All posts by Gimlet

Perfect Supersedure

Supersedure is a characteristic of the native Irish honey bee. It is where the bees replace an ageing or waning queen without swarming.

Perfect supersedure is where the old honey bee queen obligingly remains in-situ, laying to the best of her abilities, until the new queen is up and running – before gracefully fizzling out.

This is a sought-after trait for obvious reasons and if you find it in one of your colonies you should definitely factor it in to your bee improvement assessments. Click here for Bee Improvement and to download Assessment sheets.

Here are some fuzzy photo’s of a perfect supersedure in one of our hives yesterday (20.5.19)

Native Irish Honey Bee Supersedure

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Click here for Piping Queen Bees

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Click here for more about the life cycle of honey bees

Click here for more about the Queen Bee

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Skep Making Course 2019

Skep making course with Jane Sellers at Ashford Heritage Centre, Saturday 16th March 2019 from 10.00am – 5.00pm.
Price – around €80 depending on numbers. This includes full instruction and sufficient materials (long stemmed wheat straw and rattan binding) to complete a standard size swarm skep 11”x13″.

Tools will be provided but bring scissors, and a bodkin if you have one.

Four Bee Skeps, small domed grass, small domed oaten straw, two swarm skeps
Tea and Coffee will be available but please bring your own packed lunch.
Please note – skep-making is time consuming. During the course of the day you will learn how to make a skep. You might not complete it, but you will leave with the know-how and materials to finish it at home.
Please also note – there are maximum of 10 places available so if you are interested please email info@janesbees.ie to book your place.
Swarm skep made from flowering stems of purple moor grass
Swarm skep made from flowering stems of purple moor grass

Bee Flower – Coltsfoot

Coltsfoot is in bloom now – 9th March 2017.  It is an Irish native and a member of the aster family – their asterness is obvious in this rather poor header photograph.

I didn’t realise the bees visit this plant but here is the evidence – note the lemon yellow pollen loads.

Honey bee visiting Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) note yellow pollen loads
Honey bee visiting Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara) note yellow pollen loads

Coltsfoot is unusual in that the flowers come out before any leaves are visible. The heart shaped leaves come along later and are not at all like a dandelion.

It is thought that Coltsfoot flowers are a cure for coughs.

Click here for more March bee flowers

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