Training Apiary
Training Apiary
The LBA Training Apiary
Our Apiary is located in Corpach, Fort William and is managed by the club to provide :
- Live bees for hands-on practical training for our beginners courses, other beekeeping courses and demonstration days.
- Honey and wax to raise money for club funds.
- Nucs for beginners, and beekeepers moving to the Lochaber area, to start their own apiary with locally adapted stocks.
- A facility for rescued colonies recovered by our Bee Rescue team.
Facilities and Access
The Training apiary is located in a small wooded area adjacent to the railway and is therefore quite restricted for space. We currently have three National hives, on raised stands and a single level access path. The path is narrow and can be muddy in wet weather and unfortunately is not currently advised for wheelchair access. We hope to improve the access path in the near future to provide all abilities access.
Adult and child full bee suits are available to use during training events.
A full first aid kit is maintained on site.
NB. There are no toilet facilities and hand washing is cold water only.
The Bees
Currently we have three colonies and these are housed in National Hives.
Unfortunately this apiary is in a Varroa area of Lochaber and our bees are infected. IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is practised to keep the Varroa, and any other pests, at as low a level as possible.
The bees are of dark colour, and are probably at least partly native black bees. They are very relaxed bees and easy to handle.
Use of the Apiary
Access to apiary is restricted to LBA members and guests taking part in a course or club demonstration day, or to LBA members undertaking SBA practical exams, and is strictly by arrangement only. This is to safeguard both the apiary, and visitors' bees, from infections spread between apiaries by beekeepers.
If you are attending the apiary as part of an organised event please note that apiary hygiene is very important and we respectfully ask that you adhere to the following guidelines:
Please wear a clean bee suit
No dirty gloves; leather gloves if worn must be covered by rubber nitrile gloves
Keep your boots clean using the on-site disinfectant point
Don't bring any used frames, old foundation, parts of hives, or bees, with you!
No dogs on site
Please reverse park and be aware of other vehicles accessing the yard
Training events are advertised on the What's On page of the website, facebook, and via our newsletter.
For enquiries about the Training Apiary or events please contact us by email at apiary@lochaberbeekeepers.org
