The Buzz Over Beekeeping

Beekeeping in America. With bees under pressure, many Americans are tending hives. We listen to the hum, and taste the honey.

American bees are disappearing, but not in a lot of American backyards.

As bees have generally come under pressure all over, a new wave of individual Americans have stepped up to start and tend their own hives.

Backyard beekeeping is hot and cool at the same time — part environmental, part epicurean. A meditation on buzzing beauty. A path to nature, and to sweet pots of honey.

Maybe there’s a hive in your back lot, or a honeycomb fresh on your kitchen table.

This Hour, On Point: we’re catching up with America’s new wave of backyard beekeepers.Guests:

Kim Flottum joins us from Kent, OH. He is editor of Bee Culture Magazine.

Jane Wild joins us in the studio. She is a ‘backyard beekeeper’ based in West Newbury, MA. She is also vice president of the Essex County Beekeepers’ Association. She has been keeping bees since 1991. She and her husband have 14 hives.

David Tarpy joins us from Durham, NC. He is one of the country’s top bee researchers --known more formally as an apiculturist and entomologist. He teaches and raises queen bees as part of his research at North Carolina State University. He is the official state judge of honey and hive products (honey, wax, mead) at the North Carolina state fair.

Many thanks to the Savannah Bee Company for providing us with samples of their artisanal honeys.