About Us
Bee Lovers
"To be successful, one has to be one of three bees - the queen bee, the hardest working bee, or the bee that does not fit in." - Suzy Kassem
We are a group of academics, researchers, students, technical officers and beekeepers based in Galway, West Coast of Ireland.
We carry out research on the genetic and morphological diversity of honeybees including free-living and managed colonies. Our current research questions relate to how honeybees can survive undisturbed here in Ireland in the presence of Varroa destructor and the impacts of hybridization on native honeybees from imports of non-native strains and species. Differences in fitness between free-living and managed, treated and untreated, and native and non-native are being explored through a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach. In addition insights into the population structure and diversity at multiple loci are being explored via single locus, multi-locus, and total genome approaches.
Our research is financially supported by Science Foundation Ireland, The Eva Crane Trust, the Native Irish Honey Bee Society, and the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Associations.
Some Cool Facts
What were working on
My group are interested in evolution. We explore evolutionary relationships at different taxonomic levels and in different organisms. The main projects currently running in the lab are focused on honeybees where we are applying multiple approaches/information that will inform our understanding of evolution.
We commenced research on this topic to support beekeeping in Ireland as well as towards further understanding of adaptation of our native honeybee subspecies (Apis mellifera mellifera) and its conservation. We work closely with beekeeping associations, have established a research apiary and are continuing to learn to be better beekeepers. We use current approaches to understand diversity of the Irish A. m. mellifera and the relatedness between bees here and in other countries. We are interested in the impact of non-native bees on A. m. mellifera and are working towards a management strategy for honeybees in Ireland.
Meet the Team
Dr Arrigo Moro
A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a commercial beekeeper of more than 15 years. Completed a PhD at the Institute of Bee Health in Switzerland, focusing on honeybee populations that survive Varroa destructor by means of natural selection. Currently a Post-Doctoral researcher at the University of Galway working on free living honeybee colonies. Also the co-founder of Honey Bee Watch, an international project and coalition for the study of wild honey bee colonies.
Helen Mooney
Helen Mooney is Lecturer in Apiculture and a beekeeper for >15 years. Helen’s background in microbiology informs her beekeeping management practices with respect to day-to-day management, which she aligns with the natural life cycle of the colony. Citizen science is very important to Helen, and if she is not taking part in some kind of honey bee monitoring programme, she will be facilitating her students on the Diploma in Apiculture to do so, particularly with regard to notifiable diseases (DAFM) and future pests of concern (NPWS).
Alexandra Valentine
SFI funded PhD student investigating the evolution and adaptation of free-living Apis mellifera mellifera in comparison to managed populations across the island of Ireland with particular interest in the survival mechanisms present in the face of Varroa destructor.
Mick Verspuij
Currently a postgraduate student with the University of Galway investigating nature-based solutions from freeliving honey bees. The project is part of the EU Biodiversa+ Free-B project (co-funded by the EU and the EPA). With a background in forestry and landscape management and nature conservation, Velp, NL I have a specific interest in habitat conservation . Also I am a founder of Boomtreebees which is focused on habitat conservation and creation.
Vickie Henshaw
Vickie is a Beekeeping Advisor for the National Apiculture Programme. She graduated with a Diploma in Apiculture in 2023 and currently helps running practical classes for other Diploma students.
Alumni
Chiara Binetti
During her a Master studies at GHBRC, Chiara was investigating free-living colonies in Ireland. She then moved to a Research Assistant , funded by CB Dennis Beekeepers’ Research Trust were she was investigating survival and adaptation of free-living colonies in unique forest habitats in the UK and considering new applications for sustainable beekeeping.
Stephen Smith
Previously a member of the SFI Centre for Research Training in Genomics Data Science PhD group. Carrying out a population genomics analysis of Apis mellifera in Ireland using whole genome pool-seq data. Also using shotgun metagenomics to compare the microbiome of wild and managed colonies. Now a postdoctoral researcher in Bioinformatics at the University of Galway
Irene de Carlos
Qualified with a Masters in Evolutionary genetics Master at Edinburugh investigating introgression in honey bee populations via modelling, Irene was a Research Assistant at the Galway Honey Bee Research Center, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Irene worked to build a model to assess the levels of introgression in the native Irish honey bees receiving imports of non-native honey bee subspecies.