Native Irish Honey Bees
Forests That Buzz
In 2022, we announced our intention to undertake the role of a Conservation Area for the Apis mellifera mellifera (Native Irish Honey Bees) on ALL of our Cloudforest sites in partnership with NIHBS (Native Irish Honey Bee Society).
Together, with our Cool Partners, we will create forests that buzz for the planet along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
Fun Facts
Ancient Residents: Native Irish honey bees have been in Ireland since the last Ice Age, making them one of the oldest inhabitants of the island.
Unique Appearance: They’re darker and hairier than other honey bee subspecies, giving them better insulation against Ireland’s cool, damp climate.
Hardy Survivors: Unlike imported honey bees, the native Irish strain is naturally adapted to Ireland’s weather and forage, making them resilient and easier to maintain.
Excellent Navigators: They have an amazing memory for landmarks, which helps them return to the hive even after foraging miles away.
Efficient Pollinators: They’re not just about honey; their real superpower is pollination. Without them, many wildflowers, fruits, and crops would struggle.
Why They’re Important
Biodiversity Guardians: By pollinating wild plants, they support ecosystems that other insects, birds, and animals depend on.
Food Security: About one-third of our food depends on pollination, with crops like apples, strawberries, oilseed rape, and many vegetables relying on bees.
Climate Adaptation: Because they’re so well-suited to Ireland’s climate, the native honey bee is more sustainable than imported strains.
Cultural Heritage: Beekeeping in Ireland goes back thousands of years – honey was a prized food in early Irish society, even mentioned in ancient laws.
Environmental Indicators: Bees act as a natural “alarm system” when their populations decline; it’s often a sign of wider environmental problems like pesticide use or habitat loss.
A look at the importance of gorse, and our gorse avenue in Cloudforest One
In November, we were joined on our Community Planting Day by the wonderful NIHBS Native Irish Honeybee Society beekeepers Aideen Day and Hergen Bayer who manage hives on our Cloudforest sites.
In Cloudforests, we look to create and preserve different types of habitats on our sites, to accommodate the needs of all of the species - and we keep our honeybee hive numbers low, to prevent competition between the wild bees and the honeybees.
We’ve found a new beekeeper, Hergen, who builds his own hives based on Layens hives, and over the last few months he has gradually reinstated the native Irish Honey Bee population in our Cloudforest One forest, a designated NIHBS conservation area.
Our fabulous beekeepers were delighted at the recent arrival of the various equipment needed for the establishment of two "National" hive sets on our Cloudforest Five site in Mountoven, Co. Kerry. They have been busy assembling the boxes, and the hive stands have been made up…
In June 2022 we were excited to see our first Irish Honey Bee hives moving into Cloudforest One Lahinch, and while it wasn’t the reason we installed the hives, we were delighted to get our first jars of honey in December. What we didn’t know then, was that unfortunately, our hive had gone queenless.
Live video from our Cloudforest Gift Tree Grove
Bees are some of the smallest, yet most powerful creatures on the planet. We owe a great debt to these incredible insects for their vital role in providing the world with food and other resources. Bees act as the primary pollinators of flowers, trees, and other plants, meaning that without them, many of the fruits, vegetables, and other food sources we rely on would not exis
Bees are some of the most important creatures in the animal kingdom. They are pollinators, who ensure food security and contribute significantly to the mitigation of climate change and the conservation of the environment. Pollinators such as bees, birds, and bats, affect 35 percent of the world's crop production, increasing the outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.
Today, we are delighted to announce that we have become the first private enterprise to undertake the role of a Voluntary Conservation Area, with the installation of our first beehives at Cloudforest One in Lahinch, Co. Clare.
The exciting news just keeps on coming here at Cloudforests. Today, we are announcing our intention to Undertake the role of a Conservation Area for Apis mellifera mellifera (Native Irish Honey Bees) in partnership with the Native Irish Honey Bee Society (N.I.H.B.S).