This time of year is when you find lots of Beekeeping Associations holding "Bee School" all over the county, and I highly recommend taking a "Bee School" if you indeed have determined that you want to keep honey bees.
But There is so much more to beekeeping !
Losses of Honey Bees are approximately 40%
Did you know that the loss of honey bees is at approximately 40%. In other words, according to surveys taken, the average loss of bees is 4 out of every 10 hives. Now these surveys also include the commercial beekeeper, which in my opinion is a non-sustainable practice. It also includes very new beekeepers who do not have the experience nor the knowledge about how to use "best practices" to keep the honey bees alive.
In any other business, most people would NEVER start a business or a hobby if they knew that there losses were going to be around 40% each year. They would say that is just "insane"!!
I guess Beekeepers are a different animal in that our Love for this insect is so great, that we would sustain this possible loss, and we know that we can recover that loss of a weak hive by the propagation process of splitting or swarming of a more robust hives.
Each Beekeeper must be aware that the perils of beekeeping are numerous. From American Foul Brood, to Nosema, to Wax Moths, Hive Beetles & Varroa Mites to lack of forage and pesticides, the problems that bees and beekeepers face are daunting!!
Some Beekeepers, knowing these problems, still chose to spend money on equipment and bees, each spring, to begin the hobby of beekeeping.
ADVICE TO NEW BEEKEEPERS - BEE SCHOOL & A MENTOR
Some advice to those wanting to start out in this daunting, but rewarding hobby......take a Beekeeping class and hire a mentor! It is proven that those new beekeepers that have an experienced person to guide them in the lessons that they will learn the first 2 years of beekeeping, stay in beekeeping longer and lose less hives than those that do not have someone to guide them. The number of new beekeepers now days that are able to keep their bees alive and continue into the 2nd year, without a mentor, is less than 10%.
IF YOU WANT TO BEE A BEEKEEPER ONLY FOR THE HONEY......SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!
My advise to those only wanting to get into beekeeping for the honey, BUY IT AT YOUR LOCAL FARMER'S MARKET!!! Bees are much more than just honey. (and the "Flow Hive"....don't get me started!!)
At a conference I attended recently, it was said that "If you buy a dog and pay good money for that dog, would you just put that dog out in the back yard and ignore it?" That is exactly what MANY new beekeepers are doing today. Not getting any education or thinking that watching a few "UTube" videos will give them all the education that they need and putting a hive of honey bees in their back yard and then never looking at them again (or not looking at it enough to properly care for that hive). These beekeepers are part of the problem that plagues beekeeping today.
FOR THOSE OF YOU DOING ALL THAT YOU CAN......THANK YOU!!!!
Thank You to all those that are teaching Bee Schools, all those that are mentoring those new beekeepers!
Thank You to all those that assist in building local Beekeeping Associations in your county!
Thank You to all those people planting for our bees, whether you are a beekeeper or not!
Thank you to all that have eliminated a portion of their lawn and turned it into a pollinator paradise!
Thank You to all those people that have seen the necessity of throwing away those chemicals and pesticides that are killing our bees!
If this motivates you to do something more for the bees....THANK YOU!!!