Beekeepers hold monthly meeting

The meeting, in Dromore High School, dealt with ‘bees and related Hymenopterans relevant to our environment’

A spokesperson said: “Paul explained honey bees were only a drop in the ocean within the insect world and wanted to raise awareness of other important Hymenoptera, which is the third largest family of insects, including sawflies, hoover-flies, drone flies, wasps, parasitic wasps, bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees and ants.

“Characteristically this family of insects have two pairs of clear wings and interestingly not all have stings as perceived by many.

P”aul explained that worldwide there are over 100,000 species which are being threatened every day by habitat loss.

“He added that Hymenoptera benefit man in a number of ways; honey, pollination and pest control.

“Members came away with a better understanding and awareness of other species related closely to the honey bee.

“Paul also touched on the threat of non native invasive species that threaten the honey bee , including the small hive beetle and tropilaelaps (parasitic mites), and asked members to be vigilant.”

The next meeting of the association will on 19 January and will be taken by Cathryn Cochrane of The Conservation Volunteers, who will be providing instructions on how to create a wildflower meadow-a perfect food source for pollinators. The meeting begins at 7.30pm in Dromore High School and everyone is welcome to attend.

For further information check out http://www.dromorebeekeepers.org.uk or Facebook/dromore Beekeepers Association.