The Cambridgeshire honeybee population consists of those located in managed hives and others that exist in situations that the bees have discovered for themselves. These wild honeybees are probably descended from swarms from managed colonies which have escaped despite the best intentions of fellow beekeepers. We have no idea of the quantity and condition of these feral honeybee colonies and so are looking to locate as many of as possible. Although there have been similar studies, we do not believe that there has been one attempted on this scale and certainly not in Cambridgeshire.

Once we have built a map of the wild honeybee colonies, we would like to track them over the long term with the help of our members. We will be looking to log: ideally when the swarm arrives, or is pre-existing at the start of the project, how long it survives, and even if the feral colony itself swarms.

As a Reporter you are asked to provide the information required, scheduled below, and an email to us at using the link shown below.

Members of the public are welcome to assist in the survey.  To encourage this a poster is available for downloading and printing.  This can printed and cut into two for placing on appropriate notice boards and village shops etc.