TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
» Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination. One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depend on pollinators. Crops that depend on pollination are five times more valuable than those that do not. » Honey bees account for nearly 80% of crop pollination in the United States of America because of the ease of transporting colonies across the country. Honeybees are actively pollinating at least somewhere in North America during every month of the year! » The honeybee is one of the most scientifically
2007,” she said. “I was so nervous. It took me three years to actually get bees in it. Once I did, I was hooked for life.” What comes with a hive? Can you just order one? These are questions that might initially come to mind for a novice beekeeper. The answer is “Yes!” Hives can be ordered online because, technically, a hive is just a box. “It comes unassembled, and you put it together like you would Ikea furniture,” Brin explained. “It sat assembled in my backyard, and people would stop now and then and say, ‘Oh, you have bees!’ and I would reply, ‘Not yet.’” To raise bees, you set up the hive and can then get a swarm by removing them from an unwanted location or buying what is called a package. Unlike purchasing a hive from eBay, buying a package is a more in- depth process. “They’re sold by beekeepers in the area. I found a guy in Naples, Texas,” Brin explained, “and he sold me a package and brought the bees to me. And that is how I first started.” In her beekeeping research, which is technically called apiculture, Brin discovered a beekeeping association in Mount Pleasant, Texas, and started attending meetings, allowing her to reach out to the beekeeping community for guidance. She also met a fellow female beekeeper from Texarkana. One night, while talking, they decided to start an association in Texarkana. Brin is now one of the founding members of the Texarkana Beekeepers Association. “The association meets regularly and is growing like crazy. It evolved slowly, but there was no turning back once it did,” she said. There are several factors to consider when getting started. For example, limiting the variety of bees you raise to those found naturally in your area is important. “Especially with our heat and humidity, we have to be very careful about the varieties of bees that we bring to the area so that they can tolerate our harsh summers. We actually have two varieties [at our farm] right now,” she explained. “Our primary bee is the Southern Bred Italian bee. They are very gentle and pretty good honey producers. The other variety that we are raising is called a Saskatraz, and they are also very gentle. So gentle you could walk up to a beehive, open it, and let them crawl on you, and they don’t sting.” While Brin
studied creatures in the world after man! » Honeybees are most active between 60-100°F, although they can forage in temperatures as low as 55°F. » A hive of bees will fly over 55,000 miles to make 1 pound of honey and can create 100 pounds of honey in a year. » Only female honeybees can sting;
the males (drones) are not able to sting, but if you are stung it will probably be by a worker. Queen honeybees can sting, but they remain close to the hive, and so a sting from a honeybee queen would be very rare.
» A honeybee queen may lay as many as 2000- 3000 eggs per day as she establishes her colony. » Since 2006, the population of bees has declined considerably. Pesticides, disease, parasites and poor weather have played a major role in this worrying decline.
Source: buzzaboutbees.net
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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