Good Evening!

The Importance of Honeybees

"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man."" Albert Einstein

Why Be A Beekeeper?

My First Mentor

To Learn…….  A. About agriculture  B. About the environment  C. About Biology  D. About Animals  E. About how things work.  F. Adventure

Truly, a beneficial creature…. 1. She Gives Us Sweet Honey 1. She Gives Us Sweet Honey 2. She pollinates our crops 2. She pollinates our crops 3. She heals our hurts. 3. She heals our hurts.

To Be Part of Something Good  10,000 Hobbyist Beekeepers in NC  Produce 5 million pounds of honey pounds of honey $ 15 million $ 15 million  Pollination = $ 185 million

To Make Money  Hive Startup Costs = $200  Yield 4 Gallons of Honey  32 each = $160  8 pounds = 40  Total Yield = $200

U.S. Honey Statistics  U.S. Honey, $ 500 Million  Pollination, $ 20 Billion  2.39 Million Colonies  (2006 Price +14%; Production -11%)

Holly Blackberry Locust Cotton, Basswood Holly Blackberry Locust Cotton, Basswood Nectar Plants of North Carolina Tulip Poplar White Clover Sourwood

NC State Beekeepers Association 2,000 Members (All Volunteers) 2,000 Members (All Volunteers) 55 Chapters The Largest State Beekeepers Association in Nation

 What We Do For You!

Who’s The Boss!

Much of what you need to know…

Know About Bee Space

Enemies of the Hive

Things I Have Learned!  1. Humility  2. Pain  3. Courage  4. Character  5. Neighborliness  6. Common Sense  7. To Appreciate Beauty

Building Character

Hard at Work!

Beauty in the Beeyard Beauty In the Bee Yard

Another Beautiful Workplace…

Busy, Busy Bee!

Killer Bee?

An Australian Bee

A Beautiful Workplace….

Another Beautiful Workplace…

As Observed By William Shakespeare…  So work the honey-bees; Creatures, by a rule in nature teach The art of order to a peopled kingdom. They have a king and officers of sorts; Where some, like magistrates, correct at home; Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad; Others, like soldiers, armed in their stings, Make boot upon the summer's velvet buds; Which pillage they, with merry march, bring home, To the tent royal of their emperor; Who, busied in his majesty, surveys The singing masons building roofs of gold; The civil citizens kneading up the honey; The poor mechanic porters crowding in Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate; The sad-ey'd justice, with his surly hum, Delivering o'er to executors pale The lazy yawning drone. - William Shakespeare William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare

Poplar Bud Damaged in Easter Weekend Freeze

Is This the Source of Propolis from Polar Buds?

You All Come Back ! You Hear?