asked the Minister for Supplies if he is aware that there is a great danger of beekeepers losing their stocks in County Wexford; and, if so, if he will make the necessary arrangements to give an adequate supply of sugar to them.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Sugar for Beekeepers.
I regret that it is not possible to make available any special allocation of sugar for the feeding of bees.
I have been asked by the beekeepers in my area if it would be possible to allocate a supply of sugar for at least two months, say, the months of March and April, to strengthen the bees?
The beekeepers were informed early last year that there would be no sugar available this winter and they were advised to maintain a sufficient quantity of honey for the feeding of their bees. I have no reason to believe that the great majority of them have not done so.
I understand, of course, that there is a shortage of sugar, but I have been informed that bees fed on their own produce are liable to get disease and a lot of them have been destroyed in that way.
Bees lived on honey long before there was any sugar for them. It is their natural food.
The Minister thinks it is not necessary that they should be fed at all?