Beekeeping lecture at the Island Arts Centre

THE Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers’ are holding two lectures by Simon Croson, at the Island Arts Centre in Lisburn on Saturday, February 9 from 10am.

This will be Simon’s first visit to Northern Ireland and he is well known on the National and International lecture circuit.

He will give a talk on the Small Hive Beetle, which is a major threat to the sustainability and economic prosperity of UK beekeeping, should it arrive in this country.

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The beetle is indigenous to Africa, where it is considered a minor pest of honey bees and until recently was thought to be restricted to that continent. However, in 1998 it was detected in Florida and is now widespread in the USA where it caused the destruction of at least 20,000 colonies of bees within two years of arrival.

He will explain how it could arrive in this country, how to identify it and what to do if you discover it.

His second talk will be tell how to photograph bees on flowers and win prizes. Both these talks will be followed by the AGM of the Institute of Northern Ireland Beekeepers, everyone is welcome, refreshments including lunch will be available.