Mayo island to host Ireland’s first native honey bee sanctuary

THE board of Inishturk Community Development Company has approved a proposal by Dr. Sean O’Connor, founder of Wild Atlantic Honey & Mead, to establish a native Irish honey bee sanctuary on Inishturk island, with the project set to begin next month.

The initiative aims to help conserve the Apis mellifera mellifera - Ireland’s only native honeybee.

Honeybee populations across Ireland and Europe have faced significant pressure in recent decades, with some estimates suggesting declines of up to 50% over the past 20 years, largely due to the spread of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. It has recently been designated by the EU as an endangered species.

The project will begin with the introduction of the first two hives in April, hosted on the island by Paddy and Ann O’Toole. If successful, it is hoped to establish a sustainable varroa-free colony of native Irish honeybees on Inishturk, creating what is currently the only biosecure project of its kind in Ireland and offering a valuable case study for other offshore islands interested in protecting native pollinators.

Modern hive monitoring technology will form part of the project, with AI-assisted sensors tracking hive temperature, humidity and activity levels. Data from the island hives will be compared with two similar monitored hives on the mainland at Killeen, in west Mayo, helping researchers better understand bee health in island versus mainland environments.

Said Dr. O’Connor: “I’m very excited about this project and the opportunity to contribute, in what we hope will remain a biosecure environment, to the preservation of the native Irish honeybee - Ireland’s only native honeybee.”

Aidan O'Toole, chair of Inishturk Community Development Company, said: “We are delighted to support this initiative. The sanctuary idea complements the island’s wider efforts to strengthen biodiversity, wildlife and natural pollination on Inishturk.

“Projects like this help protect our natural environment while also highlighting the unique ecological value of our island.”

A dedicated website www.nativeirishbeesanctuary.com will allow the public and academics to follow the progress of the sanctuary and the arrival of the island’s first colonies and to compare their welfare key information like hive temperature, humidity and weight via a link to a global bee keeping website with hives using the same AI technology.