Beekeeping Article Archive

Making History in Connacht We are thrilled to announce that the talented and inspiring Helen Mooney has made history as…

An Invasive Species It all started in 2004, when a mated Asian Hornet queen accidentally escaped its native range in…

Asian Hornet (also known as the Yellow-legged Hornet) poses a significant threat to Ireland’s biodiversity. New taskforce convened to co-ordinate…

Are you 12 to 18 years old and passionate about beekeeping? Here’s your chance to represent your country on an…

Download the Report Here: https://irishbeekeeping.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FIBKA-Edibee-Report.pdf

Dear Association Secretary / Honey Show Secretary, FIBKA is currently looking for ideas to promote Irish Honey and engage with…

Background Swarming is probably the main bugbear of the beekeeper. The tendency to swarm is heritable and can be reduced…

Online Survey PDF Survey (Print & Post) COLOSS: Honey Bee Winter Colony Loss Survey 2024/2025 The annual COLOSS survey on…

Denis McCarthy Denis McCarthy CFL receiving his certificate from FIBKA President John Donoghue. In a momentous event that highlights the…

I met Andrew St. Ledger at the CELT (Centre for Environmental Living & Training) Woodland Promotion Day for National Biodiversity…

Beekeeping is what you make of it. An absorbing and entertaining hobby that you can’t stop talking about whether or…

In 1958, as a 15-year-old schoolboy in County Kilkenny, I was given a school project by the principal of Mooncoin…

This is basically a run down as to what a honey judge is looking for when judging at a honey…

In 1958, as a 15-year-old schoolboy in County Kilkenny, I was given a school project by the principal of Mooncoin…

Minister Martin Announces State Recognition of Beekeeping as a Key Practice of Ireland’s Living Cultural Heritage Minister for Tourism, Culture,…

Honey bees are social insects and live together in large colonies. Each colony contains one fertile female known as the…

Some information sources on the invasive species, which are adding to the problems of the Irish beekeeper.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has confirmed that a single…

Knowledge of the basic hive parts and the tools needed to manage a beehive is useful for the beginner beekeeper.…

A selection of PDF Documents with information relating to various areas of Bee Health. Bee_diseases_in_Eng&Wales assay to diagnose and quantify…

Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 – Page 6 A selection of…

Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 – Page 6 A selection of…

Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 – Page 6 A selection of…

Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 – Page 6 A selection of…

Page 1 – Page 2 – Page 3 – Page 4 – Page 5 – Page 6 A selection of…

Beekeepers please note; (a) only licenced medications may be used legally in Ireland, strictly according to manufacturers’ instructions, and (b)…

Teagasc offers a Honeybee disease diagnostic service to beekeepers. The following notes provide some information of the diseases tested for,…

With the confirmation of the Small Hive Beetle in Southern Italy recently, The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine…

Published by Dr Mary Coffey, this publication endeavors to assist beekeepers in detecting, monitoring and treating when possible diseases in…

Control of Diseases 2016

By Dr Mary F Coffey For many decades, Irish beekeepers have been aware of the negative impact which pesticides are…

MAKE SURE YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE SIGNS OF FOUL BROOD AND OTHER BROOD DISORDERS Inspect your colonies every spring…

It is the responsibility of every beekeeper to protect our honeybee – an essential pollinator of crops and wild plants.…

2018 May 2018 Temperatures for the time of year will be around normal, with quiet a bit of rain forecast.…

Ireland has a narrower range of native plant species than most neighbouring countries. The main reason is its earlier separation…

Minister Harris Announces €5.2 Million Investment by Science Foundation Ireland in 49 Public Engagement and Education Initiatives 22 March 2021:…

The All Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021 – 2025 is the second phase of this very successful project, a new five-year…

A lot of people have contacted us, concerned about various bees and other flying insects around their house and garden.…

Got the Urge to Keep Bees? But Where to Start? The beginner should, first of all, find out if he/she…

Following the discovery of Varroa in Devon in 1992, all imports of bees into Northern Ireland were banned and therefore…

A prospective member recently asked why was it necessary to become a member of BIBBA in order to join GBBG.…

We got great advice from Michael MacGiollaCoda about starting a bee-breeding group in Offaly in 2001/2002. Our application for ‘Genetic’…

Thanks to work carried out by our Chairman in his apiaries, which inspired other members to follow his example, GBBG…

The full-frame nucleus hive, in its various forms has many uses. One of the most popular designs is the five…

One area of beekeeping where most of us were lacking in the past was in the quality of brood combs…

For some time, the scale hive has been an important tool in the armamentarium of the beekeeper. On a day-to-day…

The Kerry Experience In 2000/2001, the Kerry Association decided to compare the honey crop from various parts of the County,…

The use of powerful miticides, i.e. pyrethroids in the UK and also organophosphates in other countries, is now seen as…

Prepare Queenright Cell Raiser Build up a double brood box or use “Ben Harden System”. Contact feed 1 to 1…

Introduction We four are a study group for the FIBKA Senior exams and have chosen to rear queens as a…

Background Swarming is probably the main bugbear of the beekeeper. The tendency to swarm is heritable and can be reduced…

I was first introduced to Instrumental Insemination (I.I.) after Micheal Mac purchased an Instrumental Insemination Apparatus from Tom Kehoe in…

Instrumental Insemination (II) of Queen Bees to most people seems to be something that those “professional beekeepers use”, having first…

That was the dilemma I faced at a recent Association apiary demonstration, which was held in a member’s apiary. To…

Soon after I started beekeeping, a visiting American apiarist showed me a set of photo's showing how they had hived…

In the days before the advent of moveable frame hives, books were written concerning bee behaviour based on supposition, when…

Let’s be honest. Most beekeepers keep bees to obtain a crop of honey, and value their bees on these basics.…

Finding the Queen, marking and clipping her, has become an integral part of many beekeepers seasonal tasks. This can, however, pose…

Winter losses of bees have been high this year and a lot of colonies that are left are small in…

The class for a cake of beeswax for show is probably one of the most difficult in the show schedule…

There are many different species of bees but they are split into 2 different categories - Social Insects and Semi-Social…

Attached are the guidelines for sale of nucs. Please make sure your members are aware of these...

At this time of year (Spring), the wasp’s are out and about. They can easily overrun a weak colony or…

An 89-year-old beekeeper, who has been breeding honey bees able to cope with a parasite mite, has had his hives…

The team representing Ireland this year has been selected

Here's a message from our Bee Health officer - please share this with your members. "Over the past few weeks…

There has been a huge increase in the number of companies contracting with beekeepers to locate hives on their property,…

Bee has been catapulted into the lime light of World Meeting of Families 2018, and the visit of the Pope.…

Winter losses of bees have been high this year and a lot of colonies that are left are small in…

When dealing with this subject it is necessary to outline a few very important facts. Honey is a food and…

In the days before the advent of moveable frame hives, books were written concerning bee behaviour based on supposition, when…

Finding the Queen, marking and clipping her, has become an integral part of many beekeepers seasonal tasks. This can, however,…

Swarming is probably the main bugbear of the beekeeper. The tendency to swarm is heritable and can be reduced or…

Introduction We four are a study group for the FIBKA Senior exams and have chosen to rear queens as a…

Prepare Queenright Cell Raiser Build up a double brood box or use “Ben Harden System”. Contact feed 1 to 1…

The use of powerful miticides, i.e. pyrethroids in the UK and also organophosphates in other countries, is now seen as…

For some time, the scale hive has been an important tool in the armamentarium of the beekeeper. On a day-to-day…

Two things prompted me to write this article. Firstly the absolute need to keep colony records if you are going…

One of the ways we look at our bees when we are assessing them to improve our stocks is to…

The full-frame nucleus hive, in its various forms has many uses. One of the most popular designs is the five…

We got great advice from Michael MacGiollaCoda about starting a bee-breeding group in Offaly in 2001/2002. Our application for ‘Genetic’…

Thanks to work carried out by our Chairman in his apiaries, which inspired other members to follow his example, GBBG…

A prospective member recently asked why was it necessary to become a member of BIBBA in order to join GBBG.…

One of the main reasons for imposing and maintaining a ban on the importation of bees was the danger of…

The inaugural meeting was held at the Royal Dublin Society’s rooms, Ballsbridge at 12 noon on April 21 1881. There…

FIBKA is not-for-profit federation of beekeeping Associations in Ireland. Currently, there are 61 affiliated Associations, which between them have over…