Wales · Swarm collection

Bee swarm collection in Isle of Anglesey

Anglesey (Ynys Môn) is Wales's largest island — separated from the Gwynedd mainland by the narrow Menai Strait and connected at Menai Bridge by Telford's suspension bridge and Stephenson's railway bridge. The low limestone and gritstone plateau carries mixed dairy and arable farmland, dramatic coastal heathland and dune systems, with the quartzite headland of Holyhead Mountain rising above the ferry port to the west. Bees here work a compact but varied season driven by the island's wide-sky agriculture and its striking coastal edges.

Forage & honey flows

Oilseed rape on the Anglesey plateau — grown widely between Llangefni, Gwalchmai and Llanerchymedd — gives a generous early May crop. Hawthorn on deep double-hedges follows through the agricultural lanes; white clover persists on the dairy pastures through summer. Gorse dominates the west-coast clifftops and coastal heath of Holy Island and the Lligwy headland from March onward; heather and bilberry add a late-August supplement on Mynydd Llwydiarth and the higher Mynydd Parys plateau. Coastal dune slacks at Newborough Warren and Aberffraw carry wild thyme, kidney vetch and bird's-foot trefoil — distinctive forage found in few other Welsh regions. Sea lavender on the Malltraeth Estuary and Cefni margins adds seasoning; bramble is universal on scrub, hedgerow and forest edge; ivy on old stone farmhouses and coastal cottages closes the year.

Beekeeping character

The Anglesey BKA covers the whole island from its base near Llangefni. Collectors are experienced with the full range of island property types: Victorian slate-roof terraces in Holyhead and Llangefni, coastal holiday bungalows, scattered dairy farmsteads, and the barn voids of traditional Anglesey stone farmhouses. The compact island geography means response times are short.

Seen a swarm in Isle of Anglesey?

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