Look after the health of your bees!
General
- Parasites of the Honeybee, by Dr. Mary Coffey - a comprehensive description of the various infections that can affect bees in Ireland.
Something for FREE!!
The Department of Agriculture's Honey bee Health Surveillance Programme provides disease testing for bees for free. If you send samples of bees and/or comb, they can test for Foulbrood, Nosema and more, and all it'll cost you is the price of a stamp. A surprisingly small number of beekeepers avail of this service - the department would like far more samples since this also gives them an idea of what diseases are present in Ireland. The recommendation is to send in samples from all your hives twice a year, and especially if you suspect there may be something wrong.
Send your samples along with this form to the address on the form.
Send your samples along with this form to the address on the form.
Invaders - new enemies that haven't arrived here ... yet!
- Small Hive Beetle (SHB) - an excellent document from DAFM
- The Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina, also known as the Yellow-legged Hornet is probably on its way to Ireland - a single specimen was found in Dublin in May 2021. It was first discovered in the UK in 2018, first on Guernsey and then in Gloucester. Over the winter, one was found in a warehouse in Scotland, and two were spotted in Jersey a couple of weeks ago. This is a real danger to our bees - they can wipe out an entire colony in a couple of hours. There is good information about this pest from Beebase, and any sightings should be reported to the Dept. of Agriculture. More information available on the non-native species website.