Taunton's popular spring equipment auction is back after a two year absence! It takes place on Sunday, 3 April, 2022 at Ruishton Village Hall, Taunton, Somerset TA3 5JD.
There's sure to be a miscellany of second hand hives, smokers and honey extraction equipment.
Auctioneer Chris Harries will be wielding the gavel for the 36th time and urged beekeepers to make sure they were well prepared for the coming season.
“Bees don’t wait for anybody!” said Chris. “This is a great opportunity to get ahead of the bees. Beekeepers need to have their equipment ready to go if they’re going to be able to cope once the bees ‘wake up’.”
Beekeeping involves a considerable amount of equipment, protective clothing, hive tools, a smoker, a feeder to provide bees with sugar syrup if needed in the winter, a good reference book, honey extraction equipment and among many other items of paraphernalia.
Chris, who runs Sedgemoor Honey, added: “We always get a good selection of equipment and someone just taking up the craft could quite easily get started and save money. But buyers need to remember to thoroughly clean any equipment to prevent the spread of diseases.” 
​Items received from 10:00am
Auction starts at 2:00pm
Refreshments
Raffle
Free car parking

A petition instigated by Somerset beekeepers and calling on government to do more to clear the supermarket shelves of adulterated honey is live. 
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/607735
Honey selling for as little as 69p a pot has been spotted in Somerset shops. Large quantities of imported honey – mainly from China – are believed to be cut with cheap fillers. Consumers are not given the information on the labels to make an informed choice.
Somerset BKA seconded Devon BKA’s propositions at the BBKA’s Annual Delegates Meeting last month calling on the BBKA to join efforts to stamp out adulterated honey. They were passed by an overwhelming majority.
A petition created by some of the people behind the propositions – from Somerset and Devon – is calling for government to do more.
There’s been a long standing, but light hearted, rivalry between Devon and Somerset. Let’s carry on that tradition and see if we can get more signatures than Devon!
The petition calls for a full review of the honey market and Honey Regulations, to review evidence of honey fraud within the honey market, and reform regulations and arrangements for enforcement, to prevent future fraud.
Honey is adulterated, purely for profit, on an industrial scale across the globe. We believe current measures to ensure authenticity of honey are woeful. Public health, the free market, livelihoods, food security, consumer confidence and bee health issues are all at risk.
Current regulations, testing and enforcement are inadequate to protect and inform consumers, and there is a need for an urgent comprehensive review in order to detect honey fraud.
Please sign this petition and share it with everyone you know! 
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/607735
[When you sign, you'll receive an automatic email asking you to confirm your signature]. 
Visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/588674292271458  to find out more about honey adulteration.

Dr Pete Kennedy (pictured), a Research Fellow at The University of Exeter's Environment and Sustainability Institute, will give us an update on current Asian hornet research and spread in Europe at our AGM on Saturday, 12 March, 2022.
The AGM will be hosted by Burnham division at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club, St. Christopher's Way, Burnham-on-Sea TA8 2PE.  Members are very welcome to attend for both the lunch and the lecture which precede the AGM; there will obviously be no charge for lunch if you choose to attend just the lecture and AGM.
A two course carvery costs £19 and numbers are required by Friday 4 March 2022.  Tea and coffee will be available at extra charge. Please pay by bank transfer to:
The Burnham and District Beekeepers
Sort code 30-91-20
Account 00881608
If you have any further queries please contact Richard Tiley from Burnham Division at [email protected] 
Dr Kennedy's talk examines the Asian hornet Vespa velutina, an invasive alien species, that is rapidly spreading through parts of Europe. Living in large nests of 5,000 to 20,000 individuals, Asian hornets are voracious predators of insects – including honey bees, wild bees and wasps.  They are having a significant impact on the viability of beekeeping and honey production in mainland Europe, and they have been poised to spread into the UK over the last five years, where they could pose a significant threat to both wild and managed pollinators. This could jeopardise the essential pollination service these species provide to crops and wild flowers.
"Efforts to halt or limit the spread of the Asian hornet in the UK are reliant upon finding and destroying nests as soon as possible. In 2017, in response to a request by Defra, we developed a new method for finding Asian hornet nests, by radio-tracking individual hornets as they flew back to their nests (Kennedy et al 2018). We now have two research projects, collaborating with our European partners (funded by BBSRC and funded by EU Interreg Atlantic Area) to further develop this technique and find new ways of managing the spread of the Asian Hornet.  At the same time, we are actively measuring and modelling the potential impact of this invasive species on wild and managed pollinators to understand the level of threat posed by this invasive species."
 Timetable:
1200hrs - Arrive
12.30hrs - Two course carvery lunch
1400hrs - Welcome
14.05hrs - Lecture: "Asian hornets: An update on current research and spread in Europe" with Dr Pete Kennedy from Exeter University.
15.5hrs - Afternoon tea
15.30hrs - AGM