Interested in beekeeping in Mayo?

A FRIEND of mine gave me a colony of honeybees a few years ago and advised that I get a protective suit and gloves. I had always fancied having bees. After all, who doesn’t want to help save the Earth by encouraging pollination?
Another motive was that our apple trees had failed to produce fruit the previous year, and I wanted to give them whatever help possible.
With the hive situated in what I hoped to be a suitable location, it dawned on me that the thousands of ladies living in that box were now my responsibility. (Worker bees along with the queen are all female. The males produced each year are much smaller in number.) I hadn’t a clue about what to do, other than to leave them alone.
I asked my friend and learned that there was a local beekeeping club: Westport Beekeepers Association. Without a second thought, I joined and quickly found that the members were very open to my stupid questions. No such thing as a stupid question, they repeatedly said; the only stupid thing is not asking the question.
I had missed their beginners’ course, which is held annually every March, and which would have been a great help, but with their advice, despite my ineptitude, my bees survived their first winter.
Next spring I took the course. What an eye-opener that was. Then there were the weekly club apiary visits, where expert beekeepers provide hands-on experience and show beginners like me how it all gets done.
If I had thought things through in advance, I would have joined the club and taken the course before taking possession of a hive. There was very little I hadn’t done wrong. It was a miracle that my bees were still with me. But then again, I had not planned to become a beekeeper, it just sort of happened.
Now the secretary of the club, I receive queries about beekeeping all the time. I direct them to our website: wbkc.info. There is downloadable membership application form and a member benefit document right on the home page.
It is lovely seeing the bees all over our garden when the sun shines. And the bit of honey later on from the flowers that surround us is a real treat – besides the fact that is it really good for you.

To find out more about Westport Beekeepers Association, and to find out more about the upcoming course for beginners, which starts on March 4, visit wbkc.info.