Best weekend this year for Dromore Beekeepers

DROMORE Beekeepers’ Association put back its May meeting for 10 days to enable guest speaker Megan Seymour, a bee inspector from The National Bee Unit in Yorkshire, to stay over and conduct weekend workshops.

“It turned out to be the best weekend this year,” said a spokesperson. “On the previous Saturday, Preliminary Beekeeping examinations were held all overIreland, including at eight examination centres in Northern Ireland.

“In the Dromore Association apiary candidates from the Rostrevor and Warrenpoint class joined those from the Dromore class to be examined. The weather was good enough to permit the exams to take place but the following weekend was brilliant.”

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Megan Seymour delivered a lecture on brood diseases of bees and the workshops in the Dromore Apiary the following day were well and enthusiastically attended. “Megan opened up six hives and demonstrated to the assembled beekeepers how to inspect for brood diseases,” the spokesperson said. “Megan discovered European Foul Brood Disease in The Republic of Ireland two years ago so there was some apprehension as to what she might find in Dromore.

“Thankfully, the worst she found was Chalk Brood disease, which is endemic. This provided a good teaching opportunity as she showed how to detect it at a much earlier stage than was usual.”

The Dromore Association presented Megan with a Sterling silver honey spoon, handmade by Hugh Gillespie of Hillsborough. The Ulster Beekeepers’ Association got some extra benefit from Megan’s visit to Dromore as it arranged for her to conduct further workshops in Belfast and Roe Valley. Vanessa Drew, a Dromore BKA committee member hosted Megan for her visit and transported her to the various apiaries.

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