The president of The Scottish Beekeepers Association (SBA) has been invited to the area by the Caddonfoot Beekeepers Association.

Secretary Paul Gibson said: “Ian has more than 60 hives in Renfrewshire, he travels extensively judging and he writes about bee-keeping.

“He is one of the top bee-keepers in Britain.”

Mr Gibson, who is also the east of Scotland representative on the SBA, started keeping bees seven years ago.

“I just enjoy the hobby and watching the bees work and the taste of the honey,” he said. “I get a real pleasure from keeping bees, using my skills to get the honey and to make sure everything’s going to plan. Every time you go into the hive there is something different happening.”

The National Trust gardener has six hives and collects around 70lbs of honey from each, though last year’s yields were lower because of poor summer weather.

Along with the weather, some Borders hives have been affected by the varroa mite, a pest which jumped species from the Asian honey bee, and came into Britain in 1992.

Mr Gibson explained: “It weakens the bees and allows viruses to affect them. You can treat it but the amount of products we can use is very limited and we can never eradicate it.”

But, so far, apiarists in the Borders and the rest of Britain have been spared the Kashmir virus which, when combined with the varroa mite, has decimated bee populations in the USA.

Mr Gibson said: “It will come here but there is nothing we can do. We just have to rely on Customs and people like that to stop it. It could have a devastating effect.”

Aside from producing honey, bees are important pollinators.

“Without bees there would be no economy,” Mr Gibson added. “Einstein said once the honey bee disappeared, within three years there would be nothing.”

The talk takes place at Caddonfoot Primary School, Galashiels, at 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 5.

More details from Paul Gibson on 01896 750110.