Bee My Honey
MIAMI (Ivanhoe Newswire) –Honeybees – you may not realize just how important they are to you. One in every three bites of food you eat comes from a plant that was pollinated by a bee. For the past five years, 30 percent of the population has vanished. We’ll tell you how one woman is on a mission to save the species.
Marcie Davis suits up for her passion.
“I’m a beekeeper,” Davis told Ivanhoe.
And her passion is creating a buzz all over town. Three years ago, she began reading about colony collapse disorder; a mysterious condition where seemingly healthy bees were simply abandoning their hives in droves, never to return. She decided it was time to save the honey bees.
“When they go we need to pay attention and so I started to pay attention,” Davis said.
Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion worth of crops every year. Researchers estimate that nearly one third of all honey bee colonies in the country have vanished because of stress.
“I was horrified to see that sometimes 30 percent of the bees were dying,” Davis added.
Marcie, with the help of an expert beekeeper began raising honeybees in her backyard two years ago. She started with four hives. Today, she has 13 hives in a one acre lot and produces more than 2,000 pounds of honey a year.
“The bees changed my life,” Davis explained.
She launched Bee My Honey, a business selling organic raw honey, which she collects and bottles in her own house. Raw honey is loaded with vitamins A, C, D, E and K and is high in minerals like potassium, iron and calcium — which are vital for maintaining health.
“I encourage anybody who has the vaguest interest in bees to pursue it because you are helping save mankind,” Davis concluded.
She hopes her actions will create enough buzz to last a lifetime.
It takes two million flower blossoms to make one pound of honey and 55,000 miles of flying. Each bee only makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in their lifetime. To learn more about colony collapse disorder go to www.ars.usda.gov.
