Beekeeper

Extensions of the Honey Bees Honeybees help produce 35% of all food in the world and have been around for millions of years. Yet, in recent decades, the honeybee population has been decreasing dramatically. On average a beekeeper will report 20% of annual losses, up to 90% on some occasions. Researchers have found that several factors have been causing the decrease in the honeybee population; a loss of habitat, introduction of new chemicals into the ecosystem, increase in the hive size and the…

The Disappearance of Bees What would be the agricultural significance if our bees, the world’s most important pollinators, gradually disappeared over time? The answer: the agriculture industry will experience shortages in food, lose profits, and heavy pressure will be placed on farmers who won’t be able to meet demands for food. The world is seeing an increase of bees missing every year, and it’s all thanks to a mysterious phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder. In order to prevent the bees…

What's tipping honeybee populations into huge annual die-offs? For years, a growing body of evidence has pointed to a group of insecticides called neonicotinoids, widely used on corn, soy, and other US crops, as a possible cause of what has become known as colony collapse disorder (CCD). Rather than kill bees directly like, say, Raid kills cockroaches, these pesticides are suspected of having what scientists call "sub-lethal effects"—that is, they make bees more vulnerable to other stressors,…

Sweetness and Light, by Hattie Ellis, is about the history and biology of bees. Bee biology is the main study being covered throughout the entire book. It is very interesting to learn that there is evidence of bee existence for over 800,000 years. In Africa there is cave art of bees that allow biologist to predict their time beginning time of existence. There are three types of honeybees which are the queen, drone, and worker bees. The queen bee is the head of the hive that has the most…

As I have grown up, a large majority of my time has been spent helping my parents and grandparents with our family farm. Along the way I have learned many important aspects of living a successful agriculturally driven life. I am the youngest of four siblings so while I was in high school my brother graduated from college with a bachelor's degree in environmental science. A short while after his commencement my brother began to grow an interest in the art of beekeeping. Having hives full of…

On a local level, there are some efforts to save the bees and bring awareness to the harmful pesticides that are used, and most people in Kansas are doing what they can to try and save the bees, because no matter how small their contribution is every bit helps. Near campus, there is a store called The Bee Store that exclusively sells fresh, natural bee products. The honey it sells comes from the Douglas County hives, and also sells items that can help potential bee keepers start their own…

Bees are one of the most important insects we have, they help our environment by pollinating and helping plants. They pollinate plants that we need, like corn, tomato, peas, peppers, peach trees, apple trees, onions, and many more plant that we has humans need to live a healthy life. They also made the delicious honey that we all love, with what they take from the plants they make the food for their queen and the honey. Although many people can’t stand bees, they are very helpful to us, but…

There are things that people may need to be cautious of before deciding to keep bees, but there are benefits to consider as well. Sue Hubbell author of A Book of Bees writes, “Everyone should have two or three hives of bees. Bees are easier to keep than a dog or a cat. They are more interesting than gerbils” (qtd. in Bishop pp. 1). Holley Bishop says that beekeeping seemed so great to her because she liked how “low-maintenance” it was and that the bees “did the farming for you and didn’t need…

To meet that demand, beekeepers in recent years focus more on exporting bees to promote pollination than on honey production. According to Will Budiaman, a journalist for The Daily Meal, “Beekeepers in the United States no longer generate the majority of their revenue from sales of honey; the value of honey sold annually in the United States amounts only to $150…

Why are Bees Vanishing? (Article project by Lara Boyle) Many dilemmas have occurred in the last one hundred years. Most of them have to do with our crisis with the problem of global warming. Unlike most problems, some of the issues like why bees are vanishing can cause a great disruption in our economy and way of life. The bee population in the United States and in Europe have decreased majorly, leading bees to soon become endangered. In the United States alone, up to one-third of commercial…