- ONBG (OxNatBees) is an informal mutual support network for beginners and experienced beeks who aspire to practise bee-centric, low intervention, and chemical-free beekeeping in Oxfordshire. To join the group and share ideas, questions, information and experiences, please use this site's Contact Us form.
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Saturday 1st October 12:30-4:30PM, Steeple Aston
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Recent Blog Posts
- ONBG meeting, March 2023 – new year, new lessons March 9, 2023
- Winter projects November 23, 2022
- ONBG Meeting, October 2022 – 10th anniversary gathering October 9, 2022
- ONBG meeting, June 2022 – Unlearning beekeeping June 27, 2022
- ONBG meeting, May 2022 – A Swarmy Bee Tea at Dee May 25, 2022
- The Sideboard Bees May 11, 2022
- ONBG meeting April 2022 – swarm prep May 5, 2022
- Trends in beekeeping March 6, 2022
- A visit from … December 19, 2021
- Blenheim bees – news article and response November 9, 2021
- ONBG meeting, 1st August 2021 – out-apiaries and TBHs August 7, 2021
- ONBG meeting, July 2021 – Blenheim wild bees July 23, 2021
- Bees at the fete July 11, 2021
- ONBG meeting June 2021 – another Bee Tea at Dee! June 12, 2021
- Drayton beehive on display May 12, 2021
- Lockdown winter projects February 27, 2021
- Book review: Treatment Free Beekeeping, by David Heaf February 9, 2021
- Horizontal hive types January 17, 2021
- Bees Without Borders: conference report November 23, 2020
- Winter is coming November 7, 2020
Category Archives: Swarms
ONBG meeting, June 2022 – Unlearning beekeeping
25 folk gathered at Gareth’s rural apiary to listen and learn from his 50 years’ experience and experimentation. We were honoured to be joined by Filipe Salbany (of Blenheim Woods fame) with a different set of 50 years’ experience, and … Continue reading
ONBG meeting, May 2022 – A Swarmy Bee Tea at Dee
Jane’s fabulous apiary at Dee Cottage isn’t just the prettiest cottage garden in Oxford, it also features several really unusual hives: an alveary, cathedral hive, freedom hive and also a couple of more standard TBHs. The agenda was to inspect … Continue reading
Posted in Apiary visits, Hives, Inspections, Meetings, ONBG, Swarms, TBH
Tagged Cathedral Hive, freedom hive, swarm, TBH
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ONBG meeting, July 2020: a Bee Tea at Dee Cottage
This was the first ONBG gathering this year as our normal annual cycle of events was interrupted by lockdown. Our last meeting was in October last year! Precautions were taken: access to handwash, masks, social distancing, everyone took their own … Continue reading
Preparing for swarm season
Swarms begin around late April in Oxfordshire, first in the warmer southern part and the heat islands of the towns and cities, then a couple of weeks later in the rural parts. In earlier years we’ve written on this blog … Continue reading
Covid-19: evolution in action
I can’t help wondering if the lockdown will make people reassess high-intervention beekeeping. This lockdown is going to exert heavy selection pressure for colonies that can fend for themselves.
ONBG meeting, 15th June 2019 – TBHs, Freedom hives and a surprise swarm
Fifteen of us met in a beautiful cottage hidden near the middle of Oxford. The plan was to have lunch, inspect Top Bar Hives and see a nearby Freedom Hive, and we managed to meet these targets due to skillful … Continue reading
Swarm stories
Here’s some things our group has learned, from over 120 swarm collections over several years: what went right…. and what went wrong! First though – what are swarms? – Within each hive is a queen who lays eggs which become … Continue reading
Posted in Swarms
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