Waxing lyrical

Bees have a busy but short life, only living for six weeks, but during that time they will forage up to two miles away from home and most of their body weight will become nectar. Darina Allen tells us about bees in Ireland, their goodness, and suggests a simple recipe

We had a tasting of the new season's honey at the East Cork Slow Food Convivium. It was a fascinating evening where we all learned a prodigious amount about the production of honey.

Two passionate beekeepers, Claire Chavasse from Cappagh and Michael Woulfe from Midleton, shared their experience with us. They are both avid fans of what Claire describes as the "weightlifter supreme" – the honey bee. Did you know that the bee weighs about 90 mgs but can carry nectar up to 88.88 per cent of its body weight? Bees forage up to two miles from the hive and carry the pollen and nectar all the way home.

The female's job is to make honey. The drone's raison d'etre is to mate with the queen and the queen's job is to lay millions of eggs. The drones are the chaps with the big eyes, the rest are the worker bees. The colony works as a team for the benefit of the colony as a whole. A bee's life starts as an egg at the bottom of a cell in the honeycomb. Three days later the egg hatches and a tiny larva appears. After five days the cell is sealed by young house bees with a mixture of pollen and wax. The larva then becomes a pupa. During this time amazing changes take place, it grows legs and wings. After 13 days it gnaws its way through the wax capping. Once her wings are dry its off to work. In a 24 hour cycle, she works for 8 hours, rests for 8 hours and patrols the hive for 8 hours.

The female bee is curious and checks whether the workers are making queen cells. Initially she just cleans cells and lines the inside with a layer of propolis, the busy bee chucks out debris from the hive.

During this period she gobbles up copious quantities of pollen which help her glands to make brood food. She feeds a little honey and pollen to the older larva and as she gets older she progresses to feeding the queen bee and removes her excreta, because unlike the bees the queen does not leave the hive once she has mated. In fact one of the primary tasks of the beekeeper is to ensure that the queen doesn't leave and take a swarm of bees with her which can happen if the beekeeper doesn't notice that the bees are making Queen cells.

When the bee is nine days old wax glands develop. She can then cap over cells as more and more young bees are emerging. She gets pushed out of the centre of the brood nest area and she starts receiving nectar and adds enzyme to it to start the ripening process

When the pollen forager returns with the pollen she adds honey and saliva to the pollen and stores it away in a cell. Pollen is very important, it provides the protein, a small amount of fat, minerals and vitamins, nectar provides carbohydrates. She also fans with her wings to keep the hive cool and at 19 days her sting develops, so now she can become a guard bee. At first she guards the entrance to keep wasps and other robbing bees out, but soon becomes tempted by the great outdoors and sneaks out to make her orientation flight. Beekeepers love watching young bees in summer imprinting that hive on their mind.

She, meaning the bee, collects propolis from horse chestnuts, cherries, alders and some conifers (the bee glue is also used as a draught proofer). She needs water to dilute the honey. In winter, the bees cluster together to create heat in the centre of the hive. The bees do a dance which indicates to the other bees where the flowers are – dandelions, apple blossom, heather … The higher the sugar content the livelier the dance. At the ripe old age of six weeks after emerging from the cell in summer time after a singularly productive life, she dies.

Bee Facts

There are about 1,500 beekeepers in Ireland, which sounds impressive until you hear that Slovenia has 10 million.

Beekeepers don't need to be based in the country – London beekeepers record some of the highest yields. The new season's honey is extracted in August it varies enormously in flavour and texture. Bell heather honey is very dark, almost "port wine" in colour; sycamore, whitethorn flower, apple blossom, white clover, and blackberry honey are paler but all unique in flavour. Ling heather honey is so thick and unctuous and dense that it has to be pressed out of the comb. The best flavour and aroma comes from the honeycombs. Beekeepers often keep some unfiltered honey for their own use but honey for sale is filtered through organza so that it is totally clear.

An increasing number of doctors, and not surprisingly beekeepers themselves, believe that honey has significant medicinal qualities. It is known to cure burns, ulcers, varicose veins. Sinus sufferers benefit from chewing beeswax. People who suffer from hay fever should seek out their local honey to boost their immune system. Honey, particularly comb honey, should be stored in airtight containers, otherwise it will absorb water from the air.

From the cook's point of view honey can be used in many delicious and creative ways. Add it to dressings, drizzle it over salads, use it mixed with mustard to coat chicken breasts, spare ribs, chicken wings or even the humble sausage. It can be added to cake, biscuits or icings, and pairs deliciously with blue cheese.

? More: If you would like to learn about beekeeping or find out about beekeepers in your area, contact The Federation of Irish Beekeepers on 046-9541433. www.irishbeekeeping.ie