Life

Beekeeping Lifestyle for Sale

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This might be of particular interest to aspiring beekeepers  out there with a cottage by the sea – because we would consider a swap!

Or this could be your exit from Brexit.

Anyway here is a gallery:

Beekeeper Lifestyle HereFlowering hawthorn hedgevirgin queen beeSwarming hiveSwarm heading into catcher hiveBeekeeping vehicle VW Transporter 4motionLing heather (Calluna vulgaris) honeyWicklow heather honeyCut comb heather honeySun hive entrance funnel

Traditional Irish farm house in rural west Wicklow within 35km of Dublin

Two bedrooms, Kitchen, Conservatory, Large living room with vaulted ceiling, Bathroom

Water from private well

Oil fired central heating

Two Clearview wood burning stoves

New triple glazed windows

Broadband

1 acre grounds with mature garden and 250 metre tree-lined avenue

Five  out-buildings

VW 4 wheel drive, short wheelbase, Transporter van (2015 T5)

45 National hives of native Irish bees

>100 supers

One occupied Sun Hive (bees untreated for 3 years)

7 apiary sites

Branded honey business with five year average annual income of €24,000

10 honey outlets

2x2m market gazebo and place on local markets

Electric 9 frame rotary extractor

Heather press

Warming cabinet

Honey bottler

Candle making equipment

Queen rearing equipment including: Jenter and Nicot kits, 50 Apideas and 12 nuc boxes

Click the photos below for full size image

Panorama
Bee-loud glade
One of the out-apiaries. Mixed timber and poly hives in a bee-loud glade.
Sunny November Bees
Bees in the avenue

This might be of particular interest to aspiring beekeepers  out there with a cottage by the sea – because we would consider a swap!

email Jane at info@beespoke.ie for further info

Click here to go to Janesbees website

Swarming

How to set up a catcher hive

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Even if you are a bee-god and you think your swarm control technique is perfection personified – always set up a catcher hive because you might be wrong!

It’s also a good idea because when your catchers start to attract attention you can be sure some bees somewhere are having bad thoughts. Sprinke the scouts with a little flour and watch which hive they return to. Continue reading How to set up a catcher hive →

Equipment, Queen Rearing

How to set up an Apidea

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Mating nucs, or ‘mini nucs’ are a great way of getting a new queen laying using the minimum of resources. Should she fail, little is lost but if she does get laying – a spare queen is a great thing to have!

Apideas are far and away the best mating nuc on the market – they cost a little more but are worth every penny for the elegance of the design and the quality of the product.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and the same can be said for Apideas but here is how I’ve been doing mine for the past 15 years… Continue reading How to set up an Apidea →

Bee Breeding, Native Bee, Queen Rearing

Native Irish Honey Bee Book

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This book is a collaborative work with contributions from expert beekeepers and scientists throughout Ireland.

Native Irish Honey Bee Book
Native Irish Honey Bee Book

It contains everything you need to know about the Native Irish Honey Bee – from evolution to genetics and into the future with conservation and ‘how to’ sections from commercial beekeepers.

Includes a practical section with step by step instructions on queen rearing and bee-breeding techniques.

Click here to re-watch the book launch

Click here to buy the Native Irish Honey Bee Book

Honey, Recipes

How to make mead from beeswax cappings

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Mead is a honey-based alcoholic beverage with a very long and colourful history. The Vikings were big into mead, as were the Druids, the Celts, the Saxons and, earlier still, the Neolithic/Iron age  Beaker people. The Vikings drank it out of bull horns as did the Druids, Celts and Saxons. While the Beaker people drank it out of… well… beakers. Continue reading How to make mead from beeswax cappings →

Information For Humans Beeing