Check out February's Photo of the Month by Peter Langford from Suffolk. The photograph shows varroa (Varroa destructor) and tropilaelaps (Tropilaelaps mercedesae). You can find out how Peter achieved such a brilliant image on page 33.

In the February BeeCraft we interviewed Penny Melville-Brown OBE. She is thought to be the first blind person to be elected as chair of a British beekeeping association. Listen to her interview in our brand new BeeCraft podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=oKvEqboU…

The 2024 IMYB in Dubai, UAE, hosted 20 international teams and the theme was beekeeping in arid lands. Alongside the competition, the participants were taken on a whistle-stop tour of Dubai's landmarks and desert conservation reserve. Read the full story on page 10.

Pollen mites: friend or foe in the hive? In the February BeeCraft, Ken and Dan Basterfield NDB write about the mites that consume pollen mould in beehives. They think of pollen mites as nature’s housekeepers and discuss the ways in which they are useful to beekeepers.

Is this the world's oldest beehive? The discovery of a superbly preserved 1,300-year-old tree hive in Poland has astonished scientists. Read the full article on page 38 of the February BeeCraft. Photos: courtesy Polish Museum of Beekeeping Culture #honeybees #bees #beekeeper

In the February BeeCraft, Francis Russell - Guernsey’s invasive non-native species officer - explains the island's yellow-legged hornet spring trapping campaign. Find out more on page 8. #asianhornet #YLH #bees #invasivespecies #honeybees #bees

The February BeeCraft is out now. In this month's issue, find out about the secret symmetry of the honey bee nest, teen beekeepers in Dubai, the spread forecasts for the yellow-legged hornet, pollen mites, beekeepers' sheds and much more. Happy reading!

Nature lover, bee advocate, wildlife gardener and author, Brigit Strawbridge dedicates her time to raising awareness of the importance of native wild bees and other pollinating insects. Discover Brigit's plants and pollinators choices in the January BeeCraft.

Rev John Owen delivered a sermon at the church of the father of English beekeeping in Hampshire. "What can we learn from Charles Butler?", he asked. Through studying Butler's life and works, Rev John Owen deduced four remarkable pointers. Discover more in the January BeeCraft.

In the latest instalment of our Cyclopedia series, M is for migratory beekeeping. Co-editor Richard Rickitt writes about the shift from honey hunting to migratory beekeeping across the world. Find out more on page 33 of the January BeeCraft. Photo: @richardrickitt