The word skep is thought to have come from the Icelandic Norse word skeppa meaning straw basket. They have been used for 2000 years to house bees, before the straw skep came along they were often made with willow or hazel and then covered in dung and mud. The Saxons merged westward at the collapse of the Roman Empire in 410AD bringing straw skeps to Britain with them reaching Ireland soon after. It was recorded that a convent in Cork Ireland in the 500s, use to hurl skeps full of bees at cattle thieves! Mostly skeps are used for swarm collection by modern beekeepers, although there are still a few beekeepers out there that still only use skeps for their colonies. I learnt to make skeps with a fantastic beekeeper called Chris Park, he regularly runs skep making courses, it's a fantastic day and a very rewarding skill to learn. Below are some progress pictures of the first skep I made. This is a 3 part post, look out for parts 2 and 3 in the coming weeks.
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