We are delighted to be hosting this event on an island where beekeepers have much to celebrate.
As well as its Varroa free status, formally endorsed by the European Union, the Isle of Man has also been awarded Biosphere Reserve status by UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere programme, reflecting a successful balance between people and nature.
There are over 80 registered beekeepers on the island and their bees enjoy an abundance of gorse, heather, fuchsia and many other wildflowers from which to gather nectar and pollen; being such a small geographical area beekeepers can produce different styles of honey from different habitats. The Bees Act 1989 has prohibited the import of bees and bee products onto the island and kept the invasion of the Varroa mite at bay; local beekeepers on the island don’t have to use miticides as a result.
Our indigenous bee, the Manx Dark Honey Bee is further protected by the work of the Manx Bee Improvement Group, recognised by the Vita Bee Initiative Awards 2015.
Richard Ronan – Member of the House of Keys for Castletown – Minister of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture