Claire Byrne 🐝

[habanerocat]

You’re correct on all counts as usual.
Fair play!

[habanerocat]

@glenshane

The fir is of limited use…they chew out some resin which they then use to make a sort of glue with antiseptic properties. They can get nectar from the heather, which makes a jelly like honey- one that’s difficult to work with but fairly lucrative

How can ye tell which plants the bees are going to?
I’ve three types of honey here. Wildflower, Ivy and Heather. Small difference in shade but other than that I can’t really tell them apart. Bar the price of course. So I’m interested in your viscous comment.

[glenshane]

Wildflower can be absolutely anything. Ivy honey crystallises almost as soon as the bees store it so yours should be hard. Heather has a jelly like consistency.

[habanerocat]

That’s very interesting. These three seem true to form so. I hid the labels but most can tell which is which by your comments.

The Heather is twice the price so I was wondering if it was worth it. Taste wise I didn’t see much difference. Just tasted the Ivy there now for the first time. Some bang off that one alright.

[glenshane]

Ivy is very strong alright, it has a folklorish reputation for being medicinal. Is that it on the top right?
The heather is expensive partly because it’s hard work for the bees because the flowers are very small and dry but mainly because the only way to extract it is to crush the honeycomb, a valuable commodity in itself

[habanerocat]

Yea, Ivy top right and the heather, the most expensive is the small jar.

[glenshane]

Is it from wicklow by any chance?

[habanerocat]

No, I got it off Facebook Marketplace.

I thought they were Russian or Polish but a quick search there tells me it may be a Latvian name.

I was just interested to know if maybe they were importing it and perhaps it wasn’t Irish bees at all.
Local honey is best and all that…

Edit, they are from Cashel.

[glenshane]

Probably legit but who knows. There’s a local lad here who works full time and also manages to have honey for sale everywhere.
Best thing would be to contact your lical association

[habanerocat]

I think you advised me of that before.
I did contact them but in the heel of the hunt they never replied.

[Thomas_Brady]

Latvian honey will kill you stone dead.

[glenshane]

Try Aoife NicGiollaCoda in tipp. Shes a famous beekeeper from a beekeeping dynasty

[habanerocat]

The Latvian one is better looking.
I’ll die happy as @Thomas_Brady says above…

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

I was in college with a lad called Eoghan MacGiollaChoda from Burncourt in Co. Tipp who was into beekeeping. She surely is a relation?

[glenshane]

Eoghan Mac Giolla Coda "Producing Honey Under Difficult Conditions" - BIBBA

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

That’s him.

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

In a previous life…

[glenshane]

How’s the priesthood working out for you?

[Elvis_Brandenberg_Kr]

Defrocked.

[glenshane]

…only a matter of time