A Peek Inside The Beekeeping Profession
Beekeeping is exciting and valuable for those who embark on this informative journey. Specialist beekeepers have close relations with their bees and appreciate their connection to society as a whole. Beekeepers will spend their lifetimes dedicated to their bees, and it is normal to stay in it once you try it. Beekeepers are engaged in breeding bees and extracting the products they produce. Bee honey is packed with vitamins and can enrich human health. The traits of a beekeeper include diligence, responsibility, patience, and calm. Bees sense their beekeeper’s mood, so anyone irritated or nervous may not be successful in their tasks without getting stung. If you enjoy nature, are interested in biology, and have a calm demeanor, beekeeping may be for you!
The Responsibilities of Beekeeping
The profession of beekeeping includes breeding bees and doing so by providing for them and keeping them healthy. Providing winter protection and shade for cooling during hot summer months, fixing hives, and collecting the products all fall in the beekeeper’s list of duties. Collecting honey, wax, and honeycombs is rewarding for beekeepers and benefits the locals who have access to purchase and consume them. Beekeepers are constantly looking to increase their knowledge and skills through connecting with others and using the many resources available. Beekeepers are excellent at working alone but also work collaboratively with others to elevate the profession.
Before beekeeping became a profession, people extracted honey from natural hallows and then evolved to create hallows on their own to better access the products bees produce. It was not until the 19th century that modern beekeeping came on the scene. Today, beekeepers have apiaries where the beehives are located and can be placed anywhere on the property.
Busy Spring and Summer Months
Spring and summer are when beekeepers do most of the work collecting bee products from the hives, and these seasons run straight into winter preparation for those who live in colder climates. The spring and summer months are when bees will forage, so beekeepers ensure there are plenty of ways for their hives to access water, pollen, and nectar. In some cases, beekeepers may need to supplement natural foraging with a sugar mixture when extremely hot, cold, or wet times of the year. However, most beekeepers agree that meddling may help, but being done too frequently can weaken the bee species and its ability to adapt to the environment.
Beekeepers must also be the beehives’ protectors from mites, diseases, and wasp attacks. Beehives must be checked regularly, and beekeepers get to know their hives and even bee behavior so that anything that seems amiss can be addressed immediately. As hives grow, which is a good thing, beekeepers will add room for bees to continue to expand their colony, and when bees swarm, they have outgrown their space.
Beekeepers Help Protect Against Bee Population Decline
It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 different species of bees worldwide. Reports continually send out alarms over declining bee populations, and beekeepers help protect bees as best they can to minimize population decline. Scientists have reported that some bee species are extinct due to their inability to locate them or signs of their activity during their research studies. States like California have protected some bee species under the California Endangered Species Act.
Beekeeping Respects Bees’ Roles in Agriculture
Bees are pollinators and are in good company with butterflies, birds, other insects, and small foraging critters. Bees are incredibly relevant to the pollination process that is critical to our agriculture. The pollination process involves bees collecting pollen and nectar and taking them from plant to plant and flower to flower. Pollination increases the agricultural crop yield, and in our nation, the pollination cycle depends on bees pollinating the almond crops in California. Beekeepers see their role as directly connected to agriculture and feel a responsibility to take the best care of their hives to help keep the pollination process going.
Regardless of how many hives a beekeeper has in their apiary, they have chosen a life of helping bees to survive and continue to benefit both agriculture and provide amazing products. Unfortunately, there are people who still see bees simply as pests and go to inhumane lengths to rid their homes and property of the little buzzers. If you are concerned about a beehive on your property or are a new beekeeper and need some advice and guidance, contact a local beekeeper who will be happy to help! D-Tek Live Bee Removal is owned and operated by a local beekeeper focused on helping others and ensuring bees are safely removed and relocated while prioritizing keeping people safe.