Kobrya 1 Erik Kobrya Mrs. Bell English 9 April 7, 2021 The Beekeeping Journey “All bees play a keystone role in the productivity of agriculture and the beauty of our world through the pollination of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and flowers.“ (Helping Bees | Bee Lab, March 8, 2021) It is a very hard and busy job for the beekeeper to help the bees be healthy and productive. Mostly older people are beekeepers and they spend their time working with bees and the beehives. Younger people can learn a lot from their experience and can understand how the beekeeper’s journey is extremely interesting and rewarding. Because beekeeping is a very long process, the journey matters more than the destination. Beekeeping requires careful and diligent caring for bees during the whole year to have a fruitful spring season. At the beginning of a beekeeper’s journey, the beekeeper must know what the bees need during the summer and provide them with the essentials to prepare for the winter. When the sun is out and it is hot outside, the bees may forage for pollen or simply stay in the hive all day and help the queen bee while she lays eggs. They have a special diet of syrup, made from sugar and water that the beekeeper supplies. The bees then will build wax honeycomb and turn the syrup into the food they will need throughout the colder months. The beekeeper checks on the hives bi-weekly to ensure the bees are thriving and that no insects or animals, such as skunks and raccoons get into the hives. The beekeeper’s main job during the summer is to inspect the hives to make sure the bees are living in a safe and healthy environment. (Common Questions – Honey Bee Genetics, March 8, 2021) Kobrya 2 After the summer, the beekeeper must be aware of the health of the bees and beehives and care for them. In the fall and winter, the bees survive by eating their stored honey. They are basically inactive and stay in their beehives, hibernating during the winter. “A working knowledge of the life cycle of the honey bee...is an essential skill for any beekeeper.” (The Honey Bee Life Cycle, March 8, 2021). The beekeeper continues to inspect the hives and may have to fix them due to weather damage. Checking to make sure no rain gets into the hives, the beekeeper must be vigilant to keep the beehives dry. A lot of bees die in the winter due to lack of food and bad weather conditions. The long journey during this time may make the destination of a productive spring season feel unobtainable; however, the beekeeper must stay optimistic. Lastly, if the bees have survived the winter, the beekeeper must make many decisions about the bee’s pollination and honey production. The beekeeper’s main job in the spring is to take all the hives out to pollination. That includes calling the farmers and making a plan to bring the beehives to keep on the farmers’ land. During this part of the life cycle of the bees, they fly around and pollinate the farmers’ plants, trees, and crops. With the pollen that the bees collect, they make honey! The best part of having bees is because at the end of the year’s journey in springtime, you have a lot of honey that you can keep for yourself or sell. The beekeeper can make an income from pollination of farmers’ crops and from selling honey. In short, the beekeeper must diligently care for the bees all year to have a fruitful spring. Learning about what to do in each season is fascinating and having an abundant spring is worth the hard labor and supervision. Even though the beekeeping journey may be long, the destination is worth it! Kobrya 3 Works Cited Common Questions – Honey Bee Genetics https://honeybeegenetics.com/faq/ March 8, 2021 Helping Bees | Bee Lab https://www.beelab.umn.edu/bees/helping-bees March 8, 2021 The Honey Bee Life Cycle, March 8, 2021
