THE Okehampton Beekeepers recently held the first of their winter meetings.

The first meeting of their winter programme was held at Whiddon Down Village Hall on Thursday, October 11. More than 30 members braved a wet evening to attend a talk by Clare Densley on drones.

Clare has more than 20 years of experience as a beekeeper, including two years as seasonal bee inspector for the NBU in Devon. She is currently in charge of beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey. Her talk focused particularly on the function of the male drone bee in contributing to honeybee colony welfare.

Her presentation was supported with a series of photographs and a film of an experiment to attract drones to a temporary trap.

Okehampton Beekeepers chairman Will Pyne expressed his thanks to Clare for the insight into the benefit of drones.

The session concluded with refreshments served by group members. The next meeting will be the branch annual general meeting on Thursday November 8, to be followed by a bring and share supper.