BEE KEEPER

What is a bee keeper?
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Honey bees produce commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, and royal jelly, while some beekeepers also raise queens and bees to sell to other farmers, and to satisfy scientific curiosity.

What do the bees do?
Honey bees collect pollen and nectar as food for the entire colony, and as they do, they pollinate plants. Nectar stored within their stomachs is passed from one worker to the next until the water within it diminishes. At this point, the nectar becomes honey, which workers store in the cells of the honeycomb.

Uses and products from bees

Pollon- pollinate flowers and plants
Bees wax- skin care products, candles, furniture polish etc.
Organic honey- foods containing honey, lotions, and different skin care products.

Why bee keeping is important?

Beekeeping is important because
the honey bee population is decreasing. So when beekeepers keep bees they pollinate plants and help them grow. Bees also produce products that we use in are everyday life.

Transporting bees

Some beekeepers ship their bees to places far from where they live. When they get to there destination beekeepers release the bees into different crops. Where then the bee pollinate the plants.

Beekeeping tools
Hive tool- to inspect colonies and add new boxes
Smoker- to help clam the bees
down
Jacket with veil and gloves- to prevent bee stings
Bee brush-helps move the bees from place to place.

Honey production
Beekeepers collect 60-100 pounds a year. One hive of bees must fly 55,000 miles and visit 2 million flowers to make 1 pound honey. And average honey bee makes about 1/12 of a teaspoon in its lifetime

More about beekeeping

Most of beekeepers start off as a hobby then progress to a small business. There are more than 400 beekeepers in Minnesota they vary from just beginning to very experienced.
The more experienced beekeepers usually sell more honey.

Fun facts

• Honey never spoils
• Bees are the only insect that produce food for humans
• Honey bees are responsible for about 80% of all fruit & vegetable crops in america