Newsletter: October 2026
Archived issue. News moves quickly, so figures and events were correct at the time this newsletter was sent (October 2026).
Hello beekeepers,
Come and see us at the National Honey Show
First, some news: we'll be at the National Honey Show at Sandown Park Racecourse, Esher, from 22–24 October. You'll find us on stand 17, directly opposite Abelo and Maisemore Apiaries. Come and say hello — we'd love to meet you in person.
Follow us for bee facts
We'd also love you to follow us on social media, where you can catch my latest series of bee facts: Instagram · Facebook · TikTok · YouTube · LinkedIn
Thank you for your safety questionnaire responses
Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill in our apiary safety questionnaire last month — the results genuinely surprised us. Nearly a third of you told us you'd rarely or never thought about what you'd do if something went wrong while working alone, and a few of you said this was the first time you'd really considered how you'd let a loved one know where you are. On the flip side, some brilliant ideas came through too — sharing a What3Words location with family, smartwatch SOS buttons, keeping an EpiPen to hand, and practising opening your phone with gloves on all came up more than once. One of you summed it up best: “This has been an alarming questionnaire!” We think that's exactly the kind of alarm worth setting off occasionally.
Hornets on the parkrun route
On a related note, it's a timely reminder of why that matters: a parkrun in Bestwood Village, Nottingham, was cancelled this autumn after several runners were stung by hornets nesting along the route. Worth flagging that these were native European hornets rather than the Asian hornets we usually write about here — but either way, a good nudge that it pays to know what's nesting near a path, a hive stand, or anywhere else people walk.
On to the bee news…
Asian Hornet Updates
212 sightings, 74 nests — and the count is still climbing
As of 1 October, the National Bee Unit has logged 212 credible Yellow-legged (Asian) hornet sightings across the UK this year, with 74 nests found. Kent and the South East remain the focus — two of those nests were found right here in Royal Tunbridge Wells in early August, so this one really is on our doorstep — but nests have also turned up as far afield as Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Greater Manchester. The most recent, found on 1 October, was in a building in Wootton, Kent. With the weather cooling, hornets will be hunting hard for food before winter, so it's worth staying alert a little longer yet.
National Bee Unit rolling update →
Ireland tracks a hornet nest back in hours
Fresh from this week: an Asian hornet nest has been found near Ringaskiddy in Co. Cork, after a member of the public reported a hornet the week before. Teams from Ireland's National Parks and Wildlife Service attached miniature tracking transmitters to captured hornets and followed them back to the nest within hours — a useful glimpse of the technology that could help with nest-hunting elsewhere, and a reminder of how much early public reporting matters.
Jersey: "we are losing the war"
Sobering news from across the water: Jersey has recorded 690 Asian hornet nests so far in 2026, up from 475 in 2025, prompting one local expert to describe the island as "losing the war" against the species. It's a stark illustration of what happens once numbers get ahead of the response effort — and a reason the UK's early-reporting culture matters so much while numbers here are still manageable.
Useful identification reminders
- Dark brown or black body
- Distinct orange band on the abdomen
- Bright yellow leg ends
- Often seen hovering outside hive entrances, especially as colonies weaken food sources elsewhere
Report anything suspicious via the free Asian Hornet Watch app or the online reporting form →
Bee Health & Science
Amitraz resistance is spreading in Varroa — here's what to watch for
Washington State University's bee programme has just published new guidance on amitraz-resistant Varroa, the mite strain increasingly turning up where this once-reliable treatment is failing to control populations. The publication explains how resistance develops, gives beekeepers a simple way to test whether their own mites are responding to treatment, and sets out practical steps to slow further resistance — mainly rotating treatment types rather than leaning on one product year after year. Worth a read before you reach for fully-wintering treatments this month.
The numbers behind "just treat for varroa"
New Zealand's long-running Colony Loss Survey, drawing on over 5,000 hobbyist beekeepers between 2023 and 2025, puts some hard figures behind the advice we all repeat every autumn: beekeepers who didn't treat for varroa lost 49.4% of their colonies over winter, against 30.7% for those who did. Losses fell further the more treatment types a beekeeper rotated through across the year, and the more evenly those treatments were spread through the season rather than bunched up. A timely reinforcement of the point above.
Environment & Pollinators
A century of genetic decline in a familiar British bumblebee
The Natural History Museum has published new research showing severe genetic decline in moss carder bumblebee populations across England and Wales over the past hundred years, by comparing DNA from museum specimens with bees sampled today. Smaller, more isolated populations mean less genetic diversity, which leaves the species less able to adapt to disease, climate change and habitat loss going forward. It's a useful reminder that decline in wild pollinators doesn't always show up as an obvious crash in numbers — sometimes it's happening quietly, underneath.
A £530,000 plan to bring back the moss carder bumblebee
Some welcome news to go with the research above: the Bumblebee Conservation Trust is leading a three-year recovery project for the moss carder bumblebee, funded by £531,915 from Natural England's Species Recovery Programme. Working with the University of Cambridge, the team will trial small-scale habitat improvements with landowners and communities in Kent's coastal grasslands, Cornwall's coast and heathland, and the North Pennines. Because this bumblebee forages close to its nest, the small patches of habitat around it have to provide everything it needs.
Balsam bashers uproot almost two million plants
On a more hands-on note: volunteers across the UK have pulled almost two million Himalayan balsam plants this year as part of ongoing efforts to control the invasive species along rivers and waterways. Balsam out-competes native plants bees rely on and can leave riverbanks bare and prone to erosion once it dies back — so while it isn't the most glamorous conservation work, it's exactly the kind of unglamorous effort that keeps native forage going for the rest of us.
Learning Opportunities
BBKA October Zoom Talk — Review, Reflection & Planning
Kathy Lovegrove · Tuesday 20 October · 7pm
A good one to end the active season on: as inspections wind down, Kathy will look at how to review what went well (and what didn't) this year, and how to turn that into a sensible plan for next spring rather than relying on memory come March. The recording will be available on the BBKA Member Hub two weeks after the live talk for anyone who can't make it.
Around the World
Tropilaelaps mite discovered in Türkiye
Turkish authorities confirmed on 31 August that Tropilaelaps mites have been found in the Borçka region, bordering Georgia. Like varroa, these invasive parasitic mites reproduce inside brood cells and can build up to damaging levels quickly, and they are not currently present in Great Britain. The UK has introduced additional import controls, and the National Bee Unit is reminding beekeepers to keep up good apiary biosecurity, source bees and equipment responsibly, and learn to recognise the mite.
Research from a fellow Women in Innovation winner: how Tropilaelaps spreads
Dr Maggie Gill, founder of PHIRA-Science in Carmarthenshire and one of this year's Women in Innovation winners alongside us, is a recognised leader in Tropilaelaps research. She was senior author on a study this year, carried out in Georgia, showing for the first time that Tropilaelaps mites can travel with a swarm and go on to reproduce in the new colony. The team also found that mites can move between colonies through drifting and robbing, which challenges the assumption that the mite can only survive outside the brood for around three days. The practical takeaway for beekeepers is to keep drifting and robbing in check in the apiary, and to take care over how bees and swarms are moved.
Read more → · About PHIRA-Science →
Seasonal Notes — October
Mouse guards, now rather than later
As the weather turns and colonies cluster up, mice start looking for somewhere warm and well-stocked to spend the winter — and a quiet hive entrance is exactly that. Fit mouse guards before the first hard frost rather than after; once a mouse is in, it's considerably harder to persuade it to leave than to keep it out in the first place.
Final stores check
This is your last realistic window to assess winter stores properly before inspections become impractical. Aim for 20–25kg per colony — roughly a full super on top of what's in the brood box. Hefting gives a rough feel, but if you're at all unsure, a quick look under the crown board on a mild, still day is worth the disturbance now rather than finding out too late in January.
Last call on varroa treatment
Treatments that need a broodless or near-broodless period work best done now, before the queen's winter slowdown is complete but while temperatures still allow for treatment efficacy. Given this month's amitraz resistance news above, it's a good moment to check which product you used last, and whether it's time to rotate to something different rather than reaching for the same one out of habit.
National Honey Day — 21 October
A nice excuse, if you need one, to put a jar of your own honey in front of friends, family or neighbours who've never tried properly local honey before. Word of mouth remains the best marketing any of us have. The BBKA has more on National Honey Day →
A final note
October is where the season really does wind down — mouse guards on, stores checked, last treatments done, and the inspection diary put away until spring. It's also, if the hornet and mite news above is any guide, a good month to stay a little vigilant even as the hands-on work tapers off.
Thank you again for the questionnaire responses — it means a lot to see so many of you taking apiary safety seriously.
Until next month,
Natalie, Colin and Michael
Hive-Five Beekeeping