March 2023 Bee Report

AAB ees





Bee Report March 2023

Complied By Brendan Dowling AABees

March 2023 Bee Report

AAB ees

As bee-keepers we are always careful about celebrating the arrival of Spring too early as we have learnt by experience it can quickly slip away again and Bees can be setback by sudden drops in temperature – even if it just for a night or two. Nevertheless, it is great to see the daffodils and other spring flowers adorning the roadways and gardens and the blossoms on the fruit trees. Inside the Hives the Queen should be starting to lay again as she begins the process of rebuilding her community for another year. During the winter the number of Bees in the hive will have dropped to a little as 10% of their Summer splendor. Now the Queen, with her capacity to lay up to 1000 eggs a days – must start the process again. Pollen One of the signs we are looking for is to see the workers bringing Pollen back to the hive. If the Workers are concentrating on Pollen collection than this would strongly suggest that the Queen is back in good laying form. We still avoid actually opening the hive to check her progress until the temperature rises to around to a steady 14% degree. Winter Losses Until we do open the hives (usually in mid-April) we will not be in a position to quantify our Winter losses. The Queens may have been lost over the winter but most of the Bees survived – but this colony would be destined to fail unless we identify the loss in time and artificially introduce a new Queen. March Forage for Bees This time of the year in Ireland the bees main source of forage is Gorse - some early trees such as Willow and Hazel – spring flowers such as Crocus – and – most importantly because of its pure abundance in Ireland – the great Dandelion. For so long the Dandelion was treated as a garden pest and huge amounts of pesticide was used on pathways and pasture to try to kill it off – without must success. Only now are we appreciating how really important the Dandelion is for the early Spring Bees. AAbees update. As a business AABees has recently undertaken several new sites including the Globe Shopping Centre in Naas and Carrickmines Park Shopping Centre. We are in the new position of having to refuse new contract but are referring enquiries on to other members of the Federation of Irish Bee Keepers and the Native Irish Honey Bee Society.



March 2023 Bee Report

AAB ees

Native Irish Honey Bee Society Conference The NIHBS held their first Annual Conference in Tullamore in March at which there were numerous Irish and International scientists and bee-keepers. One of the most interesting presentations at the conference was an update on the spread of the Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) across Europe. Other than a once off sighting in North Dublin in 2021 – Ireland has so far avoided this scourge. Last year Malta lost 75% of its Bees to the Asian Hornet. Therefore we are asking the general public to be alert to this threat and to report anything that they think might be an Asian Hornet to the Department of Agriculture. If unsure – please report – Better safe than sorry. EU and Non-EU Honey. As Bee-Keepers we are always aware of the threat of fake or adulterated honey undermining our sector and discrediting the reputation of Honey as a wholesome and healthy alternative to other sweeteners. The single market has allowed EU Honey producer to side-step having to identify exactly what country their honey come from. In a land mass as large as the EU this means that the identification of a product as ‘EU Honey’ is a very broad stoke indeed. Outside the location of ‘EU Honey’ is – well – the whole rest of the world. If you read the labels on the jars of several well known Irish honey brands whose names would strongly suggest an Irish product origin – you will find ‘made from EU and non-Eu Honey’ – which means that the honey is made from somewhere in the whole – and they are not saying where. Fake Honey On top of the issue of where Honey is sourced from – there is the issue of purity. A recent EU study to quantify the degree of adulteration in Honey products on sale in the EU by ingredients other than honey - was simply shocking. 46% of the samples tested were adulterated (mainly by sugar syrup – sugar and water) and of the samples taken in the UK 100% were found to be adulterated. The only advice I can offer is to purchase you honey directly from your local Bee-keepers. That way you know what you are getting. I am attaching the links to these reports so that you can read them yourself. Native Irish Honey Bee Conservation Areas. Since our January report about the opportunity to register your Apiary as a Native Irish Honey Bee conservation Area 4 of our Apiaries have completed registration. • Annaghill House Apiary – Mayo • Agriculture House – Kildare Street, Dublin • 2 Grand Parade, Macken Street Dublin 2 • VHI HQ, Abbey Street, Dublin 1 Please get in touch if you want your site registered as a Native Irish Honey bee conservation area and I will process the necessary paper work.



March 2023 Bee Report

Link To EU Report on Adulterated honey

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https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/mar/26/uk-honey-fails-authenticity-test https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2023/03/24/half-of-the-honey-in-europeanmarkets-is-fake-alerts-eu-investigation/?sh=70bbca3d68b2

Netflix did a very good series in 2019 on the international food networks (including Honey) called ‘Rotten’. This is still accessible on Netflix and well worth a watch. How to identify the Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) The key identifying features of Asian hornets are: Body - generally dark in colour, black/dark brown Rear - key feature is dark brown with a distinct yellow/mustard band Waist - fine, bright yellow 'belt' Legs - brown upper part with distinct yellow lower leg, in fact it is often called the yellow-legged hornet Head - black head with orange / yellow face Shape - sleek, wasp / hornet-like as opposed to plump, hairy, bee-like or fly-like with large compound eyes Size - it is slightly smaller than the native European Hornet but larger than the Common Wasp. Worker hornets measure up to 25mm, queens 33mm in length The Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) is an invasive species. It is a highly aggressive predator of native insects and poses a significant threat to honey bees and other pollinating insects. It also feeds on fruit and flowers.

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March 2023 Bee Report



Contact Details:



Brendan Dowling AABees Annaghill Allusion Limited 19 B York Street, Dublin 2 087 294 0735 [email protected] www.aabees.ie www.annaghill.ie

Brendan Dowling Is a registered Beekeeper with the County Dublin Bee-Keepers Association Reg # DUBL3992 http://dublinbees.com ….. and is registered Beekeeper with the Federation of Irish Bee Keeping Associations Reg # DUBL3992 https://irishbeekeeping.ie ….. and is registered with the Department of Agriculture as a Primary Producer of Food of Animal Origin Reg# HFR 1453 ….. and is a registered member of the Native Irish Honey Bee Society https://nihbs.org ….. and is a registered member of the Irish Farmers Association https://www.ifa.ie