feeding is not practiced or endorsed by all
beekeepers and failure to do it right can create
more problems.
“For a colony low on food, at a time of year when
you have that dearth and there are no flowers
and nothing to pollinate, that sugar water can
mean the difference between life and death,”
Snellen said, while noting the practice creates
division among beekeepers and depends on the
location and condition of each colony.
The sharing of such techniques and information
among local beekeepers is imperative to
sustaining honeybee populations, Snellen
said, noting there is really no oversight for bad
backyard beekeepers. While some practices on
managing hives can be polarizing, complete
neglect and a lack of proper inspections of hives
is an even bigger problem.
“I believe if you can afford to buy bees, you can
afford to manage them properly,” he said. “By
not properly maintaining your hives, you are
contributing to this continuous cycle of issues.
Educate yourself and take the proper actions to
become a responsible beekeeper.”
THE FUTURE OF BEEKEEPING
If there’s one universal truth about beekeeping,
it’s that asking the same question to many
beekeepers will yield different answers
from each.
For White, who serves as secretary for Monroe
County Beekeepers Association, honeybees hit
a crisis point decades ago, when mites started
infesting colonies across the country. But the
advent of treatments has helped sustain colonies
since then.