Honey Bees

Honey bees and beekeeping have sparked considerable interest for years, but have recently gained renewed popularity among those individuals who want to have beehives in their backyards.  People take up beekeeping as a hobby for a variety of reasons, such as the pleasure of harvesting and eating the honey, an increased interest in eating foods high in antioxidants, a fascination with the social characteristics of bees, and as a means of adding to their income with profits from honey sales. 

Honey bees help plants grow by serving as important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. Bees transfer pollen between the male and female parts, allowing plants to grow seeds and fruit.  In the wild, bees build their own hives, usually in a hollow tree trunk or another sheltered place.   However, a backyard beekeeper will need to provide a beehive and do some work to maintain the bee colony and easily harvest the honey.

To learn more about bees, pollen, and beekeeping, come to the Al Harris Library and check out some of the books that we now have on display until the end of October.