Help DAERA protect your honey bees

With a new beekeeping season just around the corner DAERA is encouraging the voluntary registration of beekeepers and their apiaries on a new web-based system.

This will help the Forest Service Bee Health Inspectorate effectively plan inspections and disease surveillance programmes.

Beekeepers will soon be starting to check their colonies to see how they have fared over the winter months and to prepare them for the best possible start to the new beekeeping year.

This is a critical time for bees as longer days mean the queen increases laying, so beekeepers should ensure that they have adequate supplies of food for the new brood. Disease levels are also a key concern of the beekeeper and affect the colony’s ability to survive and produce a honey crop later.

The Ulster Beekeeping Association (UBKA) and the Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers (INIB) have met with DAERA to discuss plans for the launch of the registration system. To register as a beekeeper, log on to https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/beekeepers-voluntary-registration