14 Years of Treatment-Free Beekeeping – Our Experience – Clive Hudson
An online presentation to Canterbury Beekeepers, Kent BKA 25th January 2023

Three articles on treatment-free beekeeping were published in BBKA News No 229 July 2022. They document the experience of treatment-free beekeepers and some of the latest research.

From BBKA News No 229 July 2022

A general article on the wild honeybees of Snowdonia, North Wales, and their intimate association with ancient woodlands of the area.

The wild honeybees of Snowdonia (2021) – by Clive Hudson

As an introduction to natural varroa-resistance there is an excellent interview with Isobel Grindrod, University of Salford

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000yfkv 

Isobel gives a very clear explanation of the behavioural traits being used by honey bees to cope with the mites. 

Here is a transcript I’ve done (5 August 2021).

Treatment-Free Beekeeping by Clive & Shân Hudson 2020 as published in BBKA News No. 227 July 2020. Includes a concluding remark by Professor Thomas Seeley.

An earlier version of this article was published in Welsh Beekeeper 206, Winter 2019.

Our bee monitor was recently featured in Raspberry Pi’s magazine and on their blog: ‘BeeMonitor’, The MagPi 94 (June 2020).

Available on the Raspberry Pi Blog: https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/monitoring-bees-with-a-raspberry-pi-and-beemonitor/

Available as a pdf: https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/issues/94/pdf

This article is an update of our experience of Treatment Free beekeeping.

11 Years of Treatment Free Beekeeping by Clive & Shan Hudson as published in Welsh Beekeeper 206, Winter 2019.

“Varroa Has Lost its Sting – Our Experience of Treatment Free Beekeeping”

Presentation given at Welsh Beekeepers’ Convention at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells on 30th March 2019 to an audience of approximately 165. This presentation is similar to that given at the BIBBA Confernce 2018, but differs in two main aspects:

1. given from the ‘Our Experience’ rather than the ‘My Experience’ viewpoint to emphasise the Treatment Free (TF) approach being taken by many beekeepers as well as ourselves.
2. includes updated data and map of TF Beekeepers in North-West Wales.

Following the presentation, I was joined by Joe and Chris Ibbertson for a lively Q&A session.

Varroa Has Lost its Sting – Our Experience of Treatment Free Beekeeping – WBKA Conference 2019, Builth Wells

Presentation Notes

This article is by Claudia Blauert, from Germany following her visit to Wales, and views our Treatment Free beekeeping from a German perspective.

Treatment-free beekeeping and feral bees – a visit to Clive and Shân Hudson, Snowdonia, 2nd May 2018

Behandlungsfreie Imkerei und wild lebende Bienen – ein Besuch bei Clive und Shân Hudson, Snowdonia, 2. Mai 2018

“Varroa Has Lost its Sting – My Experience of Treatment Free Beekeeping”

Presentation given at BIBBA Conference 6th – 9th September 2018, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester. Following the presentation, and after being joined by Joe and Chris Ibbertson, there was time for a Q&A. The audience of around 60 indicated by a show of hands that approximately half were already beekeeping Treatment Free.

Varroa Has Lost its Sting – My Experience of Treatment Free Beekeeping – BIBBA Conference 2018, Cirencester

Presentation Notes