Wales · Swarm collection

Bee swarm collection in Conwy

Conwy county borough spans the north Wales coast from Abergele to the Conwy estuary, then climbs inland through the Conwy and Llugwy valleys to the southern edge of Snowdonia National Park. It is a county of striking contrasts: the Victorian seaside towns of Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, the medieval walled town of Conwy with its World Heritage castle, and the mountain passes and heather moorlands of the Snowdonia fringe.

Forage & honey flows

Hawthorn and blackthorn fill the old enclosure hedges of the Conwy valley and the coastal plain. Sycamore is abundant on every sheltered valley slope and lane. The defining late-summer flow comes from ling heather on the Mynydd Hiraethog, Tal-y-Fan, and Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen moorlands — still worked commercially by some beekeepers who migrate hives from the coast in August. Lime lines the Victorian promenades of Llandudno, Colwyn Bay, and Abergele through June. Bramble is prolific along disused railway trackbeds, forestry margins, and the Conwy valley flood-plain hedgerows. Gorse provides an early-spring supplement on the upland commons above Penmaenmawr and Llanfairfechan.

Beekeeping character

The Conwy BKA covers the whole county borough. Members range from coastal resort collectors handling guest-house eave swarms in Llandudno to hill farmers with hives on the Hiraethog moorland, and the migration tradition from coast to heather in August remains alive in the county.

Seen a swarm in Conwy?

Report it in under a minute and a trained local beekeeper will arrange safe collection.