In the world of beekeeping Ireland is punching far above its weight this week by hosting the prestigious Apimondia World Congress in Dublin.
Held every two years, this is the "Olympics" of the bee industry and Ireland had to fight hard to secure the event.
However, the remarkable thing is that there are only 2,000 beekeepers here, all of them part-timers, retired people or academics working in the field. In fact, Ireland has only just registered its first full-time bee farmer, John Morgan from Wexford who has 100 beehives.
On average, Irish beekeepers have less than 10 hives from which they can expect a decent profit every third year because of our climate.
In a good year, a hive with 70,000 working bees, would be expected to deliver between 41-45kgs (90-100lbs) of honey, worth an average of €4 per 453g (1lb) at the farm gate.
Bord Bia estimates that the output from Irish beekeeping is worth €1.8 million annually. However, demand exceeds supply and we import €5 million worth of honey to meet the shortfall.Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture and Food, have identified this as a growth area in rural development.
Ireland has one thing going for it in the beekeeping area. It is one of the few places in Europe where the number of beekeepers is growing.
When the varrora disease hit Europe, beekeepers were unprepared for the devastation the blood-sucking mite would cause. Many got out of the business because management of bees where the disease exists, is very difficult.
However, Ireland managed to keep the disease out of the country for at least five years after it was identified in the UK and when it did arrive, the country had the expertise to cope.
However, the disease will ultimately kill off our native wild bees because they cannot be protected in their natural habitat. Ten years ago, according to beekeepers, 60 per cent of our honey bees lived wild. Today, 60 per cent work out of hives for beekeepers.
These are owned by people from all classes of society including: a train driver, pilot, surgeon, an unemployed musician, a literature professor, farmers, and businessmen.