About Bees

2022-2023 Update

 

This winter has been very hard on the bees, unusaully warm days and freezing nights.

 

This spring inspections have seen the lost of 8 hives, due to cold. In the warm of this winter the bees were flighing and moving around on the frames rather than clustering for heat. As the tempreture dropped at night the bees were not centrally clustered, causing them to freeze in smal clumps across various frames of food stores.

 

 

HELP THE BEES

 

As the true stewards of our global food supply, honey bees keep our food world turning while ensuring our planet remains beautiful and bountiful. Which is why it is vital that we do all we can to protect our favorite pollinators. We are frequently asked, “How can I help the bees?” so we’re sharing simple ways that we can all help the bees.

 

Five Ways You Can Help the Bees

Honey bees, beekeepers, and the honey industry are direct contributors to the success of American agriculture. Today, the honey industry faces many challenges, such as hive loss, drought, colony collapse, and shrinking forage areas. Here are a few ways you can help the honey bees:

1. Plant bee-friendly flowers and flowering herbs in your garden and yard.
2. Let the weeds grow - you may not like them, but bees love them! Reduce the use of pesticides to treat your lawn or garden while flowers are in bloom.
3. Bees are thirsty. Put a shallow basin of fresh water with marbles or rocks in it for the bees to land on outside your home.
4. Donate to an organization dedicated to helping protect and promote honey bees and other pollinators.
5. Support beekeepers by purchasing and eating honey.

 

BEE HEALTH

 

Bees Deserve the Buzz

Everyone knows honey bees make honey, but their contributions hardly end there - one-third of the UK diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants and honey bees are responsible for an impressive 80 percent of that process. Bees are critical to the health of our planet and food chain, so beekeepers are careful to apply best practices that support bee health.
 

Don't Worry, Honey

Supporting bee health means supporting bees. Eating honey is not harmful to bees because producers promote best practices that support bee nutrition, well-maintained apiaries, and the appropriate application of pest control. Modern beekeepers also pay special attention to clean forage and hive placement.
 

Pollinator Problems

The not-so-sweet news, beekeepers are experiencing higher than average losses. This bee health decline has been linked to a variety of factors: pesticides, pests and diseases, and forage and nutrition. This, and the next, generation of beekeepers are key to mending this sticky situation.