The gathering in Portlaoise on Sunday 25th November turned out to be a momentous occasion. It was the inaugural meeting of a society which was to be named on the day – ‘The Native Irish Honey Bee Society (Apis mellifera mellifera)’. The room was overflowing with people. This very much demonstrated the general desire for its establishment. The number in attendance was just a fraction of those around the country interested in the formation of this organisation.
The society urges those interested, to join – whether they are a member of a local bee breeding group, an individual beekeeper interested in breeding or just someone with an interest in conservation of Apis mellifera mellifera.
There is power in numbers and it is essential that these numbers demonstrate their support for the various local strains of the Native Irish Honey Bee, (Apis mellifera mellifera) which is under threat and always will be under threat due to potential importations from around the world.
This is also the position in a few other regions in Europe which still retain their own strains of Apis mellifera mellifera. The society is open to all – whether they are a member of a beekeeping association or not. It is also an All-Ireland society – open to beekeepers from North and South. The society also hopes to form a good relationship with other national and international beekeeping organisations including FIBKA, UBKA, BIBBA, and SICAMM.
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Hi, I’m looking advice,there is a hive of native irish honeybees in a property we are hoping to rent/sell. Would it be possible to remove them without exterminating them?