Native Irish Honey Bee Society
Come Join Our Online Book Launch
18th September 2021 19.30 to 21.00
Online Book Launch by Micheál Mac Giolla Coda, followed by
Guest Speaker, Professor Thomas Seeley – The Lives of Bees, the Untold Story of the Honey Bee in the Wild
Free Raffle
Your name will automatically be entered when you register or pre-order the book. A Zoom link will be emailed to all registered attendees before the event date.
Available to Purchase Below
“The Native Irish Honey Bee, Apis mellifera mellifera” focuses exclusively on the native Irish honey bee, featuring narratives on its evolution, genetics, history and conservation, with practical “How-to” sections on bee improvement, plus real-life stories from commercial beekeepers. Its aims are to increase awareness of and appreciation for the precious resources imbued in the native black honey bee, to encourage beekeepers to choose native Irish honey bees and to discourage the buying and importation of non-native honey bees.
Latest NIHBS News
All UK honey tested in EU fraud investigation fails authenticity test
Ten samples from Britain were suspected of containing cheap sugar syrup Adulteration of honey with cheap sugar syrup has been exposed in a new investigation …
NIHBS Conference 2023 Online Booking Now Closed
The Native Irish Honey bee Society Conference is on Friday 10th March and Saturday 11th March 2023 ONLINE Booking For the conference will stop on …
AGM reminder Monday 27th February 2023
This is a reminder that the AGM of our Society will be held online this coming Monday 27th February from 7 pm to 9 pm …
Project citizen science campaign, Outside the Box
Dear beekeeper, We are the members of the Galway Honey Bee Research Centre. One of our current projects aims at improving our scientific understanding of wild honey …
LEINSTER HOUSE PROTEST Wed 15th FEBRUARY
HEDGEROWS IRELAND We are asking you to support us and come to LEINSTER HOUSE in DUBLIN on WEDNESDAY 15th FEBRUARY at 12 pm midday. We …
Queen Rearing classes Kick off tonight
Queen Rearing classes Kick off tonight on Zoom at 7.30 PM. The first NIHBS Queen rearing class of 2023 at 7.30 pm on 9th February …
About NIHBS
The Native Irish Honey Bee Society was established to promote the conservation of Apis mellifera mellifera throughout the island of Ireland. The Society strives to raise public awareness of our native honey bee and its importance, and acts in an advisory capacity to groups and individuals wishing to promote and preserve it.
What Our Native Honey Bee Looks Like
Apis mellifera mellifera (aka European dark bee) can be distinguished from other subspecies by its stocky body, overall dark coloration, plus abundant thoracic and sparse abdominal hair, which is brown. There can be heavy dark pigmentation of the wings. Overall, when viewed from a distance, these bees should appear blackish or rich dark brown.
Bee Improvement
As part of our conservation mission, NIHBS advocates that Irish beekeepers buy native bees. To that end, NIHBS is affiliated with multiple bee breeding groups located around the country. Find out more about them by clicking the button below.
