Share the Buzz

Share the Buzz

Coach Mark Smallwood
Executive Director, Rodale Institute
coach@rodaleinstitute.org
610-683-1400

©2012 Rodale Institute

Coach Mark Smallwood

There is no AWAY.


Honeybee Facts

 Bees are the only insects that
produce food eaten by humans.
 Honey is the only food that includes
all the substances necessary to
sustain life, including enzymes,
vitamins, minerals, and water.
 The average American eats about
one pound of honey a year.
 To make one pound of honey,
worker bees have to fly 55,000
miles and tap two million flowers.
 The honeybee's wings make about
200 beats per second, creating
their infamous buzzing.


Precious Pollinators

Cougle’s delivers
More than 70 of the 100
crops that provide 90% of
the world's food are
pollinated by bees.

U.S. honeybees’ economic
contribution has valued at
nearly $15 billion.

Blueberries and cherries
are 90-percent dependent
on honeybee pollination.

Almonds depend entirely
on the honeybee for
pollination.



Disappearing Colonies
The number of honeybee colonies in the U.S. has
been steadily declining for the last seventy years.

1940s Today
7.5 million colonies 2.5 million colonies

Photo © Colorado State University



250,000,000,000
250 billion fewer honeybees today than in the 1940s


Buzz Kill

CCD = Colony Collapse Disorder

 Prior to 2006…

 In 2006, beekeepers began
reporting unexplained
losses of 30 to 90%of their
hives.

 Since then, winter colony
losses have hovered around
30% each year.

 This is three times more
than what beekeepers
consider “acceptable”
winter losses. (USDA ARS statistics)


Buzz Kill

The Usual Suspects

Pesticides
Pathogens
Parasites
Migratory life
Monoculture
GMOs
UFOs
(unidentified pest or disease)


Buzz Kill

Researchers are no closer to
identifying a definite cause,
much less a solution.


A Sweet Solution

The Honeybee Conservancy at Rodale Institute was started
in 2012 in response to the major health problems that have
decimated the honeybee population in North America.

We believe that individual honeybee stewards
are one of the solutions to this problem.


A Sweet Solution

 Classes in sustainable beekeeping practices
 Locally-bred bees from a very calm Italian line
 Hive hosting on our 333-acre organic farm
 Support for beginners through the network


A Sweet Solution

Award-winning instructor

Meme Thomas

Director of Baltimore Honey, is a
member of the AFB-American
Federation of Beekeepers, EAS-
Eastern Apiculture Society,
BUMBA Bowie Upper Marlboro
Beekeepers Association, and
HCBA - Howard County
Beekeepers Association. Meme
received the Maryland State
Beekeepers Association 2010
George Imirie Award for
excellence in beekeeping
education.


A Sweet Solution

Humane Hive

Participants in our program receive a unique hive that class instructor Meme
Thomas developed: Thomas Hybrid Hive (TH2). This hive is a combination of
a top bar hive and the traditional Langstroth hive, proving a great habitat for the
bees and easy access for honeybee stewards.


A Sweet Solution

Best for the Bees

Clean, natural comb
No smoke
No toxic chemicals
Preservation -vs- production


A Sweet Solution

Sharing a sip of
water

Providing easily-
accessible, clean,
fresh water at all times
is essential to keeping
honeybees healthy.


A Sweet Solution

Males -vs- Females

The larger bee in the
center is one of the
few male members of
the colony. Male
drones have a larger
body and squared-off
rear-end. They have
no stinger and their
only job is to mate
with a queen. In the
fall, they are kicked
out of the hive.


A Sweet Solution

Bowing to the Queen

The worker bees
welcome the queen back
to the hive following her
mating flight.


“Historical Native Americans, still
clairvoyant, ‘saw’ that spiritual entity that
governs the animal’s life instincts with
complete wisdom. They called this
spiritual being the ‘Great Bear’ or ‘Great
Buffalo.’ We would suggest that when
the ‘Great Bee’ experiences all these
destructive forces, she withdraws from
the physical entity. When the spiritual
center of the colony is thus weakened,
the individual bee flies out and does not
come back…The Great Bee, which
might also be called the group soul,
cannot maintain the integrity of the
colony.”
~ Gunther Hauk

What is our sacrifice?


Share the Buzz…

Rodale Institute
Honeybee Conservancy

The sweet rewards of humane hive-stewardship.

www.rodaleinstitute.org/honeybee-conservancy

Share the Buzz

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