Women’s beekeeping suit is fit for a queen!
WITH a growing number of women taking up beekeeping, a Welsh beekeeper is launching a “virtually stingproof” bee suit specifically designed for women.
Following requests from women beekeepers, Neath farmer and beekeeper Ian Roberts has created a female version of his revolutionary Sentinel Pro Bee Suit – aimed at all beekeepers and hobbyists.
He developed the Queen Bee suit after calls from women beekeepers who wanted a suit tailored to the characteristics of the female body.
Ian, who also sells his honey at his farm shop, says: “There are over 40,000 registered beekeepers in Great Britain, of which a large percentage are women, and I was surprised to find there wasn’t a specific women’s beekeeping suit of this type available.
“So as well as exploring the market, I began researching women’s clothes sizes and made some prototypes!
“The important factor is the cut of the suit to accommodate the different shapes of women. All beekeeping suits are a generic size, but to be truly comfortable you need something fitted for your size – one size does not fit all. Indeed, we can also make bespoke suits if required.”
The Queen Bee suit, available in European and UK sizes 10-24, is a light lilac colour – as dark colours can encourage bees to attack.
Ian says: “I simply cannot understand why nobody thought of it – if you’ve got a suit that fits properly, you are more comfortable, which makes you more confident with the bees.”
Ian’s idea for his original Sentinel Pro Bee Suit came when a beekeeper friend developed anaphylaxis after being stung.
A bee’s stinger is 1.5-3mm long. So, working with textile experts, Ian found a suitable material and produced a suit that is 3.5mm thick – making it “virtually sting-proof”.
Made from a unique material, the suits are lightweight (only 1.2kg) and breathable, with their properties making them far more comfortable for the wearer than traditional beekeeping suits – particularly in warmer weather.
The original suits went down a storm in the international beekeeping world, but while the unisex suit is available in different sizes (including for children) women beekeepers said they wanted something better suited to their dimensions.
Ian revealed the Queen Bee suit earlier this month at the American Beekeeping Federation Conference and Trade Show in Chicago Illinois. He received a great response, with orders already coming in from the USA and Canada.
All Old Castle Farm Hives’ suits are available from www.oldcastlefarmhives.com and at the farm’s new Bee Shop, which will be officially opened on February 7 by Neath AM Jeremy Miles.
The opening of the 350 sq m Bee Shop has enabled Ian to create a onestop shop for larger and smaller-scale Welsh beekeepers, as the nearest retailer of its kind is in England.
Ian says: “We were making more and more internet sales, and we’d got to the stage where people were knocking on the door, so we converted one of our sheds into a dedicated Bee Shop. We sell everything you need for beekeeping, from complete starter kits (including bees), extractors, beekeeping machinery – and we supply Königin equipment.”
Such has been the popularity of the venture that there are already plans to convert part of a neighbouring store shed into a showroom for larger beekeeping machinery.
Old Castle Farm Hives’ expansion has also created jobs, with plans to recruit three staff members to cope with the extra demand created by the launch of the suit and the shop.
Old Castle Farm Hives is part of the Welsh Honey Cluster, a Welsh Government business development programme facilitated by Cywain, which provides sector-specific support to help Welsh honey businesses create jobs and achieve sustainable growth.
Ian says: “As Cluster members, we support each other and share experiences. There is a lot of collaboration with other beekeepers and they helped trial my original suit – and have shared the results on social media with the wider beekeeping community.”