Do honey bees live naturally in ireland?

evoke · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 21

Do honey bees live in the wild in ireland? i have seen some around. I have never heard of anyone keeping honey bees around my area. i took a picture of one just to make sure it was a honey bee.

It would be then good if you could transfer them from their hive to your man made hive.

michael brenock · Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:37 pm Post subject:

the picture that you show is the wild honey bee not the same species as the domestic honey bee which can exist in the wild unaided by man.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

evoke · Rank attained: Hazel Tree Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 21

thanks for the reply michael. Do you know any good and efficent way of tracking down the hive. i will love to have a look at it.

I wonder if you if you put a bee hive beside the nest. When the colony is expanding they would use that beehive as a home.

Sean Ph'lib · Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:32 pm Post subject:

Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm.....the insect in your picture is not a honey-bee; I can't be certain from the photo, but I think it's either one of the Bombus species (bumble bees) or an Anthophora (flower bee). It's definitely not a honey-bee. In answer to your question, though, the Honey Bee does occur wild in Ireland, and it is exactly the same bee as the "domestic" Honey Bee - no difference whatsoever. If you can find a nest of wild Honey Bees, it is possible to transfer them to a hive, and they can be every bit as good as any other Honey Bees. It can be a difficult job, though, and definitely not to be attempted without the aid of an experienced beekeeper.