Fastnet Area Beekeepers Association
Supporting Bees & Beekeepers in West Cork
Beekeeping news & events in West Cork.
Hello Beekepers! Hello all, and hoping you and your bees are fit and healthy. Welcome to all of our new members – we’re delighted to have you with us and we wish you many years of excellent beekeeping ahead of you! I saw bees on the dandelion this morning. Why, oh why, do people dig up this little plant!? The …
Hello Beekepers! We wish you all a very happy 2022! Hopefully the bees will furnish us with many jars of liquid gold again this year. Firstly, I would like to thank Mary Downey and Norbert Themar for tending our FABKA apiary throughout the past few months. Their vigilant eyes and know-how ensured that the girls were secure, contented and healthy. …
Merry Christmas, Beekepers! We hope you’ve all had a fantastic year and the team at FABKA wish you and your bees the happiest of holiday seasons. This month’s newsletter is all about beeswax. If you’ve recently got your bees, then hopefully you’ll have some excess wax from cappings and brace comb next year – you could be gifting handmade beeswax …
Hello Beekepers! The clocks go back, the temperature drops, and the nights are longer and darker. The queen bumblebees go underground and hibernate, but what do our honeybees do? When the temperature falls below 13 degrees, the girls rarely fly and they huddle together in the hive and form what is known as a cluster. The workers surround queenie and …
Hello Beekepers! Hoping both you and your bees are keeping well. Firstly, apologies for the delay in writing this but, as will be explained later, we were waiting for confirmation as to when and where our next presentation is to take place. Fancy a free jar of association honey? Scroll to the bottom of this post for details of our …
Hello Beekepers! The month of August has been terrific, with a honey flow that surpassed any expectations. The girls worked hard and I’d imagine that their main source of nectar was from the clover and blackberry as the resultant honey is so sweet and sparkly golden in colour. They worked tirelessly and brought in so much that I ran out …
Hello Beekepers! Just as the swarming season ends AND The main honey flow is over AND Queenie is slowing down in her egg production AND The summer forage bees are dying naturally – There’s still a lot of work left to be done by the beekeeper. Tips for the Coming Month August is a very busy month and thankfully we’ll …
Hello Beekepers! June has brought a bit of sunshine at last and the bees were able to take advantage of the increasing temperatures and the yielding flora. The results are obvious in the hive — we see cells being filled with nectar and pollen being stored. Tips for the Coming Month The MAIN TASK in July is to ensure that …
After what has been a particularly cold and wet May, we look forward to June! Weather permitting, the blackberry and the clover will emerge and this is a great source of nutrition for our bees. As the flow starts you certainly need to inspect your hives weekly. As a beginner, you might be tempted to have a ‘peep’ more often …
Beannachtaí na Cásca a ghuí ar duine.Happy Easter to you all. Our course is coming to an end and maybe some of you are thinking of getting bees. Should you decide that beekeeping is for you, I hope that the following points may be of some help. What breed of bee should you order? Most beekeepers keep the Native Irish …