Summer 2026 Newsletter

Dafydd Jones • 2 August 2026

Cymraeg isod

Another record-breaking year for honey!

After several bumper years, we thought it couldn't get better. Wrong! Despite the cool, late spring, our bees have been busier than ever. As a results, we have been run off our feet assembling more and more frames and boxes to keep up with their demand for space to store honey and managing our hives to prevent the bees from swarming.

Sadly, other beekeepers nearby do not effectively manage their bees to prevent them from swarming and they often up on our property, attracted by the presence of our bees. In all we have re-homed about eight swarms clustering on trees, fence posts and occupied beehives.

Our success in producing bumper honey harvests is not only due to increased hive numbers but due to effective management and selective breeding to improve productivity health and winter survival. Our improved bees, selectively bred by us, are highly suited to their environment on Anglesey.

Raw Honey available to buy all year round

We now have a reliable supply of our own honey for you to buy all year round. All of it is produced and prepared for sale by us to ensure our high product quality is maintained.

We have already harvested and jarred spring '26 honey and in addition have prepared a limited supply of jars with a chunk of honeycomb. Currently we are taking off the summer honey from the hives and summer honey from the first apiary is already jarred and for sale!

In addition to our on-site and on-line stores, we have a monthly weekend stall at Fron Goch, Garden Centre, Caernarfon where we enjoy sharing a taste of our award-winning honey and impart some information about our bees and honey. We will be at Fron Goch next on 29&30 August.

We are also pleased to be associated with select outlets including:-

O G Owen and Son, Family Butchers, Caernarfon.
Anglesey Fine Foods, Valley.
& Caws, Menai Bridge.
Cadnant Hidden Gardens, Menai Bridge,
Mercado Butchers and Deli, Beaumaris
Glandwr Butchers, Benllech.
Island Cove Cafe, Benllech.
Ann's Pantry, Moelfre.

On-line Shop

Free half-day hive-side training for established beekeepers

This year we have been delivering free half-day training courses on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The training is intended as a top-up for established beekeepers who already have a few year's experience of keeping their own bees. The training includes conducting inspections, hive and apiary hygiene, disease recognition, counting varroa and reducing winter losses.

This is Jane Waring's review:- "Brilliant day with Dafydd and Dawn learning about the importance of bee management and identification of diseases. I found the practical session amazing. Dafydd led the session with Dawn assisting and supporting the small group by encouraging us to carefully inspect the colony. The bees were super calm. I have to say this was my best experience at a hive. The calm bees and skilful guidance made it easy to identify the various stages of the colony. The afternoon involved a practical session focusing on hive management, swarm control and hive splitting."

There are further opportunities to attend the free hive-side training on 16 or 27 August. Click on the link below to check availability and secure your place.

Hive-side training

Are you a budding mead-maker?

With increased honey production, we have increased quantities of honey drained from the wax cappings, suitable for fermenting into mead. Due to the implications of excise duty, we currently have no intention of producing mead to sell, however there are no restrictions on us selling you the key ingredient and the know-how! So, if you are keen to learn how to brew your own mead, click below and send us a message and we will send you details of our mead-making course when it happens.

I'm interested in a mead-making course

Blwyddyn anhygoel arall!

Ar ôl nifer o flynyddoedd llwyddianus, camgymeriad mawr oedd meddwl na allai fod yn well! Er gwaethaf y gwanwyn oer a hwyr, mae ein gwenyn wedi bod yn brysurach nag erioed. O ganlyniad, rydym wedi bod yn brysur iawn yn adeiladu mwy a mwy o ffrâmiau a blychau i gadw i fyny gyda'u hanghenion am le i storio mêl ac yn rheoli ein cychod i atal y gwenyn rhag heidio.

Yn anffodus, nid yw gwenynwyr eraill yn yr ardal yn rheoli eu gwenyn gystal, i'w hatal rhag heidio ac aml cant eu denu i'n gwenynfa ni. Eleni rydym wedi ail-gatrefu tua wyth haid oddi ar ganghenau coed, pyst ffens a thu allan i'n cychod ni.

Nid y cynydd yn nifer ein cychod yn unig sy'n gyfrifol am ein cynhaeafau mawr o fêl. Yn ogystal mae ein rheolaeth effeithiol yn cyfranu a hefyd bridio dewisol i wella cynhyrchiant, iechyd a goroesiad dros y gaeaf. Mae'r gwenyn rydym yn bridio, yn hynod o addas iawn i'w hamgylchedd ar Ynys Môn.

Cyflenwad o fêl rownd y fwyddyn

Mae gennym gyflenwad dibynadwy o'n mêl ein hunain ar gyfer i chi ei brynu drwy'r flwyddyn. Caiff eu gynhyrchu a'u paratoi ar gyfer gwerthu gennym ni yn llwyr er mwyn cynnal ei ansawdd uchel. Rydym eisoes wedi cynaeafu a photelu mêl gwanwyn '26 ac yn ogystal wedi paratoi rhywfaint o jariau gyda thalp o grwybr ynddo. Ar hyn o bryd rydym wrthi yn cynaeafu mêl yr haf ac mae mêl yr haf o'r wenynfa gyntaf eisoes yn y jariau ac yn barod i'w werthu!

Yn ogystal â'n siop ar y safle ac ar-lein, mae gennym stondin penwythnosol fisol yng Nghangolfan Arddio Fron Goch, Caernarfon lle mae'n bleser gennym rannu blas o'n mêl arobryn ac ychydig o wybodaeth am ein gwenyn a'n mêl. Byddwn yn Fron Goch nesaf ar 29 a 30 Awst.

Rydym hefyd yn falch o ddarpaur mêl i nifer o fanwerthwyr dethol gan gynnwys:-

O G Owen a'i fab, Cigyddion Teuluol, Caernarfon;

Anglesey Fine Foods, y Fali;

& Caws, Porthaethwy;

Gerddi Cudd Cadnant, Porthaethwy;

Cigyddioon a Deli Mercado, Beaumaris;

Cigyddion Glandwr, Benllech;

Caffi Island Cove, Benllech;

Pantri Ann, Moelfre.

Siop ar-lein

Hyfforddiant ger y cwch i wenynwyr profiadol

Eleni rydym wedi bod yn darparu cwrs hyfforddiant hanner diwrnod am ddim ar ran yr Asiantaeth Iechyd Anifeiliaid a Phlanhigion. Bwriad yr hyfforddiant yw ychwanegu at sgiliau i gwenynwyr profiadol sydd eisoes wedi cadw eu gwenyn eu hunain ers blwyddyn neu ddwy. Mae'r hyfforddiant yn cynnwys cynnal archwiliadau, hylendidod, adnabod clefydau, cyfrif varroa a lleihau colledion dros y gaeaf

Dyma adolygiad Jane Waring:- "This is Jane Waring's review:- "Brilliant day with Dafydd and Dawn learning about the importance of bee management and identification of diseases. I found the practical session amazing. Dafydd led the session with Dawn assisting and supporting the small group by encouraging us to carefully inspect the colony. The bees were super calm. I have to say this was my best experience at a hive. The calm bees and skilful guidance made it easy to identify the various stages of the colony. The afternoon involved a practical session focusing on hive management, swarm control and hive splitting."

Mae cyfleon pellach i fynychu'r hyfforddiant am ddim ar 16 neu 27 Awst. Cliciwch ar y ddolen isod i wirio argaeledd a sicrhau eich lle.

gwirio argaeledd hyfforddiant ger y cwch

Ydych chi'n awyddus i fragu mêdd ?

Wrth gynhyrchu mwy a mwy o fêl yn flynyddol, mae ganddom fwy a mwy o fêl wedi ei ddraenio o'r cwyr sy'n addas ar gyfer bragu mêdd. Oherwydd goblygiadau' treth ar alcohol, ar hyn o bryd nid oes gennym unrhyw fwriad i gynhyrchu mêdd i'w werthu, ond nid oes unrhyw gyfyngiadau arnom ni i werthu'r cynhwysyn allweddol a'r dealltwriaeth sut i'w fragu'n llwyddiannus! Felly os ydych chi'n awyddus i ddysgu sut i fragu eich mêdd eich hun, cliciwch ar y botwm isod i anfon neges atom ac yna fe anfonwn fanylion ein cwrs gwneud mêdd atoch pan fydd ar gael.

diddordeb mewn hyfforddiant bragu medd

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Spring 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 9 April 2026

Spring 2026 newsletter from Anglesey Bees, the leading provider of beekeeping training and experiences in Wales and producer of award-winning wildflower honey.

Winter 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 22 February 2026

Hive-Side Training The Government's Animal and Plant Health Agency is funding free hive-side training for intermediate beekeepers. The Bee Farmers Association have been contracted to deliver this training. As a member of the Bee Farmers Association, Anglesey Bees have been chosen to deliver this training in north Wales. These free half-day training sessions cover focused hive inspections; apiary and hive hygiene; and disease, parasite and predator detection. click here to book your place on a hive-side training session with Anglesey Bees

Pre-Christmas Update

by Dafydd Jones • 27 November 2025

Cymraeg isod

Autumn 2025 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 3 November 2025

Back in March, encouraged by our success last year with our Anglesey summer wildflower honey, we sent off two jars of our Anglesey spring wildflower honey to be judged by the adjudicating panels of the Great Taste Award. When the results were announced at the end of July, we were pleased to report that we got a two star Award! It seems that it was tasted by three panels of judges and their adjudications were as follows:- "An aroma of caramel lifted from this rich, viscous, amber honey. This a delightfully floral honey with a light astringency on the palate suggesting the bees may have been foraging on tree flowers." "There were the most delicious wafts of sun warmed woody notes. The burst of floral vanilla that initially filled the mouth followed by fruity musky notes with a savoury edge. This clever honey works in harmony on the palate to allow a burst of spring." "Wonderful amber colour with excellent viscosity and an enticing floral hit on the nose. A smooth texture coats the mouth with the delicate sweet flavour rich with floral clean notes singing of the environment these bees have been working." You can buy our honey directly from us in person or on-line or by calling at Anglesey Fine Foods , Valley or Glandwr Butchers Benllech. In addition to our Anglesey Spring and Summer Wildflower honey, we currently have a limited stock of a rare and unusual Eucryphia honey produced on Anglesey. Read about it in a previous blog.

In search for the source of a mystery honey

by Dafydd Jones • 9 September 2025

It started by accident back in 2022. In Early August, after harvesting the summer honey, I returned some boxes of empty honeycomb to the hives in an out-apiary on Anglesey so that the bees could lick them dry before I stored them in a stack, off the hives till the following spring. My intention was to remove these boxes of honeycomb from the hives after a few days but as is often the case, I was distracted by more pressing tasks and a week and a half had passed by the time I managed to recover them. To my surprise, the boxes were heavy when I lifted them off the hives and frame after frame were full to the edges of capped honey! Like a proud father carrying his new-born home from the maternity ward, I brought, what I soon discovered to be a rare treasure, home to be extracted. I proceeded as normal by uncapping the honeycomb and attempted to extract the honey from them by centrifugation. I was surprised that after a few minutes of spinning at low speed, virtually no honey had been flung out. I increased the speed - still nothing! I accelerated to top speed and suddenly with no warning - bang! bang! I slammed the emergency shut-off knob and the spinner ground to a halt. At the bottom of the extractor I found the shattered remains of four frames, still heavy with what appeared to be liquid honey! Bewildered, I came to the conclusion that this was not a late crop of bramble honey but something unusual and very very different to what we were used to. The honey appeared to be in a liquid state but refused to be extracted! Although I have no experience of harvesting heather honey, this honey seemed to have similar thixotropic properties. Both heather honey and our mystery honey have a gel-like consistency of a non-Newtonian liquid akin to ketchup or toothpaste. As a consequence it does not flow predictably and forms a gel at rest but can turn liquid when agitated or stirred. The viscosity of heather honey, due to its higher concentration of colloidal proteins, is so high that it makes the extraction of the honey from the comb very difficult. That’s why heather honey is extracted by pressure (instead of centrifugation), which destroys the combs. Although there was no expanse of heather within range sufficient for our bees to produce this honey, we concluded that we had little choice but to treat it like heather honey. We proceeded to cut the honeycomb from the wooden frames, pack it into a muslin sack and squeeze the honey out of it using a honey press, a device with a threaded shaft and T-shaped handles a bit like an apple press. The honey that it yielded had an unfamiliar bright o range glow, a jelly-like consistency and the taste was divine and unlike anything we had previously produced. We were flabbergasted!

The Terroir of Anglesey Wildflower Honey

by Dafydd Jones • 17 August 2025

A discussion of the environmental and human factors that influence the terroir of Anglesey Bees' award-winning wildflower honey including climate, soil, topography and human influences.

Summer 2025 Newsletter, Anglesey Bees

by Dafydd Jones • 6 July 2025

Cymraeg isod. Spring honey now for sale!

Pollinator strips vs wildflower meadows

by Dafydd Jones • 5 January 2025

Creating a wildflower meadow or just a wildflower border may appear to be a fantastic way to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. They undoubtedly offer numerous benefits, both for the environment and for us. Wildflower meadows provide essential habitats and food sources for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. These pollinators play a crucial role in the reproduction of many plants, including crops that humans rely on for food. Wildflower meadows support a diverse range of plant and animal species. By creating a habitat based on a variety of native plants, you encourage a healthy ecosystem where different species can thrive. In addition to pollinators, wildflower meadows provide habitats for other wildlife, such as birds, small mammals. These animals contribute to a balanced ecosystem and can help control pest populations.

Swarming

by Dafydd Jones • 7 May 2024

Many beekeepers accept swarming as an inevitable event. Sadly, it results in a significant loss of bees and impacts honey yield and may result in complete colony loss. Furthermore, the need to remove swarms from buildings may cause distress, inconvenience, structural work and cost to neighbours. On our beginner and improver courses we stress the importance of swarm control and share effective management practices with our students that virtually eliminate the occurrence of swarming. First of all, lets investigate what happens when bees swarm and what triggers this to happen. Swarming is a natural process that honeybees undertake in an attempt to reproduce and spread by dividing and starting new independent colonies. In preparation for swarming, the colony initiates the rearing of new queens. Then the old queen and a significant proportion of the flying bees from the colony leave the hive in an attempt to set up home elsewhere. New queens are reared in specially constructed structures called queen cells. An egg, laid in these structures by the old queen hatch into larvae, that are then fed with copious quantities of a high protein diet of royal jelly, derived from pollen and provided by young nurse bees. Around the eighth day after the egg was laid, feeding stops and the queen cell is sealed with a cap of wax and the larvae pupate. It is on this day that the old queen and accompanying flying bees swarm from the hive, leaving behind some workers and some developing queens in their queen cells to hatch out in a further eight days.

Enriching the bees' environment

by Dafydd Jones • 29 February 2024

Trefnant Bach, the home of Anglesey Bees (along with our neighbouring Trefnant Wen and Trefnant Ddu has been in existence for a long time. There is a record of its existence in the 1841 census, earlier court and church records and tithe maps. Recently I discovered records of historical field names such as Cae Hen Gaseg; Cae Beudy; Cae Gamdda; Cae Flaen Drws; Waun and Parciau Mawr. I therefore have every reason to believe that the field boundary hedges consisting predominantly of hawthorn, blackthorn, dog-rose, sycamore and ash and associated ivy, brambles, gorse and rosebay willow herb are ancient. Since we became custodians of Trefnant Bach, we have managed them sympathetically and the sycamores, in particular make a valuable contribution to our spring honey. Furthermore, we manage the spread of ivy through the hedges. On one hand we encourage the contribution of autumn ivy nectar as a valuable top up to winter stores whilst on the other hand, we aim to prevent the collapse of hedgerows under the weight of ivy. Previously, our three fields were grazed by horses, resulting in selective close grazing in some areas and vast expanses of rejected, rank tussocky growth caused by repeated dunging. Stockproof fencing and a small flock of Llŷn sheep cured that over time, resulting in more of a bowling green appearance. The unimproved permanent pasture contained pockets of indigenous white clover, similar in appearance to the land-race, Kent Wild White. I applied the findings from my research in an earlier career as a pasture ecologist at what is now called The Institute of Biological and Environmental Research near Aberystwyth. When a grass/white clover pasture is grazed hard under rotational grazing, there is a change in the ratio of red:far red light reaching the clover stolons at the soil surface, caused by less absorption by the less dense sward. This causes a switch in the growth pattern resulting in more branching and the spreading of clover stolons at ground level. When the livestock were moved on to another field, the biomass accumulated and the resultant effect on the red:far red light perceived by the clover stolons, caused them to stop initiating more branches and produce leafy vertical growth instead and ultimately a mass of flowers which make a significant contribution to our summer honey.