Welcome to the British Bee Veterinary Association!

Within these pages you will find general information on bees, beekeeping, honey and other hive products as well as more veterinary-specific topics including bee diseases, diagnosis and treatment. There is also a directory of resources for further
information.

BSAVA Satellite Meeting

The BBVA’s first Satellite day is being held on Wednesday 2nd April and features six presentations from leading lights about the potential of using Manuka honey in clinical cases, the current status of Nosema in bee as well as the mapping honey bee disease and genetic diversity in the UK, as well as key aspects of the anatomy and physiology of the honeybee to be aware of when carrying out post-mortems of honey bees.

Wednesday 2^nd April 2019, ICC Exec Rm 1, Birmingham

See full details

To register please email Suzetta Cameron MRCVS BBVA Treasurer,

Email to: secretary@britishbeevets.com

Cost: £40 for members, £50 for non-members

Royal Jelly

What is Royal jelly?

What is Royal Jelly? Royal Jelly is a milky secretion produced by glands of the worker bees and used to feed all larvae in the colony regardless of sex. After the first three days of life, the male larvae (drones) and female larvae (worker bees) stop being fed royal jelly. However, fascinatingly, when a colony [...]

Membership

We warmly welcome both veterinary and non-veterinary members to the Association. Ordinary Membership is open to Members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), or those holding an equivalent veterinary qualification which is registrable with the RCVS. Associate Membership is open to anyone who does not hold a veterinary qualification registrable with the RCVS. Bee Friendly Practice Membership covers all staff [...]

Previous meetings

The BBVA aims to host two meetings a year in the Spring and Autumn at universities and other bee related organisation venues in the UK. For more information about previous meetings…

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About the BBVA

The British Bee Veterinary Association (BBVA) was launched on 1st April 2015 in response to an increased demand for bee expertise from the veterinary profession. Full Membership is open to anyone holding a veterinary qualification registerable with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. We also warmly welcome student and non-veterinary Associate Members as well as ‘Bee Friendly Practice’ Membership. For information [...]

Common diseases

Foulbrood

American foulbrood (AFB) and European foulbrood (EFB), despite their names, both occur in the UK and both can lead to the death of infected colonies. Both foulbroods are statutory notifiable diseases and therefore, beekeepers are legally obligated to report any suspected diseased colonies under the Bee Diseases and Pests Control Order 2006 (as amended). Causes AFB [...]

Verroa mites

Varroa destructor (Anderson and Truman) previously described as Varroa jacobsoni (Oud) is a parasitic mite of adult bees and brood. In the past hundred years or so it has become the most serious pest of Western honeybees across the globe, particularly for the European honey bee Apis mellifera which lacks natural defences to be able to deal with the mite [...]

Nosema

There are no outward symptoms of the disease. Dysentery is often seen in association with N. apis infections; this may be seen as ‘spotting’ at the hive entrance or across the frames. The dysentery is not caused by the pathogen, but as a consequence of infection and can be exacerbated during periods of prolonged confinement during inclement [...]

Chronic Bee Paralysis virus

Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus (CBPV)-infected bees are characteristically ‘shiny and black’. These bees in infected hives are often found isolated, motionless and/or shaking on the top bars. When the colony is smoked they do not tend to move down between the frames as the other ‘normal’ bees do. Abdomens may also be distended and the wings [...]

Hello bee-enthusiast friends! You may be interested to see these annotated photographs taken by BBVA member Chris Palgrave at a recent 'bee anatomy and dissection' NBD short course run by Dan and Ken Basterfield in East Devon.

British Bee Veterinary Association

Quick Bee facts

250

Species of Bee in the UK

45,000

Bees in the average hive

20-70lb

honey harvested per year by a hive

BBVA News and Events

BSAVA Satellite Meeting

BSAVA Satellite Meeting Kindly sponsored by Agria Summary: The BBVA’s first Satellite day is being held on Wednesday 2nd April and features six presentations from leading lights about the potential of using Manuka honey in clinical cases, the current status of Nosema in bee as well as the mapping honey bee disease and genetic […]

Read More…
Honey bee parasites feed on fatty organs, not blood

In this electron micrograph, a parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is wedged between the abdominal plates of a honey bee’s exoskeleton. Credit: UMD/USDA/PNAS Honey bee colonies around the world are at risk from a variety of threats, including pesticides, diseases, poor nutrition and habitat loss. Recent research suggests that one threat stands well above the others: a […]

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Plummeting insect numbers ‘threaten collapse of nature’

The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review. More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. […]

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High pesticide exposure among farmers linked to poor sense of smell later

A Michigan State University study is the first to show an association between unusually high pesticide exposure and poor sense of smell among aging farmers. The research examined more than 11,200 farmers over a 20-year period. At the start of the study, about 16 percent of participants reported having experienced a high pesticide exposure event, […]

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Fungus fights deadly bee mites in a two-pronged attack

A Varroa mite on a honey bee pupa. Credit: Gilles San Martin(Phys.org)—A fungus normally used to control insect pests may help honey bees protect themselves from a destructive mite by both infecting the mites and preventing suppression of the bee immune system, says a team of bee researchers at the University of Guelph. The Varroa mite is […]

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Butterflies thrive in grasslands surrounded by forest

Northern brown argus in Swedish landscape. Credit: Karl-Olof Bergman For pollinating butterflies, it is more important to be close to forests than to agricultural fields, according to a study of 32,000 butterflies by researchers at Linköping University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala. The results provide important knowledge about how to […]

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Scientists discover bees understand the concept of zero

Trained to pick the lowest number out of a series of options, a honeybee chooses a blank image, revealing an understanding of the concept of zero. Scientists have discovered honeybees can understand the concept of zero, putting them in an elite club of clever animals that can grasp the abstract mathematical notion of nothing. By […]

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Inside the brains of killer bees

Africanized honeybees, commonly known as “killer bees,” are much more aggressive than their European counterparts. Now researchers have examined neuropeptide changes that take place in Africanized honeybees’ brains during aggressive behavior. The researchers, who report their results in the Journal of Proteome Research, also showed they could turn gentle bees into angry ones by injecting them […]

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Bees have brains for basic math, study finds

Researchers have found bees can do basic mathematics, in a discovery that expands our understanding of the relationship between brain size and brain power. Credit: RMIT University Researchers have found bees can do basic mathematics, in a discovery that expands our understanding of the relationship between brain size and brain power. Building on their finding […]

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Rapid gene cloning technique will transform crop disease protection

February 4, 2019, John Innes Centre Researchers have pioneered a new method which allows them to rapidly recruit disease resistance genes from wild plants and transfer them into domestic crops. The technique called AgRenSeq or speed cloning has been developed by John Innes Centre researchers alongside colleagues in the United States and Australia to speed up […]

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