandown Park, Esher, with UK, overseas, junior and county classes for honey, mead, wax and more, plus a lecture convention, workshops and a trade show.
Esher, South East Englandthe whole UK
Associations and bee healthFederation of beekeeping associations in Ulster
Ulster Beekeepers' Association (UBKA)
Federation of local beekeeping associations across Ulster, formed in 1942. It runs courses with CAFRE and an annual conference at CAFRE Greenmount Campus.
Northern Ireland
Associations and bee healthNational beekeeping association for Wales
Welsh Beekeepers' Association (WBKA)
Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru, a charity founded in 1943 and run by volunteers. It is the umbrella body for 19 local associations in Wales and takes part in the UK beekeeping education system.
Wales
Honey and honey showsProtected geographical indication
Welsh Heather Honey / Mêl Grug Cymru (PGI)
Heather honey produced in Wales, registered in 2025 as a protected geographical indication under the UK GI scheme; it was the first UK honey to gain PGI status.
Wales
Associations and bee healthCounty beekeeping association
Yorkshire Beekeepers Association (YBKA)
Association founded in 1882 and affiliated to the BBKA, with around 2,000 members in 22 district associations across Yorkshire.
Yorkshire and the Humber
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Map: Natural Earth (public domain).