The Bee Blog May 2025

Although our islands are small in stature, there is so much happening in our seas, trees, pools and fields. The environment here is rich and so are the creatures that reside in it. Yet, much like our vulnerable island infrastructure, these habitats are at risk due to the limited space and resources here in our small archipelago. More than ever, we need to observe the natural patterns of creatures great and small and let nature settle and create a healthy balance.

Tresco resident and beekeeper Jilly Halliday has made it her mission to observe these creatures and work with the Duchy to help keep the balance. She is determined to ring-fence the islands and protect the unique, wild bee species that we have here. Whilst a lot of beekeepers ship queen bees in, Jilly has spent the last few years working tirelessly to prove that Scillonian bees successfully breed on the islands and that efforts to import queens are futile. Through community research project Game of Drones, she discovered that bees cross water to mate, thereby sustainably maintaining their population. Stopping the import of bees would also mean reducing the risk of new diseases reaching the islands, most notably the devastating varroa mite. One step at a time, Jilly is determined to make her mark!

Jilly has so much more to say on the subject and could wax lyrical about all her ideas and island endeavours, and there are many opportunities throughout the year to get involved with her work and learn about our island bees!

Recently, she held a walk as part of Walk Scilly Festival which took a group around the traditional hives in the gardens, the wild colonies living in the community-built rocket hives and elsewhere, and then of course led them back to the garden cafe for a chance to sample some island honey!

As I write, Jilly is also about to plant wild flower seed with the Tresco & Bryher school children: a beautiful spectacle to marvel at but also a haven for wildlife.

Finally. Jilly organised a visit from Roger Dewhurst to the islands. A talented and long standing beekeeper, Roger gave talks to locals on the island and went into our hives. He offered so much wisdom to our team of keen beekeepers and left them thinking - once again - about the future of our buzzing population.

There will be many bee-related opportunities cropping up throughout the year so do keep an eye on our events page for a chance to get involved in the Scillonian Bee Project.