- Bees are crucial for pollination and local agriculture, impacting food supply and honey production.
- Community members highlight the benefits of beekeeping for pollination and social connections.
- Watch the video to find out who many bees were lost during the winter storm.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Ice and snow wiped out nearly half of local bee colonies in Jefferson County. I’m Lentheus Chaney, your Monticello neighborhood reporter, taking a look at how local bees help our environment and what neighbors are doing to assist.
Kathryn Gohlke opened Granny Kat’s Apiary Supply and Bee Learning Center four years ago. After learning beekeeping as a hobby, she discovered she had a greater passion for helping her neighbors learn.
“There’s no other bee stores around that can provide the equipment and get bees. People have to go a little farther, so in this community, it’s a lot, let’s say, more convenient,” Gohlke said.
Gohlke lost hundreds of bees in this year’s winter storm. Typically, beekeepers lose about 25% of their hives each year, but Gohlke saw a 40% loss. She says ice buildup on the entrance of the bee hives prevented them from leaving, and this loss can hurt local pollination.
“Bees have to keep the hive warm—about 92°F—and if they can’t, they’re not going to survive. So, we had a couple young colonies out there, and I guess they just couldn’t have enough bees to keep the hive warm enough, so they froze to death, pretty much,” Gohlke said.
Neighbors like Buddy Witmer turn to Gohlke for help with their bee hives. He lives on several acres of land and says raising bees helps others and has gone beyond a novelty for him.
“They pollinate everything. They’re probably one of the world’s best pollinators. So, we’re helping ourselves, but we’re also helping things that are growing two or three miles away,” Witmer said.
Witmer says having bees on his property has brought friends and family closer with his homegrown honey and by getting them involved with the process. In Monticello, Lentheus Chaney, ABC27.
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