When you apply for regular membership you'll become part of the broader beekeeping community. We welcome all hobbyist and professional beekeepers.
We are a public, no-profit organisation established for the sole object of promoting and advancing the science of apiculture, primarily in South Africa accessible to its members and the general public.
We aim primarily to promote and advance the science of Apiculture within South Africa and to encourage the competency conduct amongst our members in their beekeeping activities.
Take note: General meetings start at 10h00. When a AGM meeting is included, the meeting will then start at 9h00. So please take note of the time slot for each meeting as it comes up. Each meeting will include time at the end for a question-and-answer session as well as a demonstration by Fanie de Kock
| Date | Event | Location | Presenter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 January 2026 | How to read brood | BHive | Jan Steenkamp |
| 21 February 2026 | AGM & Queen rearing methods | BHive | Fanie de Kock |
| 21 March 2026 | Bee feeding formulas and methods | BHive | Alex van Rooyen |
| 18 April 2026 | OPEN FIELD DAY – honey harvesting, visiting sunflower fields | Roedtan - Premises of Jan Steenkamp | Jan Steenkamp |
| 20 May 2026 | WORLD BEE DAY | Inge Austin | |
| 16 May 2026 | Books, business decisions and processes | BHive | Alex van Rooyen & Guest speaker & Hobbyists |
| June 2026 | SABIO AGM | ||
| 20 June 2026 | Labelling and marketing of products | BHive | Martin Raubenheimer |
| 18 July 2026 | Floral types of various biospheres | BHive | Inge Austin |
| 15 August 2026 | OPEN FIELD DAY: Practical bee removal day | TBD (possibly Mpumalanga) | Alexander / Inge |
| 19 September 2025 | Various bee species | BHive | Johan du Toit (Inge) |
| 17 October 2026 | OPEN FIELD DAY: TBD | TBD | TBD |
| 21 November 2026 | Year End Function | TBD | TBD |
Honey bees are super-important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. This means that they help other plants grow! Bees transfer pollen between the male and female parts, allowing plants to grow seeds and fruit.
If the queen bee dies, workers will create a new queen by selecting a young larva (the newly hatched baby insects) and feeding it a special food called “royal jelly“. This enables the larva to develop into a fertile queen
Each bee has 170 odorant receptors, which means they have one serious sense of smell! They use this to communicate within the hive and to recognise different types of flowers when looking for food.
To share information about the best food sources, they perform their ‘waggle dance’. When the worker returns to the hive, it moves in a figure-of-eight and waggles its body to indicate the direction of the food source.
Learn more about the Honeybee
Learn more
The South African Bee Industry Organization or more commonly known as SABIO is a voluntary beekeeping association operating in terms of its Constitution.
It has a Board comprising members elected to run the organisation and to represent its interests to government and other stakeholders in the agricultural and trade industries.
Visit their website
Being part of the Northerns Beekeeping Association is like joining a large caring family. Experienced members freely share their knowledge and ideas to help new and aspiring beekeepers to become more confident and successful in their hobby. The WhatsApp group is an especially valuable tool as photos can even be sent from the apiary site if help or assistance is needed. More often than not, advice is received while still infield.
I have just joined as a new member and enjoyed my first general meeting, Great bunch of knowledgeable and experienced people. I look forward to our next meeting, third Saturday of each month at Silverton Rugby Club.
The Northerns Beekeeping Association (NBA) is a provincial beekeeping body that supports and promotes all aspects pertaining to professional beekeeping within the Northern areas of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and surrounds of South Africa.
The association engages in, and collaborates with, all partners and relevant stakeholders in activities that advance relevant research, sound beekeeping initiatives and projects, beekeeper training, skills development and support.
More about us
