Northern Ireland Exports Bees to Phoenix Park
If you see anyone walking round Phoenix Park wearing a white hazmat suit, it’s probably not a sign that chemical warfare has broken out. Instead, it’s the Irish President’s gardeners practising their bee-keeping … all thanks to an export from Northern Ireland.
There’s an orchard in the gardens of Áras an Uachtaráin, the Irish President’s residence in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, and from the apples they make mighty fine-tasting organic apple juice.
Next year, the new Irish President will have the option of spreading their very own honey on their morning toast, with a shipment of honey bees from Northern Ireland heading down this week to kick start the process.
Tags: Áras an Uachtaráin, bees, Irish President, Phoenix Park
Topic: Economy, Government
Region: Ireland, Northern Ireland
Topic: Economy, Government
Region: Ireland, Northern Ireland
Bee-Specials?
I had heard that bees were declining in numbers but I didn’t think it applied here. It certainly doesn’t apply to wasps, black and yellow beasties, even the one that stung me is still buzzing about somewhere.
“It certainly doesn’t apply to wasps, black and yellow beasties, even the one that stung me is still buzzing about somewhere.”
Wasps are just bastards. Nature’s spide.
Export?
Export
1. (Economics) to sell (goods or services) or ship (goods) to a foreign country or countries
2. (tr) to transmit or spread (an idea, social institution, etc.) abroad
pippakin,
Sorry about your sting but we really have to love and appreciate these beasties if we want to have our honey and the dozens of other fruits and crops etc that the activities of the creatures make possible.
I’m told that if the Queen Bee is removed the colony will swarm and leave the hive. Does the same apply to Irish Presidents?
I do hope they’re not those black bees from the north that a small number of fairly polite free staters of my acquaintance occasionally refer to when they have a sufficiency of the drink in them of a Saturday evening, I don’t care for the sound of them one little bit.
As a bee keeper myself I can inform you all that the local Irish bee is an island wide insect. Our bees, like our rivers are free. Many of the problems and diseases in Irish bees we have today are as a result of imported bees from Britain.
I can also Inform Son of Strongbow that that the bees do not swarm if the queen is dead, they raise a new one. Indeed if a queen is underperforming they waste no time in committing regicide and raising a new one.
Housed in the landlord’s hives and the product of their labours stolen away by the landlord? I like your definition of ‘free’.
It is well known that the British Bee of Northern Ireland is a much superior creature to their feckless southern cousins with their tendency to dronedom. Living in the Viceregal Lodge is really the only fitting accommodation for them south of the border.
Foreign country?
Abroad?
circles – a change of currency at a minimum!
Son of Strongbow,
Unfortunately for the past few years bee keeping has involved a lot more feeding than removing. They need 18kg of either honey or sugar to get through the winter. If in August there is more than this you can remove it, if less you feed them the balance through the winter. But they are free in every sense of the word. They are not domesticated like cattle. If they are not handled well they will fly off somewhere else.
or export themselves to another part of the island it seems JR.
Yea circles.
Because my my bees are so close to the Border they keep importing Monaghan pollen. I keep pointing out the ditch that they are not supposed to cross but they never listen.
Pollen exports are a real problem given that 20% of northern Irelands flowers are within five miles of the border. At least those fecless southern bees are easy to spot and swot in the garden. (They produced honey for the provos you know)
The Bees may have an all Ireland spread but WASPs have been virtually eliminated in most areas of the south with an on going attempts to eradicate them from the west.
DR
Yea the poor oul WASPS, if they wern’t so agressive in the summer people would get along much better with them.
The bees haven’t been listening to the Bee Gees dictum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY
Gotta love those bees honey and stings and support their demands for shorter hours and more honey
So the buzz is the Irish want a British queen to take up residence in Phoenix Park?