The Life of Bees

In this 150th anniversary year of the British Beekeepers Association, Isle of Man Post Office is delighted to present a set of six stamps celebrating the life of bees. We are all aware of how important bees are to our ecosystem, to agriculture and to our enjoyment of nature; as well as being an integral part of food production through pollination, honeybees provide us with a surplus of delicious honey and useful wax. Throughout recorded human history there is evidence of beekeeping in many cultures and it remains one of the few livestock industries that can be enjoyed by hobbyists with as little as one single hive.

Harry Owens writes…

The bees in the Isle of Man are unique for several reasons. First, they are genetically very close (in the region of 90 to 95%) to the native European dark bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. Second, the Island is free of the dreaded Varroa parasite; we gained EU Status in 2014 as being Varroa Free and fortunately, we are free of other major bee diseases. Third, our bees on the Isle of Man are protected by an Act of Parliament; the Bee Disease Act 1987 (and subsequent updates) prevents the importation of any type of bees and any second-hand beekeeping equipment; the fine for contravening this act is up to £10,000. This makes the Isle of Man a most valuable reservoir of disease-free and pest-free bees and a resource for supporting populations elsewhere in the British Isles.

Our Island is fortunate in having three active Beekeeping Associations the Northern, Western and Southern combining in the Isle of Man Beekeeping Federation; the Associations take an active part in training and helping new and old beekeepers in the art of keeping bees. We are glad that through education and adherence to the Act, beekeeping here is like it was in the days before Varroa came on the scene. We are extremely fortunate that our Island Government gives support and help with all aspects of beekeeping, maintaining a proud and thriving local industry that produces (of course) the best honey in the world.

Harry Owens BEM

Bee Inspector

Our special thanks for their support to: Harry Owens, Sam Styles, Manx Wildlife Trust, IOM Beekeeping Federation, BBKA.

What to do if you spot a swarm:

Call a beekeeper! They’ll come and rehome them for you. A swarm can land in a tree or bush, on the side of a car or even take up residence in your compost bin! Don’t panic, or spray them with water or chemicals; swarms are docile and are usually on their way to live somewhere new; that could be your chimney, attic or shed, so buzz over to www.iombeekeepers.com/swarms/, or your local beekeepers website, look for the ‘swarms’ page and locate a beekeeper near you. There are lots of helpful images so that you can make sure they are honeybees, not wasps or tree bumblebees!

Every effort has been made to trace or contact all copyright holders. Isle of Man Post Office will be pleased to make good any omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to their attention at the earliest opportunity.

Limited Editions:

Presentation Pack: 1100

First Day Cover: 1500

Omission of Royal Cypher on Gummed Values

The Isle of Man Post Office very much regrets that the entire supply of ‘The Life of Bees’ issue in sheets with normal gum has been printed with the Royal cypher omitted: the error affects all six values.

The error does not affect the self-adhesive version of the stamps printed as a sheetlet which was produced by a different process.

Philatelic products had already been prepared using stamps with the error: these will remain on sale until stocks are exhausted or the planned withdrawal date of the 31st December 2024 is reached.

Customers who have received the incorrect stamps may, if they wish, return these for a full refund.

This is an abridged version of the 'Omission of Royal Cypher on Gummed Values' Statement. To see the full statement please click here