February is just round the corner and still the beekeeper in Ireland does not feel that winter has really arrived.

The mild weather means that many honeybee colonies have been more active that usual over the last few months – and in consequence require extra [...]]]>

A box of baker's fondant (honey shown for scale)

February is just round the corner and still the beekeeper in Ireland does not feel that winter has really arrived.

The mild weather means that many honeybee colonies have been more active that usual over the last few months – and in consequence require extra feeding.  In winter, most beekeepers use baker’s fondant – the bees can’t take down liquid feed in cold weather.

The new year has begun for the Co Dublin BKA.  We had our AGM this week and elected a new chairperson, John Killian.  The association’s in good health – and for the first time in living memory we have over 200 members. On Monday week, the sixth of Feb we have our first spring lecture – Mary Montaut will talk on bees and plants.  On the following day our beginners’ course starts – it is practically full, so if you want to try for a place, contact Ann (details here) immediately.

This year Dublin plays host to an Apimondia conference on bee health - on the 24th March.  Our friends in the North, the Ulster BKA have their conference in spring too.

Hope you can make it to one of these events.

Simon

After the success of the Year of the Honeybee 2011, early in 2012 we [...]]]> It’s that time of year again when the beekeeper’s relatives are racking their brains for bee-related presents (hint!) and beekeepers are wishing they’d kept more honey back to serve as Christmas gifts.  In no time at all it will be 2012.

After the success of the Year of the Honeybee 2011, early in 2012 we have the International Bee Health Symposium - on Saturday, on 24th March in the Citywest Hotel.  It has just been announced that the deadline for early bird registration has been extended until the 11th of January next year.  According to an email just received from the organisers:

“In a novel approach, The International Bee Health Symposium will feature roundtable discussions between beekeepers and leading scientists with the aim of transferring knowledge between the two groups, creating practical solutions to dramatically reduce colony loss.

Experts have been invited to report briefly on current advances in the field and then participate in roundtable discussions which will be facilitated by the scientists and leading beekeepers. These experts have been chosen not only for their research but also because we know they communicate this very well to beekeepers.

• Professor Robert Paxton, (Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg, Germany) – Nosema
• Professor Ingemar Fries, (University of Uppsala, Sweden) – Varroa Viruses & Foulbrood
• Dr Romée van der Zee, (Netherlands Centre for Bee Research, NCB, Netherlands) – Colony Losses
• Professor Francis Ratnieks, (University of Sussex, UK) – Bee Behaviour & Hygienic Behaviour
• Speaker TBC – Veterinary Regulations of Treatments

The programme will consist of 3 state-of-the-art plenary lectures, (open to all), delivered by invited experts followed by 3 concurrent roundtable discussions led by the experts and facilitated by beekeepers and researchers. This format will be repeated in the afternoon with 3 further topics and the meeting will conclude with a short plenary discussion session.”

This idea of bringing the expert beekeepers and scientists together to address the bee health issues together seems a good one, as there is frequently a difference of opinion between the academics and practitioners.  Early bird registration costs €50.  To book, visit the website http://www.beehealth2012.ie/

Of course, this is just one of the beekeeping events in Dublin during 2012.  You can check out our latest calendar of events including our spring lectures and beginners’ course here.

Merry Christmas all

Simon Rees, outgoing chairperson

Finally, the Dublin Honey Show is upon us.  The cups are polished and ready for this year’s winners, the Dublin Beekeepers’ Association honey is bottled and labelled ready for sale, the volunteers are all signed up and ready to make the show run like clockwork, and throughout the county and [...]]]>

The 24 jar class

Finally, the Dublin Honey Show is upon us.  The cups are polished and ready for this year’s winners, the Dublin Beekeepers’ Association honey is bottled and labelled ready for sale, the volunteers are all signed up and ready to make the show run like clockwork, and throughout the county and wider country, competitors are putting the finishing touches to their entries.

The Irish did very well at the UK National Honey Show last weekend as you can see here, and some of the winning entries will come to Dublin to try their luck.  There are a number of competition classes that are designed for beginners, including the ‘dark jar ‘ class where the honey is judged on taste and aroma alone, so if you are relatively new to beekeeping competitions, do try a quick entry – you never know!  The entry form and rules can be found here.

We look forward to welcoming you all to our honey show.  As well as a beekeeping competition it’s a chance to buy honey from Co Dublin and to browse the craft stalls which are always popular. It’s held at Christ Church, Rathgar D6, from 10:30am to 4pm this Saturday, 5th November.

We look forward to welcoming you!  As per last year, the entry fee is €2, which goes to this year’s charity, the Royal Hospital, Donnybrook.

Simon Rees, Chairperson

As every beekeeper knows, the beekeeping year ends with the harvest.  For Dublin beekeepers, the harvest is in and it’s time to start the new year by preparing the bees for winter.  By this time most of our bees will be fed and tucked up for the winter.

It [...]]]> Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness…

As every beekeeper knows, the beekeeping year ends with the harvest.  For Dublin beekeepers, the harvest is in and it’s time to start the new year by preparing the bees for winter.  By this time most of our bees will be fed and tucked up for the winter.

It is in the colder months that beekeepers have more time to learn, to socialise and to repair equipment.  The Co. Dublin beekeepers’ association’s programme of events for members starts next Monday, 3rd October, with the first of our autumn lectures at Wesley Hall, Leeson Park, D6 – we hold three in autum and three more in spring.  Monday’s lecture is on how honeybees fly, given by yours truly, Simon Rees.

There are two more lectures to come before Christmas (as you’ll see from our online association diary) – and of course, our Honey Show.  That’s on Saturday 5th November in Christ Church, Rathgar.  For the beekeeper it’s a chance to enter competitions and win kudos and prizes – and for everyone else it’s a chance to buy top-quality local honey, learn about beekeeping and buy some early Christmas presents at the craft fair.  If you are in the market for honey, you might need to arrive early – last year we sold out of run honey by lunchtime, such was the demand and the short supply.  Mind, this year we have more to sell, happily.

Hope to see you at a beekeeping event soon…

The film ‘colony’ will be shown at the Botanic Gardens this weekend.  Here’s the announcement:

“There will be a screening of the film ‘COLONY’ at the Lecture Theatre National Botanic Gardens next Saturday 2nd  & Sunday 3rd April at 2.30pm both days.

This [...]]]> …and this one’s not an April Fool!

The film ‘colony’ will be shown at the Botanic Gardens this weekend.  Here’s the announcement:

“There will be a screening of the film ‘COLONY’ at the Lecture Theatre National Botanic Gardens next Saturday 2nd  & Sunday 3rd April at 2.30pm both days.

This documentary film highlighting the collapse of global honeybee populations due to the little-understood Colony Collapse Disorder was directed by Dubliner Ross McDonnell.

The unexplainable phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder has left landscapes of empty beehives all across America, threatening not only the beekeeping industry but our food supply.

As scientists and beekeepers search for the cause, Colony captures the struggle within the beekeeping community to save the honeybee and themselves.

Colony documents a time of unprecedented crisis in the world of the honeybee through the eyes of both veteran beekeeper, David Mendes, and Lance and Victor Seppi, two young brothers getting into beekeeping when most are getting out. As Mendes tries to save the nation’s collapsing hives, the Seppis try to keep their business alive amidst a collapsing economy.”

While not every beekeeper agrees with the film’s messages, it certainly is a good opportunity to see this film in a cinema setting. For more information contact the Bots at www.botanicgardens.ie.

Following that, next Monday, Co. Dublin BKA members are treated to the last of our spring lectures.  The lecturer is Jim Fletcher and his talk is entitled ‘That’s not in the book’.  If you are not yet a member you can still come along and join on the night.

1st April, Dublin

Reports have reached the Co. Dublin beekeepers’ association that a mutant strain of eight-legged honeybees have been positively identified in feral honeybee colonies in the Dublin Mountains.  The new strain, provisionally named Apis mellifera octopedis is being studied by [...]]]>

Apis mellifera octopedis. The fourth leg is just visible on the left.

1st April, Dublin

Reports have reached the Co. Dublin beekeepers’ association that a mutant strain of eight-legged honeybees have been positively identified in feral honeybee colonies in the Dublin Mountains.  The new strain, provisionally named Apis mellifera octopedis is being studied by scientists from Teagasc’s Clonroche bee research centre.  Teagasc head of bee studies Dr. April Phoule explained  ‘this new strain of mutant bees was discovered by chance during surveys to test varroa for pyrethroid resistance.  It is a remarkable discovery’.

CDBKA secretary, Liam McGarry explained ‘this new strain will be of little practical use to beekeepers, as the extra legs are a version of the bee’s middle legs, and not the hind or front legs’.  Researchers have found that the ‘octopedis’ bees have a particular capacity for conveying the distance of nectar sources through the waggle dance.  Commented Dr. Phoule ‘with their extra leg, they are better able to keep time to the dance.  It is rather like watching a bee do the hokey-cokey’.

For a copy of the full Teagasc report on this fascinating new creature, see the following link: http://tinyurl.com/apis-m-octopedis-study.   The Co. Dublin beekeepers’ association hopes to acquire at least one Apis mellifera octopedis queen in order to establish a colony to test for resistance to seasonal humour.  Members are encouraged to check their bee colonies for eight-legged workers and report sightings to the committee.

To see the full programme of Saturday’s event, click here [...]]]> 2011 has been designated the year of the honeybee.  The launch event will happen this weekend, the 26th & 27th of March at Dublin’s botanic gardens.  The event starts at 11:30am on Saturday and continues with a number of interesting talks on Saturday and Sunday.

To see the full programme of Saturday’s event, click here http://irishbeekeeping.ie/tyothb2011/launch.html#launch

To learn more about the year of the honeybee and see links to other events, click here http://irishbeekeeping.ie/tyothb2011/index.html

We hope to see you there!

Dave will be remembered by beekeepers in these islands for his very active role in BIBBA and his enthusiasm for the [...]]]> News reached us from the UK today that a great friend of Irish beekeeping, Dave Cushman, passed away yesterday.  Dave had been ill for some time, but nonetheless it comes as a great shock.

Dave will be remembered by beekeepers in these islands for his very active role in BIBBA and his enthusiasm for the FIBKA Gormanston summer school, as evidenced in these reviews of the summer school.  He was an active and highly valued contributor to the Irish beekeeping list.  However it is for perhaps the best beekeeping website in the world, http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/newhome.html that Dave will be best remembered.

Dave, you will be sorely missed.

RIP Dave Cushman.

Simon Rees, CDBKA chair.