• Ireland has one species of honeybee (Apis mellifera). The honeybee is native to Ireland but honeybees of French, Dutch, Italian and Russian extraction were imported here after disease wiped out many hives between the wars. The Irish honeybees fell in with this new company and today many of Ireland’s hives contain honeybees that are more cosmopolitan rather than native to these shores. Today the importation of honeybees is strongly discouraged to avoid introducing pests and diseases.

• Fortunately Ireland does still have reserves of the pure native strain of the Dark European Honey bee. The Galtee Bee Breeding Group was founded in 1991 with the object of conservation, study and improvement of local strains of our indigenous honeybee. The Native Irish Honey Bee Society was set up in 2012.

• A hive can contain up to 50,000 honeybees.

 

 

Honeybee Organisations in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Ulster Beekeepers’ Association (UBKA)

The UBKA represents the interests of beekeepers across all beekeeping associations in the province of Ulster. We support and promote education and practical skills to beekeepers to encourage high standards of beekeeping. We promote healthy and happy beekeeping for the well-being of both beekeepers and honey bees and we increase public awareness and education on the importance of honey bees and pollinators to our environment and biodiversity. 

 

The Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations (FIBKA)

FIBKA is not-for-profit federation of beekeeping Associations in Ireland. Currently, there are 61 affiliated Associations, which between them have over 3,500 members. FIBKA acts as an umbrella organisation, providing unity and strength in numbers in its promotion of the interests of bees, beekeepers and beekeeping in Ireland. 

 

Native Irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS)

NIHBS was established in November 2012 by a group of beekeepers who wished to support the various strains of to protect and conserve the native Irish honey bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) throughout the entire country. It is a cross-border organisation, open to all, that consists of members and representatives from all corners of the island. As Ireland is home to a distinct and genetically diverse honey bee ecotype, it is essential that we preserve this for future generations and it is urgent we do so because it is also shown to be under increased threat from introgressive hybridisation.   

 

Irish Beekeepers’ Association clg (IBA)

Established in October 2017, the Irish Beekeepers’ Association clg has rapidly grown to nearly 1,500 members across the country, made up from local affiliate associations and independent members in Ireland. The IBAclg is staffed purely by volunteers who bring with them their individual industry and career skills, in order to improve beekeeping in Ireland for all. We always welcome new volunteers who are kind enough to contribute their time & expertise. 

 

Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers (INIB)

The Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers is a charitable organisation. It has a deep commitment to educating and informing the public about beekeeping. Each year the INIB runs a programme of events to help inform and educate people about honeybees and about the craft of beekeeping. The highlight of the INIB calendar is the Annual Conference and Honey Show. In hosting the conference and other beekeeping related events, the INIB seeks to improve the knowledge of and standards of beekeeping in Northern Ireland. 

 

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) ‘bees’

DAERA implements legislation relating to the health and welfare of bees in Northern Ireland.  Work includes an annual survey for notifiable diseases and checks on imports.  The team is responsible for the supervision of control and elimination of disease outbreaks. 

 

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) ‘bees’

DAFM supports Irish beekeeping through a number of initiatives including the National Apiculture Programme, provision of a free disease diagnostic service for Irish beekeepers, providing aid to support the activities of national beekeeping organisations and provision of grant aid for capital investments by individual beekeepers in specialised beekeeping related equipment and structures. 

 

AFBI ‘bees’

AFBI provides scientific and laboratory support to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) bee health inspectorate. This includes including diagnoses of bee health pests and diseases for both DAERA inspectors and beekeepers, and production and testing of bee health contingency plans. Since 2009, AFBI has conducted an annual survey for beekeepers in Northern Ireland to obtain information on current honeybee husbandry practices in Northern Ireland and to provide baseline data on bee health. 

 

NIEA ‘Asian hornet contingency plan’

The focus of Invasive Species Northern Ireland are species that have been introduced through human activity (accidentally or deliberately) or naturally, and have negative impacts on our wildlife and the environment, our economy, and our society.  After habitat loss, invasive species are the second biggest threat to biodiversity worldwide, and the biggest threat to biodiversity on islands. Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is a highly aggressive predator of native insects, posing a significant threat to honeybees and other pollinators. This plan sets out DAERA’s response to the potential arrival and spread of the Asian hornet in Northern Ireland. 

 

National Bee Unit (UK)

BeeBase is the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) National Bee Unit website. It is designed for beekeepers and supports Defra, Welsh Government and Scotland’s Bee Health Programmes. BeeBase supports the aims of the Healthy Bees Plan 2030, which focuses on protecting and sustaining our valuable national bee stocks. Our website provides a wide range of apicultural information for beekeepers, to help keep their colonies healthy and productive. It provides a wide range of beekeeping information, such as the activities of the NBU, honey bee related legislation, pests and diseases information which includes their recognition and control, publications, advisory leaflets and key contacts. 

 

COLOSS honey bee research association

COLOSS (Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes) is an international, non-profit association headquartered in Bern, Switzerland that is focussed on improving the well-being of bees at a global level. We are composed of scientific professionals that include researchers, veterinarians, agriculture extension specialists and students. We understand that cooperation and open dialogue are key to better understanding the reasons why bee populations are threatened in today’s world. 

 

BeeConnected

BeeConnected is a new way of undertaking a long-standing practice: farmers informing beekeepers of an intention to apply an insecticide. Currently, best agricultural practice, as advocated by the UK code of practice for pesticide use and farm assurance schemes, requires that notification takes place when certain crop protection products are used. BeeConnected is a simple, web-based system that can be used via a desktop or laptop computer, tablet or smartphone. Farmers can register on the system and then identify a field they are planning to spray with an insecticide by dropping a pin in the on-screen map. Then, using the drop down menus, they simply enter the insecticide they will be using, the crop they are spraying, and the date they are spraying, and a basic notification will be sent out to neighbouring beekeepers registered on the system. 

 

Maps with association locations 

FIBKA local associations (map) 

UBKA local associations (list) 

 

The Benefits of Bee Inspectors

Bee Inspectors are trained to identify, monitor and manage the health of bee colonies. Here are some benefits of bee inspectors:

• They will have a good understanding of the legislation applying to bee inspections.
• Specialised training in identifying notifiable bee diseases. 
• Experience in inspecting and handling bees.
• Experience in identifying notifiable diseases and pests. 
• Access to records to support inspection programs.
• Can complete inspections for forward and backward tracing based on available information.
• Put in place eradication controls and supervision of compliance.
• Can use legislation powers to ensure compliance with requirements.
• Advice on notifiable disease control and inspection.
• Have an inspection program to allow follow up inspections in the years following a disease outbreak.
• Provide details and guidance on future bee disease and pest threats.
• Complete follow up disease inspections and documentary checks for imports.
• Complete disease inspections and documentation for exports.

 

DataBees

DataBees is a voluntary register of Northern Ireland beekeepers run as part of the DAERA Bee Health program. Here are some of the benefits of DataBees:

• Secure record of active beekeepers and located apiaries (voluntary) 
• Can select apiaries for inspection based on location risks e.g. proximity to ports 
• Provides inspection lists of at risk apiaries following a disease outbreak 
• Readily available lists of bee health inspections, due and overdue 
• Record of previous year’s disease outbreaks and trends 
• Mapping facility to support inspections and management 
• Specific reports to support management and provide data for research, public etc.