Welcome to the Apis blog. Apis is the latin word for Bee, so when you explore this space, be prepared to step into another world: an insect culture far older than our own, humming in the darkness. It’s not just a leap of imagination, it’s a real gangplank into prehistory, into a dense, six-legged matriarchy, into a breathing, breeding super-organism. And all inside a wooden box. Tread lightly, open your mind and enter…
Good morning Maytime !
Spring is well and truly here and with that our bees are getting very busy gathering pollen.
MICHEL ROUX
Stop Press: London Honey Show: Two Talks

The London Honey Show is at the Lancaster Hotel W2 2TY from 11am to 4pm this Sunday 16th October. Entry £2. Children go free. This is a family day out with a farmers’ market feel.
The Lancaster Hotel is very accessible, on the North side of Hyde Park, next to Lancaster Gate Tube (Central Line).
I will be giving two talks:
- 1.30pm “Bees Can’t Eat Kind Words”: Exploring the precarious balance of forage and London’s populous bees.

- 2.15pm “The Asian Hornet”: Recognition and Management” We travelled to France to discover how beekeepers there have been coping with this voracious honeybee predator.

Hoping to see you there!
Our Honey For Sale “Underneath The Arches”

Bermondsey Street Bees are delighted to be opening our first retail outlet this Saturday 15th October at Hiver Beers Arch in Maltby Street.
Continue reading “Our Honey For Sale “Underneath The Arches””
Bee-Wrangling For Bompas & Parr

WC Fields famously said: “Never work with animals or children”. A trenchant one-liner. But if you slavishly obeyed it, how would you go about getting a beautifully composed, close-up shot of bees feeding on a dripping honey-spoon? Continue reading “Bee-Wrangling For Bompas & Parr”
Moving The Lambeth Palace Hives

In August, we moved the hives at Lambeth Palace, London’s oldest garden, to a dappled new location. A neat job, but not without its complications.
Honey Offer To Apis Subscribers
Each year, in the week before the Bermondsey Street Festival, we send out a preferential offer to subscribers to my Apis blog to reserve (up to a maximum of 5) jars of Bermondsey Street Honey for collection from our stall at the Festival.
Please e-mail your requests to dale@bermondseystreetbees.co.uk
It’s All About The Taste
Out of 10,000 entries, only 141 made the 3-star Great Taste Awards 2016 grade. Including our Bermondsey Street Honey. And now we’re in the Top 50, with a shot at a “Golden Fork” Award (no sniggering at the back!)
But that’s enough from me. Here’s what the judges said:
A Cut Above…

Who better to taste the first of our new season Bermondsey Street honeycomb with than the brilliant Honey & Co ? Here’s the video of the very first cut, taken by Samit.
Strawberries

With Wimbledon out of the way, it’s possible to envisage strawberries, the quintessential summer fruit, without a dollop of cream. A simple pleasure for us, they’re jolly hard work for bees!