Scottish Beekeepers Association - National Beehive Count 2016

Scottish Beekeepers' Association
Supporting Scotland's Bees and Beekeepers

Scotland's New Honey Bee Health Strategy For 2022-2032

The Strategy was published on the 30th of June, and has been developed in conjunction with the Bee Health Improvement Partnership (BHIP). It has taken into account the review of the previous strategy and the results of the recent Scottish Government honey bee health survey. To download the Strategy please click here or on the image above.

Its main aim is “Working in partnership to achieve a healthy and sustainable population of honey bees in Scotland”.

The strategy details five pillars which will outline the ways of working which we will base our actions over the next 10 years:

1. Education, Training and Knowledge Transfer

2. Communication and partnership working across government, operational partners, stakeholders and all of those with an interest in honey bees in Scotland

3. Pest and Disease surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, and control

4. Research and Development.

5. On-going review of the regulatory framework

The Strategy will be the overarching document which will be accompanied by an Implementation Plan. This will be a ‘living’ document detailing more specifically the actions which the BHIP will deliver in order to achieve the desired outcomes for honey bee health in Scotland. The Plan will be updated regularly following quarterly BHIP meetings and published on the Scottish Government website on our Bee Health pages.

Additional background information and previous publications:

· Scotland’s first 10 year Honey Bee Health Strategy (Published June 2010)

· Review of the first 10 year strategy (Published October 2021)

· Honey Bee Heath Strategy Survey Report 2022 (Published March 2022)

Any additional questions should be directed to the Scottish Government’s Bee Health Team at: Bees_mailbox@gov.scot

National Beehive Count 2016

APHA Dear Beekeeper
We are writing to ask for your help in updating your records of the number of overwintering beehives within your apiaries on BeeBase, the National Bee Unit’s database. We would like you to record the total number of overwintering hives as of 1st November 2016. As a result of feedback from last year’s census, we have adapted BeeBase to simplify the data entry process. To complete this year’s hive count please click the link below which will take you to BeeBase. Once logged in, please answer the hive count questions displayed and then click the ‘Submit response’ button. It is as simple as that! Please update your records by 31st December 2016.

Please click this link to update your Hive Count.

The National Beehive Count is aimed at improving our understanding of our honey bee population and how this is changing over time. This fits in with the aims of pollinator and bee health strategies across the UK.

More details of this project, its importance and why we need your help can be found on Beebase.

If you have any security concerns about clicking on the embedded links in this post, you can access Beebase directly from your Internet browser to complete the hive count. Simply log in to BeeBase and select ‘Hive Census’ from the list of options displayed.
We have produced additional guidance on how to update your records within BeeBase. These are included in the attached Frequently Asked Questions document.

The project is led by the National Bee Unit and supported by Defra, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, DAERA, the British Beekeepers Association, the Welsh Beekeepers Association, the Scottish Beekeepers Association, International Bee Research Association, and the National Diploma in Beekeeping.