Irish honey bee under threat from imported species, say keepers
Beekeepers from across the country are gathering in the midlands this weekend to highlight their concerns around the native Irish honey bee which they say is at grave risk of extinction.
Hybridisation as a result of imported non-native bees is a significant challenge, according to the Native Irish Honey Bee Society, which is holding a conference in Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Tom McDonnell, a non-commercial beekeeper based in Killucan, Co Westmeath, said it is something he is seeing first hand.
"It's ramped up in the last few years, especially in 2020 and 2021 there were thousands of queens imported into country, so we're getting a lot of hybridisation problems," he said.
"When we raise queens, they should be nice and docile," he explains.
"But queens mate on the fly and if there are Italian bees, or if there are buckfast drones around the vicinity, the offspring from them can be quite aggressive."
The native bee has a genetic make-up unique to Ireland where it has evolved to cope well with cooler temperatures and rain.
It is particularly hairy so makes for a very efficient pollinator, is more frugal than other bees, produces high-quality honey and, when left alone, lives longer.
It has taken 6,500 years to evolve to perfectly meet the demands of the Irish climate.
"Our own bees are smaller. They're a little bit hairier. They're very frugal. We don't have to feed them, and they store a lot of their honey," said Mr McDonnell.
"We are the last bastion of Europe for this very special bee, the Apis mellifera melifera, and we should be doing more to protect it.
"In other European countries that had the Apis mellifera melifera, it's gone extinct and they're looking at us with envy."
Proposed legislation would ban imports of non-native bees
Proposed legislation that would ban imports of non-native bees is going through the Oireachtas.
Beekeepers say the legislation needs to be move along without delay.
Banning imports has been problematic up to now because bees are considered livestock, which have freedom of movement across the EU.
The Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill 2021 is the work of beekeepers, scientists and barristers from the Climate Bar Association who believe they have found wording to get around this.
"It's gone through various stages of the Seanad and they were looking for more scientific research."
"They have that information now, so we just need to get that to the minister and get it through the Dáil."
"If this trend continues, the genetics will be lost and part of our natural heritage, our native Irish honey bee, will be lost forever" he said.
"I would be very ashamed of us as a country if we did not do something to ensure that we maintain this population for future generations."
Professor Grace McCormack is Head of School of Natural Sciences at University of Galway and has worked for many years to prove the existence of the unique Irish sub-species of honey bee.
"Scientific evidence shows that local honey bees are better for beekeeping," she said.
"Our recent publication shows that Irish honey bees are different physically and genetically from other European dark honey bees.
"Evidence also points to some Irish honey bees as being varroa resistant, and able to survive other diseases, not needing the chemical treatment for parasites that are normally required now for beekeeping," she said.
"They are different also in that they can survive winter here and do not require supplementary feeding.
"They have small nests and don't lay eggs when there is little forage therefore, they are not as competitive to other wild pollinators as imported bees are.
"Overall, Irish beekeepers are better buying and managing honey bees sourced locally."
Prof McCormack said given the global loss of biodiversity and climate change, it is unthinkable that Ireland would allow this dark bee to become extinct or severely impacted.
"I am very proud of being Irish when our Government and President speak up on justice and the importance of environment and climate, and by turn I would be very ashamed of us as a country if we did not do something to ensure that we maintain this population for future generations"
"Other countries have major projects to try to bring back their black bees or to protect small pockets of nearly pure native honey bees, Ireland is unique in having the population that we do"
"This could be destroyed by importing other honey bees from abroad like the Italian honey bee or buckfast."
Prof McCormack also believes legislation is necessary in protecting the native Irish honey bee.
"Any other location that has successfully protected their honey bee population has done so through legislation" she said.
"Ireland, as an island, provides a perfect opportunity to protect the dark European honey bee which is at risk of extinction over most of Europe.
"Voluntary efforts are laudable but it has been shown that all it takes is for a person to import honey bees nearby and the efforts, time and money are for nothing.
"So, some sort of legislation would be necessary.
"We could end up with a population of mongrel bees that can’t survive as well as our own bees.
"We could lose our wild population and for ever more have honey bees that rely on humans for their survival.
"That would be very sad."
Ireland can lead the way by acting sooner rather than later, Prof McCormack said.
"It would be lovely for other countries to continue to look to Ireland with admiration for the population of honey bees that we have rather than facing disappointment that we did not take action to maintain this important resource," she added.
Dept of Agriculture reviewing report
In response to a query from RTÉ News, the Department of Agriculture said it is currently reviewing a report from the University of Galway which sought to establish independent scientific evidence behind imposing a ban on imports.
It stated that EU regulations contain specific provisions to safeguard the health of bees located in the territory of the Union and it had sought advice from the Office of the Attorney General on this issue.
The Department said it has considered that a total ban on the importation of certain species of honey bee would most likely face significant scrutiny on proportionality grounds in regards to the case law of the European Court.
"Without robust independent scientific evidence, capable of demonstrating the proportionality of this draft legislation, risks of legal action on the part of the European Commission or affected businesses is likely," it said.
"The Office of the Attorney General also concluded that the legal and or scientific basis to impose a ban on the importation of non-native honey bees has not been established with required certainty and evaluation in terms of proportionality and necessity," the statement added.
The Department said it agreed to procure independent scientific evidence and in October 2023 a 12-month contract was signed with the University of Galway University to carry out research on the native Irish honey bee.
It said the project is now complete and the university submitted a final report in December 2024.
"The Department is currently reviewing the report and once that process is complete it will inform the next steps" it said.
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