Bee College buzzing in St. Augustine

The University of Florida's Bee College in St. Augustine is training a new generation of beekeepers.

By MARCIA LANE

St. Augustine Record

ST. AUGUSTINE -- Barehanded, David Barnes lifted off the top of a wooden beehive and eased out one of half-a-dozen frames loaded with honey bees as several dozen people edged in closer during the first day of the University of Florida's Bee College.

He didn't warn them not to try this at home. After all, the purpose of Bee College is to get more beekeepers. He did, however, caution them to remember how they'd feel if someone came along and took the roof off their house.

About half of them were wearing white beekeeper overalls, hats and veils. Barnes, a state bee inspector with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, wore a hat and veil, but was casual about the rest of the gear. He'd already used a smoker on the bees to disorient and temporarily confuse the colony so they're easier to work with.

''Bees are gentle . . . most often they won't get upset,'' Barnes said, cautioning the beekeepers to be deliberate and calm in their motions when dealing with bees. But, he warned, there are exceptions.

The crowd listened intently, even the ones who have been in the beekeeping business awhile.

As Barnes explained at the start, there are always new things to learn.

Agriculture experts are hoping lots of people learn about honey bees and start keeping bees.

''Never before has there been such a need for more beekeepers,'' said Dr. Jamie Ellis, Florida's apiary extension expert and the founder of Bee College.

There's a corresponding need for honey bees. In the 1940s there were approximately 5 million colonies in the United States, now the estimate is 2.4 million. One study estimates that since 1990 about one quarter (almost 1 million) of all managed honey bee colonies have been lost.

Possible reasons for the loss include mites, pesticides and something known as Colony Collapse Disorder, where bees basically disappear from their colony.

Why the need for honey bees?

It's not about the honey they produce, Ellis said, it's about food.

Approximately one-third of the world's food production is dependent on the pollination efforts of honey bees.

''Honey production is, pardon the pun, a drop in the bucket compared to what bees actually do for us,'' Ellis said. ``It's the pollination industry that really is what commercial beekeeping is about.''

The pollination industry is made up of people who keep hundreds, even thousands, of colonies that they load in trucks and haul to where growers and farmers need them.

Ellis describes them as ''colonies for hire.'' An almond grower may rent the colonies while almonds are in bloom in that area, then blueberry growers in Michigan want them, then they go to North Dakota for clover and then Florida for melons.

Ellis estimates about 70 percent of pollination is done by commercial beekeepers.

UF's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences aids both hobby and commercial beekeepers. By getting people interested in raising bees as a hobby, it's hoped some will then go into the commercial business.

Bee College gets newcomers started as well as providing advanced programs for those in the commercial end. When Ellis began the program last year, about 170 people turned out. This year there are between 220-230 in the program at UF's Whitney Labs across from Marineland.

But Bee College is no easy A.

Beginners find themselves doing hands-on work with bees along with learning the basics of beekeeping. Learning varies from spotting the queen to artificial insemination of queens. Lab work includes nosema and tracheal mite dissections.

Honey extraction, candle making and even Welsh honey judge training are among courses offered over the two days.

David Hall came from Tallahassee to take the course. He and his wife got interested after noticing their small vegetable garden no longer had bees and plants were suffering.

''So my wife and I decided to step in and attack the problem ourselves. I've got so much to learn, but this is pretty good,'' Hall said, as he headed over to get on of the beekeeper hats and learn firsthand how to set up a beehive.

Virginia and Carl Webb, on the other hand, qualify as experts. Both spoke at Bee College.

In 2005 their honey was awarded the ''best in the world'' designation at the 2005 Apimondia World Congress. Virginia Webb wears the medal they won for the designation from honey made from sourwood trees.

Carl Webb is an advocate and breeder of Russian bees and thinks they will help increase the genetic pool for queens. The Russian bee is a variation of the European honey bee.

After retiring from the Forestry Service, Webb turned the hobby he'd pursued into a full-time business. The couple own about 400 colonies and live in Clarksville, Ga.

''We sell them tons and tons of honey, and they ship it all over the country,'' Webb said.

And, yes, he does get stung. About 20 times a day.

''Usually I hardly notice it,'' Webb said.