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A new class through the U of M's Bell Museum of Natural History seeks to teach beekeeping to the general public.
U of M Moment: Beekeepers seek to educate public
Much has been made of the plight of the honeybee, a species that has suffered severe population declines in recent years. Entomologist Gary Reuter from the U of M Bee Lab will host a short course each spring through the U’s Bell Museum of Natural History to educate the public about the basics of bees and beekeeping.
"This is a class for beginning beekeepers for the public, but it's very comprehensive. We cover everything from getting started in your bees through wintering the first year and how to extract the honey and how to take care of them in the second year. There's a lot of interest in beekeeping right now."
Reuter says beekeeping helps take the sting of out of Minnesota’s long winters.
"Honeybees live within their colony for winter and they eat honey that they've produced during the summer. They need more honey and they need a little bit of protection, where if you were in Texas where they think they have winter, but they really don't. They just can take care of their bees differently than we do up here. Beekeeping is something you can do in your backyard. It's like having a little garden. It's just something you can do, it's harder to raise a cow in your backyard. It's something people can do and the bees are fascinating insects in terms of their behavior and all of those things, so that's an added benefit."
That's Gary Reuter for the University of Minnesota Moment.
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