“Adaptation in Irish honeybees – learning from wild bees towards more sustainable beekeeping”

29/05/2023

Professor Grace McCormack, UCG

WBKA last club meeting before the summer break on Tuesday June 6th @ 8pm, Teagasc Centre, Westport. Professor McCormack will introduce her team’s work on using multiple methods to investigate adaptation in Irish honeybees. Focused on wild colonies they want to understand their survival in the wild despite the presence of varroa and other pressures. Comparing them with very old specimens and with managed bees they hope to get a sense of how Irish honeybees have adapted over time and space and how we can use this information to improve beekeeping not just for the bees but for ourselves. Included in the talk will be reference to the likely impacts of imported non-native honeybees on our population over time.
Prof. McCormack will also be encouraging beekeepers to send in samples of their bees for genetic analysis, with a view to determining the predominance of native Irish honeybees: Apis melifora melifora. Would be great to see you there!