Club Meeting - Kevin Thorn

What beekeepers worry about and don’t need to

As a beginner beekeeper I used to constantly worry about my colonies. As a bee-farmer I’ve learned what I really need to worry about and importantly what I really don’t. What equipment is essential and what really isn’t.

Kevin is a commercial Beefarmer with 100 hives plus nucleii in 20 apiaries in and around Lavenham, Suffolk. He's particularly passionate about breeding queen bees and improving his stock. He produces queens and nucleii mostly for his own use at present.

Kevin and his wife, Julie, operate as Stour Valley Apiaries and Busy Bees Cosmetics. They are wholesale suppliers to 86 retail outlets in East Anglia and supply beeswax cosmetics to other beefarmers nationally.

He is Chair of West Suffolk and Suffolk Beekeepers Association and is the Suffolk delegate to the BBKA annual delegate meeting.

Kevin also leads the Native Honeybee Introduction project at Abberton reservoir.