Did you know that there are 97 species of bees in Ireland?

 

There are 20 bumblebee species (14 true bumblebees and 6 cuckoo bumblebees), a mindboggling 76 species of solitary bees (miner bees, leafcutter bees and even a bee that nests in snail shells)……oh, and 1 Honeybee.

 

The Honeybee performs a vital function, Pollination. They trap pollen on their bodies and carry it between flowers. About 1/3 of our diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and Honeybees are responsible for 80% of this pollination. They require large quantities of nectar and pollen to rear their young, in turn pollinating a wide variety of crops, fruits and flowers. Unfortunately, our tidy, manicured gardens and the destruction of hedge rows is a disaster for our foraging Honeybees. Not to mention the harm pesticides and insecticides are doing. ……Think of how clean your car windscreen is after a long summer’s drive today compared to 20 years ago!

 

A colony of Honeybees consists of 3 casts: 1 Queen, in the summer 60,000 to 80,000 Worker Bees and several hundred Drones. The average Worker Bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime and a full hive of Honeybees will fly 90,000 miles, equivalent to 3 orbits around the earth just to collect 1kg of honey.

 

The Queen controls the temperament and mood of the hive, she is the heart and soul of the colony, without a Queen the hive will not survive, it’s a very important position. She is fed royal jelly, a mixture of pollen and nectar, strengthened with enzymes produced by the Honeybees all through her life. She can lay up to 2,000 eggs a day during the spring build up, more than her own bodyweight in eggs every day! She can live for up to 5 to 6 years.

 

The Worker Bees are all female, they live for about 3 to 6 weeks in the Summer and between 4 to 9 months in the Winter. They begin their working lives inside the hive, providing food for Larvae, Drones and the Queen.  Next they build the wax honeycomb that forms the hives integral structure. As they get older they clean, heat, ventilate, defend and repair the hive. Finally with just 7 – 10 days of life to live, they graduate to flying Honeybees. A single Honeybee can visit up to 3,000 flowers a day, making 50 to 100 trips, most will die in flight attempting to bring one last belly full of nectar to the hive. Their wings will just give up!

 

Drones are males and live for about 3 to 4 months, they are the product of an unfertilised egg, therefore do not have a father, but they do have a grandfather (figure that one out!). The Drones only purpose is to mate with new Queens, other than that, they hang around the hive and eat honey. In late Autumn, all the Drones are kicked out of the hive to die. Suddenly being a Drone doesn’t seem quite appealing!

 

The Summer months especially are very busy in the apiary. There are weekly inspections to make sure the Queen is well, laying and there are no signs of disease or signs of swarming. Swarms are nature’s magical way of expanding the number of hives in an area. Swarming usually occurs in the months of May, June and July. The old Queen leaves the hive to find a new home and a new Queen takes over, the reason the swarm looks like a clump is because all of the workers gather around the old Queen, a swarm can form for a few minutes to a few days, depending on how long it takes scout bees to find a suitable new home. During a swarm, their focus is on finding a new nest, not on attacking, that said it is important to keep your distance, if they feel threatened, it is possible they could sting. If you come across a swarm, please ring your local beekeeping association or a local beekeeper you may know, they will advise and may be able to find a home for the Honeybees, not many wild beehives exist today in Ireland, if they are re-homed with a beekeeper they stand a better chance of surviving and then continue to work their wonders in new surroundings. Perhaps you might be interested in your own Beehive! The end of August / September is honey harvest time.

 

Apart from the lovely honey the Honeybees provide us with, there is wax and propolis. Both of these by-products have some wonderful uses. The wax can be used for making candles, cosmetics and healing products for treating conditions such as acne, dry skin and eczema. Propolis, a red / brown resinous substance collected by the Honeybees from tree buds, is a natural antibiotic used for sealing small gaps in the hive. Propolis can be used for healing burns, infections, immune system support, dental care, to name just a few.

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Think! When you buy your 454g jar of pure local Irish honey - it took 22,700 honeybee trips to fill that single jar. The Honeybee is by far the most selfless organism in the world, not because she labours but because she labours for others, anything she eats is clean, anything she drops is sweet.

 

Bee kind to the Bee!!