Bees at Solas
Bee numbers across Ireland have been on the decline since the early 80’s with close to a 50% reduction in the bee population
The main factors effecting bee numbers have been lost of habitat due to urban developments & intensive farming practices & the increased use of harmful insecticides in farming & horticulture
Bees account for 80% of all pollination in the wild. They are responsible for pollinating our garden plants, wildflower, fruit trees & bushes, even crops & vegetables in our allotments. The remaining 20% of pollination is performed by wind, birds & bats. Without the hard work of bees we would have no flowering plants & our food yields would likely drop by 80%
Here at Solas we want to do what we can to reverse the trend of plummeting bee numbers. In our 22,000 Sq.Ft. garden shop we only sell organic & natural garden pest control products & feeds. We promote the use of native Irish plants & flowers including of Irish wildflower seed mixes & our pollinator friendly plants on sale in our greenhouse. Below is a selection of our top bee friendly plants that you can plant today in your own garden
Last autumn we installed 3 bee hives at Solas, (2 National Hives & 1 Commercial). On the 2nd of October we introduced 10,000 Native Irish Black Bee to the lower hive body of the middle hive. By the end of this summer in 2022 we hope to have increased numbers to 90,000 bees. This can be achieved only when each hive produces a new, additional queen. At this point we need to carefully split the swarm into a new hive body. Each Hive body can sustain around 30,000 bees.
National Hives: These hives are small, lighter, & easier to handle
Commercial: These are popular as they allow for greater honey yields
Caring for our bees
At the moment our bees are in hibernation & will slowly come out of hibernation in April
Once our bees come out of hibernation, we need to inspect the hive weekly for signs of swapping & Queen production. Once a new Queen is produced we will mark the Queen & split the hive
During the months of August to October, we will also need to feed the hives as there is a lack of pollen freely available in the wild. We feed our hives by adding sugar syrup & fondant
Some planting tips to attract bees to your garden
Create a wildflower meadow with native flowers such as Cornflower, Yarrow, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Corn Marigold, Corn Poppy, Corncockle, Cowslip, Devil’s Bit Scabious, Field Scabious, Fleabane, Foxglove & more
Plant native plants & keep native hedgerows by planting whitethorn, blackthorn, willow, wild rose, guelder rose & elder
Create a nectar patch by planting big showy flowers such as Buddehlia, Echinacea, Foxgloves, Rudbeckia & more
Think of winter flowering plants such as Mahonia, Ivies, Hellebores, Cyclamen & Willow