Spring 2026 Newsletter

Dafydd Jones • 9 April 2026

Cymraeg isod

Throughout the spring and summer we will be delivering free half-day hive-side training sessions for intermediate level beekeepers on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency. If you have kept bees for a few years or had several colonies for one year, your are eligible to attend. We are looking forward to deliver the first of many sessions next Saturday. All April courses are now full but you can reserve places on courses from May onwards. The training will cover, apiary hygiene and biosecurity, disease recognition, varroa counting, reducing winter losses and more.

Book free hive-side training

Are you thinking about becoming a beekeeper in 2026?

Anglesey Bees is the leading independent beekeeping training provider in Wales. Just read our reviews!

We are experienced teachers, not just beekeeping enthusiasts. Attendees on our 2-day beginner courses are restricted to 4, so that you gain individual attention and make rapid progress. With calm bees and hives under cover, we rarely have to cancel courses due to adverse weather. On completing your 2-day beginner course, you will be ready to start your journey into beekeeping with on-going support from us via our whatsapp group. Beginner courses, available every month till the end of August, are bookable through our on-line shop.

More on beekeeping experiences

Buy our Great Taste Award-Winning Anglesey Wild-flower Honey

We now have a small on-site shop where you can taste and buy our Spring and Summer wild-flower honey. We do not have regular opening hours, so please check to see if we are open before calling. (07816 188573) Alternatively you can buy honey, wax and reserve a place on a beekeeping experience or training course at our on-line shop. We also regularly have a stall at Fron Goch Garden Centre, Caernarfon on Saturday and Sunday towards the start or end of each month. We are there next on 2&3 May. Our honey is also stocked at Anglesey Fine Foods, Valley, Glandwr Butcher, Benllech, Island Cove Cafe, Benllech and Cadnant Hidden Gardens, Porthaethwy.

Trwy'r gwanwyn a'r haf byddwn yn darparu sesiynau hyfforddiant ger y cwch sydd am ddim ar gyfer gwenynwyr lefel canolradd ar ran Asiantaeth Iechyd Anifeiliaid a Phlanhigion. Os ydych wedi cadw gwenyn am ychydig flynyddoedd neu wedi cael sawl cwch am un flwyddyn, rydych yn gymwys i fod yn bresennol. Rydyn ni'n edrych ymlaen at ddarparu'r sesiwn gyntaf o sawl sesiwn ddydd Sadwrn nesaf. Mae'r holl gyrsiau ym mis Ebrill erbyn hyn yn llawn ond gallwch archebu lle ar gyrsiau o fis Fai ymlaen. Bydd y hyfforddiant yn cwmpasu hylendid yn y wenynfa a bioddiogelwch, adnabod afiechydon, cyfrif varroa, lleihau colledion gaeaf a mwy.

mwy am yr hyfforddiant am ddim ger y cwch.

Meddwl am ddechrau cadw gwenyn yn 2026?

Gwenyn Môn yw'r darparwr hyfforddiant a phrofiadau cadw gwenyn annibynnol mwyaf blaellaw yng Nghymru. Darllenwch ein hadolygiadau! Rydym yn athrawon profiadol, yn ogystal a bod yn frwdfrydig am y gwenyn. Caiff cyfranogwyr ar ein cyrsiau deuddydd i dechreuwyr yn eu cyfyngu i 4 o ran nifer, fel y gallant dderbyn sylw unigol a gwneud cynnydd cyflym. Gyda gwenyn tawel a chychod o dan gysgod, prin y bydd angen i ni ganslo cyrsiau oherwydd tywydd gwael. Ar gwblhau eich cwrs deuddydd i ddechreuwr, byddwch yn barod i ddechrau eich taith i fel gwenynwr gyda chefnogaeth barhaus gennym ni drwy ein grŵp whatsapp. Gallwch archebu lle ar y cyrsiau i ddechreuwyr drwy ein siop ar-lein ac mae argaeledd bob mis tan ddiwedd Awst.

mwy am gyrsiau deuddydd i ddechreuwyr

Ydych chi'n caru gwenyn a byd natur ac yn hoffi cael profiad unigryw?

Yna ymunwch â ni am brofiad cadw gwenyn unigryw! Mae'r rhain yn cynnwys profiad 'Gwenynwr am y diwrnod' i'r rhai sy'n hoffi gwirio'r rhestr bwced; profiad hanner diwrnod 'Cael Blas ar Gadw Gwenyn'; neu brofiad 90 munud fforddiadwy 'Cwrdd a'r gwenyn'. Fel arfer, rydym yn cymryd plant 8 oed neu hyn a gallwn ddarparu profiadau unigryw wedi'u teilwra i grwpiau mwy neu grwpiau teulu gyda phlant iau. Mae profiadau cadw gwenyn yn anrhegion rhyfeddol ac rydym yn gallu darparu tocynnau anrheg ar eu cyfer.

mwy am brofiadau cadw gwenyn

Prynwch ein mêl arobryn o flodau Gwyllt Ynys Môn

Erbyn hyn mae ganddom siop fechan ar y safle be gallwch flasu a phrynu ein mêl o flodau gwyllt y Gwanwyn a'r Haf. Nid oes gennym oriau agor rheolaidd, felly gwiriwch os ydym ar agor cyn galw heibio. (07816 188573) Fel arall gallwch brynu mêl, cwyr a sicrhau lle ar brofiad neu gwrs hyfforddiant drwy ein siop ar-lein. Mae gennym stondin yn rheolaidd hefyd yng Nghanolfan Carddio Fron Goch, Caernarfon ar ddydd Sadwrn a dydd Sul tua dechrau neu ddiwedd pob mis. Byddwn yna nesa ar 2&3 Mai. Mae ein mêl hefyd ar gael yn Anglesey Fine Foods, Valley, Cigydd Glandwr, Benllech, Island Cove Cafe, Benllech a Gerddi Cudd Cadnant, Porthaethwy.

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Summer 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 2 August 2026

Cymraeg isod

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.