New to Beekeeping

New to Beekeeping?

For many of us, beekeeping is a labour of love. It satisfies a desire to support the environment, to work with nature and to produce a natural product such as honey or wax.

However, there is a lot to learn and minding a ‘wild’ insect has its challenges. It is better to approach the challenge by remembering that the art of beekeeping is more like farming and the bees need our input to maximize their honey production and provide enough for both them and us.

There will be many pitfalls along the way and the learning never stops so if you are up for the journey then the North Kildare Beekeepers Association is here to support you.

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Did You Know ?

A hive of 50,000 bees is controlled by a single queen. She makes her mating flight in the first week and mates with 10 - 15 males, called drones. She reenters the hive after her mating flight and never leaves again, unless she swarms.

Did You Know ?

The queen determines whether the eggs which she lays are male or female by either fertilizing them from stored sperm, producing females, or not fertilizing them, producing males.

Did You Know ?

Fertilized eggs normally become female 'workers'. However they can also become Queens under certain conditions.
If the workers feed the young larvae with 'royal jelly' they will grow to become young queens. If fed a normal diet by the workers they will become new workers for the colony.

Did You Know ?

Drones (Male bees) are nearly twice as big as workers. They have no sting as the end of the abdomen has the male genitalia. They do no work in the hive. They don't forage for themselves but get fed by the workers. Their sole purpose is to form 'Drone Congregation Areas' where they lie in waiting for virgin queens on their mating flights.