Fulfil your ambition

Experience keeping bees for FREE using a research-led, nature-based beehive and technique with Morecambe Bay Honey Bees — supporting healthy, resilient colonies and local biodiversity.

Our system:

• Motivated hive hosts in Morecambe Bay

• Full support and clear expectations

• Low cost traditional hives, stands and swarm boxes

• Healthy, calm local bees from swarms

• Smaller hives that bees naturally prefer

• A Bees know best - low intervention approach

• Dispersed, isolated hives to reduce disease transmission

• Swarm boxes and colony replacement rewarding evolutionary traits

Starting beekeeping can be simple, quick and easy - we share our knowledge, experience and provide all you need to keep bees in your garden, on farmland or in woodland. You also have a modest share of any honey that is drawn from the hive.

We are proud of our hive-hosting programme. We have many hosts who explain that they are fulfilling a lifelong ambition, that it has been a good deci to host bees, and they find having bees interesting and it has led them to learn more about bee life-cycles and behaviour.

Our nature-based approach to beekeeping is a proven approach, one that is guided by the latest research by leading entomologists, bee-health researchers and bee scientists. We aim to place healthy, resilient colonies in carefully chosen locations where they can thrive while enriching local ecosystems and communities.

Our system avoids:

1. Over investment and financially driven goals through honey production

2. Reliance on imported bees to maximise brood production and colony size for honey production

3. Excessive brood stimulation which correspondingly drives mite population explosions

4. Chemical treatments used to control mite numbers reared on the excessive brood

5. Some risk of colony collapse of diseases mites function as the vector of

6. High hive concentrations which favour disease transmission around an apiary

How To Start Beekeeping for Beginners (The other way)

Most beginner beekeepers are naturally uncertain and concerned about what the biggest problems are for bees and beekeeping. In short, what are the disadvantages of beekeeping. Very simple research will show that Beekeeping can be an expensive, time consuming and unpredictable hobby with few material rewards such as honey, the market rate of which covers just a mere fraction of the investment required from bees and beekeepers alike.

Beekeeping is certainly a challenging hobby and many beekeepers sadly do not persist past a few years. The high threshold of knowledge, investment and experience when juxtaposed with pandemics of pests and diseases, conflicting advice and unscientific approaches, colony losses and poor returns can be very testing.

• Cost and commitment - equipment: hives, stands, suit, tools, accessories, bees, treatments, feed, training, insurance, club fees

• Bee health - pests and diseases - current and emerging threats, treatments (varroa, tropilaelaps, DWV, hive beetle, etc, etc)

• Bee stings and reaction to stings - pain, discomfort and allergic reactions

• Neighbours and urban environments - garden space, upset neighbours, laundry, pets, children

• Bee swarming - loss of a colony, bees in structures, nuisance, manipulations, inspections

Why Host a Pile Box Hive?

By hosting one of our specially designed pile-box hives, you become involved in supporting local honey-bee populations, the bees are local, the system is kind and in keeping with how bees behave naturally.

Hosting a hive allows you to:

• Support bees that contribute directly to the health of your local environment

• Learn about bees and beekeeping through a research-informed approach

• Receive a share of the honey harvest as a thank-you for hosting

• Take part in an ethical, sustainable project that puts bee health first

What Hosting Involves

We provide the hive, the bees, and the ongoing care. Your role as a host is simple and low-maintenance — no experience needed.

• We install a pile-box hive in a suitable, sheltered location on your property.

• Each colony is locally adapted and managed to reflect natural bee behaviour.

• Seasonal inspections and updates ensure the colony remains healthy and undisturbed.

• You’re welcome to observe or learn as much as you like — we’ll guide and support you.

• You may receive a fair share of the honey crop when available.

• We manage any issues that arise (such as pests or weather-related challenges) in line with our research-based, low-intervention principles.

Why the Japanese Pile Box Hive?

Our pile box beehive design corresponds with research into honey bees' natural nest preferences. Argued by bee scientists, such as T D Seeley, as the healthiest for bee colonies:

• Thick natural wood timber mimics insulated cavities in trees

• Limited cavity volumes as chosen by bees in nature which leads to brood breaks and control of brood mites and diseases

• Rough wood as in a natural cavity encourage propolis to create a more sterile environment

• Bees create comb structures as they require - with different cell sizes (honey storage, worker roles, drones, pollen storage)

This design helps the bees live and respond to their environment in ways closer to their natural instincts.

What We Ask of You

Your contribution as a host is small but meaningful. We ask that you:

• Provide a quiet, accessible location with nearby forage.

• Allow space for one (or occasionally two) hives, to reduce disease and stress.

• Host a swarm box or two for us to attract and collect bee swarms.

• Keep in touch with us for site visits and seasonal updates.

• Notify us of any issues such as hive damage, wild animal disruptions or unusual activity around the hive.

You don’t need to become a beekeeper — we handle all practical management and insurance while keeping you as informed and involved as you wish to be.

Next Steps

If you’d like to host a hive and play a part in supporting bee health locally:

1. Get in touch to express your interest and share details of your site

2. We’ll visit to assess suitability and discuss your questions

3. We both agree a set of expectations and support

4. We install your hive and introduce the colony and swarm boxe(s)

5. You’ll receive updates through the season, can join our WhatsApp host group and a share of any honey produced

Thank you for considering hosting a hive with Morecambe Bay Honey Bees. Together, we can help honey bees live in balance with nature while deepening your connection to the landscape around you.

To learn more or start hosting, please contact:

Mark Cullen – 07899 951 664