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Any beekeepers here? I just started a course with the fingal beekeepers[/url:oe0xta34]. So just wondering is there anyone here who keeps bees?

I did an 8 week course with the Dublin Beekeepers in Rathgar a few years back. I didn't have the space at the time to keep bees but I do now. Problem is I couldn't secure any nucleus of bees - no one had any to spare. There is a growing problem amoung the bee colonies of the world - they keep disappearing and no one knows exactly why. It's called colony collapse disorder (CCD) and last year claimed an unbelieveable 30% of US hives. Same problem in Ireland. But I have a national hive in falt pack and body veil ready to go! If you find someone selling colonies please give me a shout - bees need all the help they can get!

The Dublin beekeepers could not get you a nucleus? That is worrying. Colony collapse disorder is really odd and scary.

I might try some DIY this weekend[/url:1jvw1x13]. Ill let you know if i find any spare bees.

Interesting hive and could be a nice project. But before you start know that if the design doesn't include two distinct areas in the hive that can keep the queen out of the other then the queen will lay eggs in the same bar with the honey, making honey extraction a messy business.