It is claimed, starts in Autumn, when the honey crop has been removed and beekeepers are ensuring that the colonies have enough stores to take them through the long Irish winter, until spring, when days are warmer and longer.
Beekeepers check that the hives are all waterproof and tied down to withstand the rain and winds of the Irish winters. All varroa treatment is completed, to ensure that the mite load in each colony is low, heading into the winter. Beekeepers ensure that each colony of honey bees is headed up by a young healthy queen, which has been well mated, to ensure a well-populated colony to over winter.
Beekeepers ensure that each colony of honey bees is headed up by a young healthy queen, which has been well mated, to ensure a well-populated colony to over winter.
October / November is the annual beekeeper’s Harvest Meal out. After the busy summer, and processing the honey crop, it is a lovely downtime, to catch up with friends, exchange information, and find ways of perhaps doing it better.
The photograph: Upstairs in The Moorings, 2015, beekeepers exchanging ideas and knowledge with each other.