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Grandson, Will, with Grandpa Jim
Fishing for New Beekeepers
A well-run local meeting seems to be the best bait
By: James E. Tew
Bee Culture (BC) is obviously a magazine that provides information about bees. People, who read BC, read it for beekeeping information and enjoyment. People like me write about bees for people like you. “People” are clearly a major part of this equation. There is a lot of information about bees for people to read, but very, very little information about the nature of people who read about bees.
I readily admit that I am completely unqualified to write about the personality traits of people who become beekeepers and why they chose to follow those instinctual traits, but I can’t completely avoid the issue. Typically, I work more with people who keep bees than I actually work with bees. As beekeeper numbers have fluctuated over the years, I have been forced to visit and re-visit this “people” issue many times per year.
Years ago, I attended a meeting of interested county commissioners who were concerned about the general bee shortage. What follows is a collage of disassociated thoughts and comments that dance around the “people” discussion. My fundamental question is, “Why do a few people come to beekeeping, while most others remain fearful and distant?”
A discussion of me – Jim Tew
At first glimpse, that reads arrogantly. I certainly don’t mean to leave that impression. Before I talk about others, I sense that I should admit that I don’t even fully understand why I came to beekeeping all those years ago. How can I legitimately explore ways to entice others into beekeeping if I can’t explain why I did it myself?
Somewhere around 1969, or so, I took a general entomology class in undergraduate school. After some military time and then while in an entomology degree program, I literally stumbled into a bee class somewhere around 1972. I went bananas for bees. In later years, after I had committed my life to beekeeping, I returned to my first entomology book, and to my notes to see what I had written about bees at that earlier time. Why didn’t I become beekeepingly passionate in 1969?
In 1969, I took simple notes and made simple observations about bees. Absolutely nothing special happened, but I was formally introduced to bees and beekeeping, and it didn’t take.
About four years later, a second introduction to beekeeping struck me so forcefully that I am still involved all these years later. I am that person who was unaffected in 1969 but completely consumed just four years later. What changed in me and why? I don’t know the answers – and I am that very person.
Unanswered question –
Do some people commonly need more than one introduction to beekeeping before taking up the craft?
Back at the Commissioners’ meeting
The participants at this meeting were diversified in their backgrounds and responsibilities and all were aware of some of the present stressors in beekeeping. But make no mistake, these people were interested in beekeeping and were potentially supportive of beekeeping – but they were not beekeepers. They seemed to appreciate what you and I feel, but they could not feel it themselves. They had no plans to get their own hives and they certainly had no plans to take any stings. They were there to explore facilitating us but not become one of us.
After the meeting discussion had gone on for a bit, one of the quieter participants finally admitted that she was mortally fearful of bees – all bees. What do with her? I immediately reassured her that her fear was not unusual. Like it or not, most people are logically fearful of bee stings.
The second surprise of the meeting was how quickly the group settled on a perpetually unsettling discussion – zoning for restricting bee hive placement. Within the county under discussion, a single beehive could be kept on a lot that was, at least, one acre. While not being represented at our meeting, another group of administrators from another local city had implemented policies that were not supportive of bees.
The beekeepers who were present were asked to explain why such city and county bans were implemented and how widespread they are. How can this fundamental fear of bees be explained to others who don’t intuitively understand beekeeping? I was concerned that if we could not adequately explain why some areas have such bans, that the supportive group at the meeting would begin to drift away from supporting us. The beekeepers’ remarks and explanations at the meeting seemed to reassure the commissioners and the meeting progressed to other discussion areas.
Unanswered question –
Why are some areas unsupportive of beekeeping activities while other areas (townships, counties, cities, etc.) are tolerant of beekeepers and their bees?
“My Grandmother had a beehive in the garden when I was child.”
Many, many people have prior association with bees and hives but never, themselves, have owned or managed colonies. I frequently hear comments like, “My grandmother had a hive when I was child,” or “My Dad had bees years ago, but I don’t know what happened to them.”
Occasionally, people come to beekeeping because they are at a place in their lives where they remember and respect their ancestors. Beekeeping seems to be the right thing to do at that time in their lives. Is there anything our beekeeping industry can to do find these indirectly related people? I don’t think so. But certainly, these people represent a source of new people. Be ready for them when they show up at your local bee meeting.
Jim Tew – again
Again, I am using myself as an example because I don’t know your family situation. My three grown daughters support beekeeping – to an extent – because I am so involved in it and have been for so many years. I doubt that any of the three have seen the inside of a hive within the past twenty years. I don’t know what that means. I live and breathe beekeeping, but my daughters are only interested to the degree that they support me emotionally.
My three sons-in-law have never seen the inside of hive and are perfectly happy keeping things that way. Am I doing something wrong? Since my daughters have had countless opportunities to become beekeepers but have never done so, I have given them their space. What else could I do?
But now a new chapter in my life along with a new set of questions. I have six grandchildren (three girls, three boys). Their rooms were decorated with bees and bee paraphernalia. They grew up with bee books and bee toys. When they were too young to actually be around open hives, I drove the tractor near enough to active colonies for them to have a distant look.
My 16-year-old granddaughter is fearful and uncomfortable around hives. While she has been stung by a single wasp, she has had no bad experiences with my honey bees. (I suppose a sting is a sting.)
When he was only two-years old, I have an intriguing memory of my oldest grandson (He is now 18). When I took him to my lab to show him live bees in the observation hive, he instinctually pulled back and showed apprehension. He even looked away from the observation hive. Clearly my grandson was uncertain and insecure.1 I have never forced any of my grandchildren to stay in the area of live bees. We always have a look and then we keep moving. What is the cause of their negative reactions? Is it some kind of instinct?
In their daily lives, they have been consistently exposed to caricatured bees and bee-related stuff. In their early years, they knew all the Winnie the Pooh characters and they had nicely written children’s bee books read to them. Yet live bees intuitively threatened them. Is this just their personality or does this reaction portend a beeless future for them? Maybe the question should be, “What is it about me?” Am I being the odd duck in my immediate family?
Unanswered question –
Is the propensity to passionately pursue beekeeping genetically driven?
And even more peculiar – both my brothers and my dad were beekeepers – for a while. At one time, they had around two-hundred hives. My mother was truly allergic to stings and had to carry a sting kit which she had to use numerous times. Obviously, she was not a beekeeper, but like my daughters and my wife, my mother was supportive of the bee involvement we had.
Within my family, we were all introduced to beekeeping by my Uncle Auby. I wrote about him in this month’s issue of Bee Culture (See Page 74). Does having yet another male in my bee family tree mean anything or was it just random luck that my uncle was the beekeeper and not my aunt (his wife)?
Okay, okay, where is this going?
All major Ohio agencies have restructured beekeeping regulatory programs during the past decades. The justification for these reductions is obvious. In 1978, Ohio had something like 10,000-12,000 beekeepers. Today, Ohio has about 6,469 registered beekeepers. In 1957, Ohio registered 120,000 colonies while today Ohio beekeepers generally maintain about 56,000 colonies. We are a smaller industry so our agency support has been downsized. States across the U.S. report similar prorated reductions. The U.S. bee hive population is at about 3.8 million colonies – down from 5 million about 30-35 years ago. While the beekeeping industry is smaller, the pollination services our industry provides are more important than ever.
The reasons for these reductions are numerous and possible topics for other articles, but within this piece, my questions concern how do we scavenge for new beekeepers? What do we look for in a new beekeeper? As an industry – both state and national – how do we advertise for new beekeepers? Is it even possible to advertise for new beekeepers?
Unanswered question –
How does our industry, at the local, state, and national level, search for new beekeepers?
Introducing beekeeping to the uninitiated
The meeting I have been discussing above, and innumerable other meetings I have attended throughout years past, have been held to discuss ways to promote beekeeping to new people. After all this time, no standard search procedure has risen to the top.
Across the U.S., people seem to be introduced to beekeeping for a host of reasons and programs. If I am very liberal with present U.S. beekeeper numbers, roughly 1 person per 1,000 people is a beekeeper. I suspect the ratio is less, but it’s probably ballpark correct. So how is an industry as small and widespread as ours supposed to interview 1,000 people to find that single one who could become a beekeeper? Bluntly answered – we are not going to do that. We can’t do that. As I described in my early account of my move to beekeeping, I didn’t even know that I had an interest in beekeeping until I was a young adult. If you had asked me in 1969, I would have said, “no way” but you couldn’t keep me away bees in 1973. Same man – different answers.
Some comments and thoughts – which may or may not be correct
- County beekeeping groups are critical to recruiting and training new beekeepers. State groups are equally as important. If these groups maintain high visibility at public events (fairs, garden shows, farm markets) new people will respond. Once they respond, there needs to be a program to support their new interest.
- New people will come to beekeeping for different reasons – nearly too many reasons to list. So, I am increasingly pessimistic about the possibility of developing a universal recruitment program. Beekeeping organizations should be visible, be courteous, and be consistent. Conduct organized meetings on a regular basis. Submit information and articles to the local newspaper. Even if new people contact a university representative, I suspect that they would quickly recommend that they contact the beekeeping organization nearest them.
- Primarily, people learn beekeeping from other people. Reading and web surfing is great – even required – but sooner or later, a hive will have to be opened. Opening a hive is not the same as reading about opening a hive. All questions should be answered and mentors should be available to prevent new people from becoming discouraged and isolated. Bees are expensive and complicated. Don’t leave new people unassisted. New beekeepers are like a new colony – fragile at first but strong later.
- Once a beekeeper does not mean always a beekeeper. An individual’s life and an individual’s interests change over time. Indeed, an individual’s health may change. While it is sad to see an individual fade from beekeeping, it is routine. I can only guess, but I estimate that the typical beekeeper only stays with the craft for about ten years. I have no data to support my estimation.
Those of you committed to beekeeping
I have no science, no technical data. I have only a rudimentary background in psychology and human behavior. But I would not be surprised if those of us who are committed – long term – to beekeeping do have some fundamental, driving passion that others can only imagine. I don’t know what the source of that passion is – genetic, environmental, or learned behavior. I simply don’t know, but I see you all the time at meetings, on social media, at county fairs, and at farmers’ markets – the dedicated, consumed individuals who would keep bees no matter what the problems.
Final unanswered question – What is the driving force behind some beekeepers becoming life-long, dedicated beekeepers while other beekeepers fade?
Are we like people who fish?
Do we just put out our bait (bait = a highly visible, publicized and well-organized local meeting) and wait for new people to come to us at the local level? Should we aggressively pursue random people in random places with handouts and bee propaganda – or some such? A professional web presence is invaluable.
At this time and with our current resources, I suggest that we must use the bait method. The bait method requires patience. At the local level, we can expect to get a few new people to come to beekeeping – not thousands. It would be impractical to canvass the surrounding community with information – most of which would be tossed in the trash – presenting information about local bee functions. The new beekeeper is truly the needle in the haystack.
Thank you
I always appreciate the time you took to read this piece. I look forward to writing for you next month.
Dr. James E. Tew
Emeritus Faculty, Entomology
The Ohio State University
tewbee2@gmail.com
Host, Honey Bee
Obscura Podcast
www.honeybeeobscura.com
1 An update on my grandson and bees. At sixteen years of age, after driving me to a meeting in Springfield, IL, he became strikingly interested in bees to the point that he actually got two hives (guess from where). He still has interest but is now at a university and has a lady friend. I sense that, one day, he will give beekeeping another shot.
