The Epping Forest Beekeepers’ Association is a division of the Essex Beekeepers’ Association and was founded in 1918. It is an association of beekeepers and friends of beekeepers based near Epping Forest. The division stretches from East London up to the market town of Epping in the north and from Enfield going east to Wanstead.

EFBKA meet regularly at Chingford Horticultural Hall in Larkshall Road, Chingford, E4 6PE and also arrange apiary visits throughout the area during the summer months.

Become a member

To join EFBKA please read the Information Sheet which will describe the benefits of membership, complete the Membership Form and make payment.

Further information

If you would like further information about the EFBKA, or beekeeping in general, please contact one of our division officers. Details can be found in the Contact Us section of this website.

World Bee Day

Friday 20th May is World Bee Day; but pollinators need our support every day. Try growing pollinator friendly plants in your garden, window box or just in a pot and you’ll be surprised at the number of different insects that will visit. In addition to honey bees there are around 240 species of bee in the UK which contribute to pollinating crops, as well as butterflies, moths and beetles.

Plants for Pollinators

Achillea (hardy perennial)
Angelica ‘guigas’ (remove flower spike immediately after flowering)
Borage

Buddleia

Calendula (Pot Marigold)
Cardoon
Ceonothus (get tree-sized one) scented
Coca-vita fisifolia (cool-tolerant gourd, instead of butternut squash, can eat stem tips) / known as ‘Sharks Fin Melon’ in south Asia
Comfrey

Coriander
Crocus
Delphinium

Echium
Euphorbia ‘manifura’ (statuesque)
Gaillardia (dwarf, daisy-like, excellent in bedding and containers)
Hellebores
Hollyhock (hardy perennial)

Lavender (stoicas – French looking lavender)
Mahonia x Media ‘Buckland’ (e/green shrub, 1-3m tall. Yellow flowers in winter. Hardy. Prefers moist, well drained, fertile soil. Ideal vandal-proof screen.
Myrtle (makes excellent hedging and is scented)
Nemesia (small, in a window box)
Oregano
Pansies
Petunia
Phlox
Photina (unclipped until after flowering)
Poached egg plant; limnanthes douglasii
Rosemary

Rudbeckia
Sage

Salvia
Sarcococca hookeriana var. Digyna ‘Christmas box’ (shrub, ground cover, e/green, 50-100cm high. Dark green foliage, white flowers in winter, frost hardy. Moist, shady spot. Heady winter fragrance)
Scabious
Sea holly
Skimmia japonica (male; scented)

Vipers Bugloss

compiled by Norma Stevenson

Asian Hornet

Keep a look out for the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax. This insect could decimate all our pollinators particularly honey bees, it is important to have everyone actively looking for it. Print out this poster and display it where the public can see it. Asian hornet is attracted to ivy in the Autumn and flowering single camellias in Spring. Put an hour aside every day to watch for hornets hawking your hives.

Once the daytime temperature reaches around 12ºC Asian Hornet Queens will emerge from hibernation and start to build a primary nest in a sheltered spot, often in a shed, garage or outbuilding. Keep an eye out for these. They start off the size of a golfball and enlarge as the Queen, and then workers, add chewed wood pulp to the structure. (photographs courtesy of BBKA)

To report a sighting download the AH watch App for Android or iPhone now!

These videos from FERA are extremely interesting: Asian Hornet Biology and Asian Hornet Genetics.

Please familiarise yourself with what the Asian Hornet looks like. Try our Insect Identification Competition and win a copy of the BBKA Healthy Hive Guide. (The person who identifies the insects with the greatest accuracy by midday September 13th wins.)

If you enjoyed Professor Xesus Feas’ online seminar discussing the impact of Asian Hornet on society at large, not just beekeepers, then visit his website which is packed full of information: vespavelutina.co.uk