No, the buzzing you hear isn’t the iPhone in your pocket. It’s a honey bee—and the impact it has on pollinating the crops you eat is worth its slightly obnoxious presence.
The importance of bees to our ecosystems and to the development of food we eat is no secret, but the preservation of the insects gained an increase in support recently since six species of yellow-faced bees joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Endangered Species List. The Southern Arizona Work Space will be hosting a class, The Basics of Beekeeping, on Saturday, March 11 from 1-3 p.m. to teach people the craft of beekeeping or what to do if they find a swarm or hive in their own backyards. Admission is $20. As a sweet incentive, there will also be a honey tasting.
Beekeeping may be becoming a lost art—and an important one too. If anyone needs more convincing of why saving honey bees is important, check out these fun facts according to RVC Outdoor Destinations:
-Their tiny wings can flap up to 200 times a second, allowing them to buzz around up to 15 mph.
– Much like a last call might look like in a downtown club, communication takes form in a frantic “dance” called a “waggle.”
– Bees can recognize a human face. So yes, they can actually see your terrified expression as you run away squealing.
If you still need encouragement to push aside your fears, just look up #savethebees on Twitter and read what much funnier people have to say about the issue.
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2017.
I’m a Beekeeper here in Tucson. Beekeeping in Southern Arizona can be tricky business because of the hybridization of the African Bee, Apis scutellata , with the local population, with the result that the Honey Bee can be Very Aggressive in protecting their Hive.
So…if you decide to Keep Honey Bees, do so with caution…the reward…the Honey you extract from the Hive, depending on the time of extraction, is Great: mainly from the mesquite, acacia, cacti, and salt cedar.
Also realize that there are native species that are far more gentle in AZ. Many of the bees nest in holes, but don’t have honey. Crown Bees has a website that can tell you more on these.
Might I add, Mr. Hunter: By “native species that are far more gentle in AZ”, I assume that you are not referring to Honey Bees. Apis mellifera was the Honey Bee in Arizona prior to the introduction of Apis scutellata. They are sub-species and capable of hybridization resulting in a Honey Bee population in Arizona that is now far more aggressive and potentially dangerous.
If you opt to work with local Honey Bees, proceed with caution. An alternative is to introduce an Apis mellifera queen into your colony and re-queen as necessary in trying to keep your colony reatively gentle.
Bee that live in holes and do not have honey, are not Honey Bees.