News & Updates

A new mapping from the Native irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS) is illustrating the growth of their conservation areas for native honey bees and how these areas are beginning to form safe havens of land in what NIHBS are calling "corridors of conservation". There are now in excess of 400 of these areas across the island of Ireland and NIHBS have just begun a campaign to achieve in excess of 500 by the close of 2026 in what they are calling. "The Race to 500". For more NIHBS i

The General Assembly of SICAMM will be held online on the 26/04/2026. Affiliated SICAMM Associations are invited to consider who their delegate/s might be. Individual and honorary members are very welcome to attend. More formal details follow soon...

Beware and Prepare for Tropilaelaps. We are very grateful to Maggie Gill of PHIRA Science ( https://www.phira-science.org /) for allowing us the use of her materials   Photo Credit: Maggie Gill, PHIRA Science

Chimay "Wedding Flight", A spotlight on our European dark honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. Well done to Mellifica BE The conservation and sustainable breeding of the European dark honey bee ( Apis mellifera mellifera ) continues to gain international attention. A recent article in The Guardian  highlights the important work taking place in Chimay, Belgium, where the protected mating area established by Mellifica BE  supports the breeding and preservation of this native su

You may not be aware that your activities and campaigns can be featured on the Sicamm website ( www.sicamm.org ). If you are a Sicamm Association, you should also find a profile on the Members’ Profiles  page. We are encouraging as many Association Members as possible to submit or update their profiles. Please keep us informed of your news and activities, and we will always try to support and promote the work you are doing. You will also notice further updates to the website,

At first glance, the following message about the IUCN's decision to place the wild honey bee on the European list of endangered species seems remarkable, because these are often wild colonies that have escaped from beekeepers and are usually a hybrid of non-native and native subspecies. This is therefore a first step towards protecting native honey bee subspecies. The second step — restoring native wild and kept honeybee populations — is difficult and requires time and the r

Dear Beekeeping clubs, associations, foundations, and societies, I would be very grateful if you could forward the short email and survey link below to your members, and to any other beekeepers who may have an opinion on the subject of wild honey bee colonies. Thank you and best wishes, Prof. Grace McCormack University of Galway On behalf of the EU FREE-B Project Dear Beekeeper, In Ireland, we observe honey bees living not only in managed hives but also in cavities in trees,

Credit: Jan Gutzeit, Der Bundesverband Dunkle Biene Deutschland e.V. Germany The dark European honey bee ( Apis mellifera mellifera ) is...

Credit: Martin Feurer Mellifera CH, Switzerland For thirty years, SICAMM ( Societas Internationalis pro Conservatione Apis melliferae...

A Call to Action for the European Dark Honey Bee At SICAMM, we are dedicated to the conservation, protection, and promotion of the...

We are delighted to announce that SICAMM will be represented at the 49th Apimondia Conference in Copenhagen this September. Since 1895,...

We are pleased to share the September 2025 SICAMM Newsletter , our fourth issue of the year, bringing together news, events, and...

Germany has introduced a second Channel - Zweites Deutsches Fernseh. This is a compilation of local TV items and they have reports of...

We’re pleased to share this guest perspective from Dylan Farrugia  and Abner Joe Buttigieg , founders and administrators of the...

This Statement seeks to encourage all beekeepers in Northern Ireland to sign this petition calling on the UK government to close the loophole that currently allows unregulated imports of honey bees into the UK via NI.

At SICAMM, our mission is to champion the conservation of Apis mellifera mellifera by uniting beekeepers, scientists, and conservationists across Europe. As proud partners with the Native Irish Honey Bee Society (NIHBS), we are thrilled to amplify their influential Policy Statement on Biodiversity.

Dear Member of the European Parliament, On this World Bee Day, appointed by the United Nations (https://www.un.org/en/observances/bee-day), I am writing to you on behalf of the International Association of the European Dark Bee (SICAMM) and its Member Associations who are widely spread throughout Europe. I trust that you are aware of the vital roles of bees and other pollinators in ensuring global food security and nutrition.

SICAMM was thrilled to welcome the Foundation for the Conservation of the Maltese Honey Bee to our biannual conference, held in the...

SICAMM, the International organisation dedicated to the conservation of the European dark honey bee and The Native Irish Honey Bee...

We're excited to share some significant developments within the SICAMM. Expanding Our Network We are pleased to welcome three new German...