OBKA General Meeting 15/11/2016

Renowned beekeeper Eoghan MacGiolla Coda was the guest speaker at our November meeting. Eoghan is a fourth –generation beekeeper having learned his craft from his father Micheál, the Galtee bee breeder from Co Tipperary. His lecture opened with a lovely photograph of his grandfather at his hive. Eoghan has won prizes for his honey at home and abroad and most recently was a prizewinner at the 2016 London Honey Show.

Getting to know your bees was the title of our talk and Eoghan brought us through his beekeeping year and practices. He has over 150 colonies in Co Louth so his knowledge and expertise is vast. A key message of the evening was the importance of keeping hive records. We were reminded of Hooper’s 5 questions and encouraged to ask these and record our responses every time we visit our hives. Other points to note and record were docility, brood pattern, and steadiness on the comb, pollen storage and comb building.

Bee breeding is a part of all beekeeping and we were encouraged to look at which colony is best for breeding. A swarming hive may not be best and yet this is often the colony we use when dividing a hive when we practise swarm control. We also need to look at Winter hardiness, longevity and bees who display natural resistance to disease.

A lively Q and A followed before John Donoghue proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the society.