Why???

The question I've heard over and over again since announcing my foray into beekeeping is - "WHY???"


A few months ago I heard story on NPR about beekeeping and the important role bees and beekeepers play in agriculture and crop pollination. It was one of those NPR stories that you end up sitting in the driveway for 30 minutes because you don't want to miss any of it (meanwhile your husband and kids are staring at you through the front door with grumpy faces) I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done this before, right?? So anyways, the story was actually an interview by an urban beekeeper and her visit with an Entomologist from University of Minnesota who is also a beekeeper. After listening to the story, I couldn't get bees off my mind. I did a Google search that evening to try to find information on local beekeepers who I could talk to and discovered that the Wheaton Park District offered an 8-week "Beekeeping for Beginners" class at Wheaton North High School (practically in my backyard!)I signed up for the class that night. I tried to get my Mom to go along with me, Here's the email exchange:

From: Corie Rectenwald
Subject: Beekeeping
To: "Mom"
Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 8:50 AM
Can I start an apiary in your backyard?? Want to take a beekeeping class with me on Wednesday nights at wheaton north?

On Jan 4, 2012 9:00 AM, "T Stolt" wrote:

Really? Dad is deathly afraid of bees....could be fun to have them in our backyard! 


Despite my best persuasion efforts, my mom declined my invitation to take up beekeeping,so I emailed my Aunt who is really in to gardening to see if she was interested. She jumped all over it and said her Mom/my Grandma used to talk about wanting to learn beekeeping back in the day. Having 9 kids didn't offer her much time to start a hobby but at least now it all makes sense, beekeeping must run in our blood! But here are a few other reasons "why":

1. Bees are just so amazing! They are hard working, industrious, loyal, intuitive, efficient, take good care of their brood, etc and they produce really great products like honey and beeswax. As a beekeeper, I will have the opportunity to observe and learn more about these amazing creatures through all phases of their existence, and that's really exciting to me.

2. Bees are great pollinators. Not only can bees make your garden beautiful, 1/3 of agricultural crop production depends on the bees pollination skills. Bees travel through fields of flowers and/or crops carrying pollen in their "pollen basket" (see image below) from one flower to the next. Pollination is necessary for flowers and plants to bear fruit. No bees = no fruit (or vegetables,almonds,coffee,cocoa,cotton etc)So I'm just doing my part to help keep fruit in your fruit basket,coffee in your cup,and salad on your plate. You're welcome.

3.Bees are dying. As already mentioned, bees account of 1/3 of our crop production worldwide. Farmers contract with commercial beekeepers to help pollinate their fields, but there has been a gradual decline in the number of successful hives maintained by commercial beekeepers over the past several years. There is a lot of finger pointing at pesticides as being the culprit, and I'm inclined to think that's probably the case, however there is not enough evidence to confirm one cause conclusively. But I'm not as concerned with the cause as I am with the solution, and it seems reasonable to suggest that an influx of new backyard beekeepers can help compensate for the decline in the number of hives commercial beekeepers are able to successfully manage.

So those are a few reasons and this blog is my attempt to document my experience as a novice beekeeper. So far things are going well. We made a few (rather comical)errors in our package installations, and that's my next post. I'll be keeping a tally of stings throughout the season, hoping I can keep it under 5!! : )
Stings= 0