Summer 2025 Newsletter, Anglesey Bees

Dafydd Jones • 6 July 2025

Cymraeg isod.

Spring honey now for sale!

As beekeepers, we are acutely aware of the seasons and weather patterns. I mentioned in a previous blog how the onset of the La Nina Southern Oscillation would bring about more favourable beekeeping conditions in 2025. Well, it couldn't have been truer! Spring beekeeping conditions were the best on record, with a bumper crop harvested from all our apiaries.

The prolonged dry conditions throughout April and May resulted in an early "June" gap in mid May, allowing us to harvest the honey early. The bees had been foraging on spring flowering trees and hedgerow plants including hawthorn, sycamore, chestnut, cherry, apple and pear. It is an amber honey, thick, fluid and smooth. It has a rich warm, woody aroma, with strong notes of vanilla and hints of maple and chocolate in the flavour.

Our spring honey is now available for collection in person from our base in Llanddaniel. Alternatively you can order it on the website for delivery by Royal Mail Parcels or from select outlets including Glandwr Butchers, Benllech; Anglesey Fine Foods, Valley and Cadnant Hidden Gardens, Menai Bridge.

Order honey

Outreach events

Through out our quieter autumn and winter seasons we were invited to give illustrated talks on our lives as beekeepers to many organisations including U3A various dinner clubs and societies. Furthermore, we were invited back to deliver meet the beekeeper events at Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens and at the National Trust Bodnant Gardens.

Farming Connect mentoring

We are supporting and mentoring a growing number of beekeepers, including complete beginners, under the Farming Connect scheme. Mentees with a minimum of 3ha of land are entitled to up to 15 hours of free mentoring at our site and theirs.

Farming connect mentoring

Collaborating with and learning from other commercial beekeepers

As new members of the Bee Farmer's Association and Food and Drink Wales' Honey Cluster, we at Anglesey Bees have gained accreditation as commercial beekeepers and honey producers. Membership of these two organisations opens opportunities to develop our enterprise further by collaborating with other businesses.

Beekeeping experiences and courses

Since the beginning of April, our highly acclaimed two-day beginner courses, improver course and beekeeping experiences, ranging from our 90 minutes "meet the bees" to our half-day "bee curious" and "beekeeper for the day" experience have been in big demand.

Beekeeping experiences

Often, our events are attended by family groups. Since we erected a gazebo in the apiary, we can continue to host events, despite what the weather throws at us.

Many attend our beekeeping events after receiving a gift voucher as a birthday or mother's day present or come to celebrate a wedding anniversary or honeymoon.

Gift vouchers

Wales Food and Drink Award

We are proud to have been a finalist for the Sustainable Values Awards in this year's Wales Food and Drink Awards.

Mêl y gwanwyn ar werth rwan!

Fel gwenynwyr, rydym yn ymwybodol iawn o'r tymhorau a'r patrwm tywydd. Soniais mewn blog blaenorol sut y byddai patrwm tywydd cefnforol La Nina yn creu amodau mwy ffafriol yn 2025. Wel, ni allwn fod yn fwy cywir! Roedd yr amodau ar gyfer y gwenyn yn y gwanwyn y gorau erioed, gyda chnwd rhagorol o bob gwenynfa.

Canlyniad y cyfnod hir o dywydd sych drwy Ebrill a Mai oedd "bwlch Mehefin" cynnar yn llif y neithdar yng nghanol mis Mai. Hwylusodd hyn i ni gynaeafu'r mêl yn gynnar. Bu'r gwenyn yn ymweld a choed a llwyni blodeuog y gwanwyn gan gynnwys draenen wen, masarn, castan, ceirios, afal a gellyg. Mae'n fêl amber ei liw, trwchus, hylifol a llyfn. Mae ganddo arogl cynnes, coediog, cyfoethog, gyda nodau cryf o fanila a masarn (maple) a siocled yn y blas.

Mae ein mêl gwanwyn ar gael i'w gasglu'n bersonol o'n cyfeiriad yn Llanddaniel. Fel arall, gallwch ei archebu ar y wefan ar gyfer dosbarthiad gan Royal Mail Parcels neu o siopau gan gynnwys Cigydd Glandwr, Benllech; Anglesey Fine Foods, Y Fali a Gerddi Cudd Plas Cadnant, Porthaethwy.

Archebwch fel

Sgyrsiau a chyflwyniadau

Drwy'r hydref a'r gaeaf, fe'n gwahoddwyd i roi sgyrsiau darluniadol ar ein ffordd o fyw fel gwenynwyr i nifer o sefydliadau a chymdeithasau gan gynnwys U3A, clybiau cinio amrywiol a chymdeithasau merched. Yn ogystal, fe'n gwahoddwyd yn ôl i gyflwyno digwyddiadau cwrdd â'r gwenynwyr yng Ngerddi Cudd Plas Cadnant a gan yr Ymddiriodolaeth Genedlaethol yng Ngerddi Bodnant.

Mentora Cyswllt Ffermio

Rydym yn cefnogi ac yn mentora nifer gynnyddol o wenynwyr, gan gynnwys dechreuwyr drwy gyfrwng cynllun mentora Cyswllt Ffermio. Mae mynediad i hyd at 15 o fentora am ddim ar gael i unigolion efo isafswm o 3ha o dir.

mentora cyswllt ffermio

Profiadau a chyrsiau cadw gwenyn

Ers dechrau mis Ebrill, bu yna alw mawr am ein cyrsiau deuddydd i ddechreuwyr, cyrsiau gloywi a phrofiadau cadw gwenyn, sy'n amrywio o'n profiad 90 munud "cwrdd â'r gwenyn" i'n profiad hanner niwrnod "cael blas ar gadw gwenyn" a'n profiad "gwenynwr am y diwrnod".

Profiadau cadw gwenyn

Yn aml, caiff ein digwyddiadau eu mynychu gan grwpiau teuluol. Ers i ni godi gazebo yn y wenynfa, gallwn barhau i gynnal digwyddiadau, waeth beth bynnag mae'r tywydd yn ei daflu arnom. Mae llawer yn mynychu ein digwyddiadau ar ôl derbyn tocyn anrheg ar gyfer penblwydd, Sul y Mamau neu i ddathlu pen-blwydd priodas neu fis mêl.

Prynu tocyn anrheg

Cydweithio a dysgu oddi wrth gwenynwyr masnachol eraill

Fel aelodau newydd o Gymdeithas Ffermwyr Gwenyn a Chlwstwr Mêl Bwyd a Diod Cymru, mae Gwenyn Mon wedi ennill achrediad fel ffermwyr gwenyn masnachol a chynhyrchwyr mêl. Mae bod yn aelod o'r ddau sefydliad hyn yn agor cyfleoedd i ddatblygu ein menter ymhellach trwy gydweithio a busnesau eraill.

Anrhydeddau Food and Drink Wales

Rydym yn falch ein bod wedi cyrraedd y rownd derfynol yn y dosbarth Gwerthoedd Cynaliadwy eleni.

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Summer 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 2 August 2026

Cymraeg isod

Spring 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 9 April 2026

Spring 2026 newsletter from Anglesey Bees, the leading provider of beekeeping training and experiences in Wales and producer of award-winning wildflower honey.

Winter 2026 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 22 February 2026

Hive-Side Training The Government's Animal and Plant Health Agency is funding free hive-side training for intermediate beekeepers. The Bee Farmers Association have been contracted to deliver this training. As a member of the Bee Farmers Association, Anglesey Bees have been chosen to deliver this training in north Wales. These free half-day training sessions cover focused hive inspections; apiary and hive hygiene; and disease, parasite and predator detection. click here to book your place on a hive-side training session with Anglesey Bees

Pre-Christmas Update

by Dafydd Jones • 27 November 2025

Cymraeg isod

Autumn 2025 Newsletter

by Dafydd Jones • 3 November 2025

Back in March, encouraged by our success last year with our Anglesey summer wildflower honey, we sent off two jars of our Anglesey spring wildflower honey to be judged by the adjudicating panels of the Great Taste Award. When the results were announced at the end of July, we were pleased to report that we got a two star Award! It seems that it was tasted by three panels of judges and their adjudications were as follows:- "An aroma of caramel lifted from this rich, viscous, amber honey. This a delightfully floral honey with a light astringency on the palate suggesting the bees may have been foraging on tree flowers." "There were the most delicious wafts of sun warmed woody notes. The burst of floral vanilla that initially filled the mouth followed by fruity musky notes with a savoury edge. This clever honey works in harmony on the palate to allow a burst of spring." "Wonderful amber colour with excellent viscosity and an enticing floral hit on the nose. A smooth texture coats the mouth with the delicate sweet flavour rich with floral clean notes singing of the environment these bees have been working." You can buy our honey directly from us in person or on-line or by calling at Anglesey Fine Foods , Valley or Glandwr Butchers Benllech. In addition to our Anglesey Spring and Summer Wildflower honey, we currently have a limited stock of a rare and unusual Eucryphia honey produced on Anglesey. Read about it in a previous blog.

In search for the source of a mystery honey

by Dafydd Jones • 9 September 2025

It started by accident back in 2022. In Early August, after harvesting the summer honey, I returned some boxes of empty honeycomb to the hives in an out-apiary on Anglesey so that the bees could lick them dry before I stored them in a stack, off the hives till the following spring. My intention was to remove these boxes of honeycomb from the hives after a few days but as is often the case, I was distracted by more pressing tasks and a week and a half had passed by the time I managed to recover them. To my surprise, the boxes were heavy when I lifted them off the hives and frame after frame were full to the edges of capped honey! Like a proud father carrying his new-born home from the maternity ward, I brought, what I soon discovered to be a rare treasure, home to be extracted. I proceeded as normal by uncapping the honeycomb and attempted to extract the honey from them by centrifugation. I was surprised that after a few minutes of spinning at low speed, virtually no honey had been flung out. I increased the speed - still nothing! I accelerated to top speed and suddenly with no warning - bang! bang! I slammed the emergency shut-off knob and the spinner ground to a halt. At the bottom of the extractor I found the shattered remains of four frames, still heavy with what appeared to be liquid honey! Bewildered, I came to the conclusion that this was not a late crop of bramble honey but something unusual and very very different to what we were used to. The honey appeared to be in a liquid state but refused to be extracted! Although I have no experience of harvesting heather honey, this honey seemed to have similar thixotropic properties. Both heather honey and our mystery honey have a gel-like consistency of a non-Newtonian liquid akin to ketchup or toothpaste. As a consequence it does not flow predictably and forms a gel at rest but can turn liquid when agitated or stirred. The viscosity of heather honey, due to its higher concentration of colloidal proteins, is so high that it makes the extraction of the honey from the comb very difficult. That’s why heather honey is extracted by pressure (instead of centrifugation), which destroys the combs. Although there was no expanse of heather within range sufficient for our bees to produce this honey, we concluded that we had little choice but to treat it like heather honey. We proceeded to cut the honeycomb from the wooden frames, pack it into a muslin sack and squeeze the honey out of it using a honey press, a device with a threaded shaft and T-shaped handles a bit like an apple press. The honey that it yielded had an unfamiliar bright o range glow, a jelly-like consistency and the taste was divine and unlike anything we had previously produced. We were flabbergasted!

The Terroir of Anglesey Wildflower Honey

by Dafydd Jones • 17 August 2025

A discussion of the environmental and human factors that influence the terroir of Anglesey Bees' award-winning wildflower honey including climate, soil, topography and human influences.

Pollinator strips vs wildflower meadows

by Dafydd Jones • 5 January 2025

Creating a wildflower meadow or just a wildflower border may appear to be a fantastic way to support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. They undoubtedly offer numerous benefits, both for the environment and for us. Wildflower meadows provide essential habitats and food sources for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. These pollinators play a crucial role in the reproduction of many plants, including crops that humans rely on for food. Wildflower meadows support a diverse range of plant and animal species. By creating a habitat based on a variety of native plants, you encourage a healthy ecosystem where different species can thrive. In addition to pollinators, wildflower meadows provide habitats for other wildlife, such as birds, small mammals. These animals contribute to a balanced ecosystem and can help control pest populations.

Swarming

by Dafydd Jones • 7 May 2024

Many beekeepers accept swarming as an inevitable event. Sadly, it results in a significant loss of bees and impacts honey yield and may result in complete colony loss. Furthermore, the need to remove swarms from buildings may cause distress, inconvenience, structural work and cost to neighbours. On our beginner and improver courses we stress the importance of swarm control and share effective management practices with our students that virtually eliminate the occurrence of swarming. First of all, lets investigate what happens when bees swarm and what triggers this to happen. Swarming is a natural process that honeybees undertake in an attempt to reproduce and spread by dividing and starting new independent colonies. In preparation for swarming, the colony initiates the rearing of new queens. Then the old queen and a significant proportion of the flying bees from the colony leave the hive in an attempt to set up home elsewhere. New queens are reared in specially constructed structures called queen cells. An egg, laid in these structures by the old queen hatch into larvae, that are then fed with copious quantities of a high protein diet of royal jelly, derived from pollen and provided by young nurse bees. Around the eighth day after the egg was laid, feeding stops and the queen cell is sealed with a cap of wax and the larvae pupate. It is on this day that the old queen and accompanying flying bees swarm from the hive, leaving behind some workers and some developing queens in their queen cells to hatch out in a further eight days.

Enriching the bees' environment

by Dafydd Jones • 29 February 2024

Trefnant Bach, the home of Anglesey Bees (along with our neighbouring Trefnant Wen and Trefnant Ddu has been in existence for a long time. There is a record of its existence in the 1841 census, earlier court and church records and tithe maps. Recently I discovered records of historical field names such as Cae Hen Gaseg; Cae Beudy; Cae Gamdda; Cae Flaen Drws; Waun and Parciau Mawr. I therefore have every reason to believe that the field boundary hedges consisting predominantly of hawthorn, blackthorn, dog-rose, sycamore and ash and associated ivy, brambles, gorse and rosebay willow herb are ancient. Since we became custodians of Trefnant Bach, we have managed them sympathetically and the sycamores, in particular make a valuable contribution to our spring honey. Furthermore, we manage the spread of ivy through the hedges. On one hand we encourage the contribution of autumn ivy nectar as a valuable top up to winter stores whilst on the other hand, we aim to prevent the collapse of hedgerows under the weight of ivy. Previously, our three fields were grazed by horses, resulting in selective close grazing in some areas and vast expanses of rejected, rank tussocky growth caused by repeated dunging. Stockproof fencing and a small flock of Llŷn sheep cured that over time, resulting in more of a bowling green appearance. The unimproved permanent pasture contained pockets of indigenous white clover, similar in appearance to the land-race, Kent Wild White. I applied the findings from my research in an earlier career as a pasture ecologist at what is now called The Institute of Biological and Environmental Research near Aberystwyth. When a grass/white clover pasture is grazed hard under rotational grazing, there is a change in the ratio of red:far red light reaching the clover stolons at the soil surface, caused by less absorption by the less dense sward. This causes a switch in the growth pattern resulting in more branching and the spreading of clover stolons at ground level. When the livestock were moved on to another field, the biomass accumulated and the resultant effect on the red:far red light perceived by the clover stolons, caused them to stop initiating more branches and produce leafy vertical growth instead and ultimately a mass of flowers which make a significant contribution to our summer honey.