TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE?
Definitely to bee.
Without these superb pollinators, life would lose half its sweetness and much of its diversity.
At the brewery, we’re well into our bees – Saint Gobnait (yes, she of the 9 White Deer) is the local patron saint of bees and beekeepers.
So, a while back, we decided we’d repurpose some of our used plastic kegs for native Irish honey bees – Apis mellifera mellifera (A.m.m.), otherwise known as the Black Bee or European Honey Bee – to set up home in.
Yep, they’re free-living honey bees, alright.
Of course, Gordon made various MacGyver-style adaptations:
– Adding wooden dowels for the bees to build new comb from.
– Coating the interiors with beeswax to insulate them
– And creating a new entrance for the bees to defend, while allowing moisture to drain from the old beer opening
According to Prof. Tom Seeley, the ideal set-up for these habitats is a 30-40 litre vessel, placed about 3 metres off the ground, and on a tree line.
Now, such enclosures aren’t meant for harvesting honey or anything – just home-sweet-homes for these remarkable ecological players.
And they seem to be doing very nicely there.
In fact, you can do a good deal in your own garden or terrace to help solitary bees.
It might be as simple as drilling some holes in a timber post – the best place to go for all the relevant information is @irishbeecp website
