National beekeeping charity
British Beekeepers Association (BBKA)
Charity representing around 30,000 hobby beekeepers in England and Wales through its area associations. It runs education programmes, keeps a directory of local associations and is based at the National Beekeeping Centre, Stoneleigh Park.
What you will find
- Find Beekeeping Near You: directory of local associations
- Guidance for getting started, swarm collection and Asian hornet reporting
- Bee Friendly Schools and Pollinator Protectors education projects
- Spring Convention and National Honey Day
- List of honey show judges and speakers
Source
Listing written from these pages on 26 October 2026. Prices and terms may have changed since: check them before you order.
Associations and bee health
Mutual bee disease insurance
Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI)
Insurer owned by the beekeeping associations that join it. It compensates beekeepers in England and Wales for equipment lost when colonies are destroyed or treated under the statutory foulbrood orders.
England and Wales
Trade association of professional beekeepers
Bee Farmers' Association (BFA)
UK trade association for professional beekeeping, representing around 450 bee farming businesses, from part-time operations to farms with a dozen or more staff.
The whole UK
Bee breeding charity
BIBBA – Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association
Charitable incorporated organisation working to conserve and improve Apis mellifera mellifera, the native dark bee of Britain and Ireland, and to encourage locally adapted bees elsewhere.
The whole UK