Backyard Beekeeping

Seeing as I don't have any data to analyze and am just beginning a literature review, I will instead highlight various aspects of urban ecology and insects for the next few weeks (until I can think of something else). I'll piggyback on last week's entry and discuss backyard beekeeping.

Indicative of the times (or maybe just my generation), the first thing I did to find information was Google "backyard beekeeping." I had no idea this topic was so hot! The hobby is booming, no doubt partially due to increasing public interest in organic produce and Colony Collapse Disorder. The White House kitchens even caved this summer and started their own hive.

Beekeeping regulations differ by state and county, but Ohio appears fairly lax with 41 beekeeper's associations. New groups are still forming, including the Greater Cleveland Beekeepers Association established in 2008. The organization is utilized by suburbanites and city-dwellers of the area, but why would your average Joe want a backyard beehive? The obvious reason is to have your own honey, but pollination services are also important. Not only will your (and your neighbor's) garden benefit, but surrounding parks can, too. Bees will fly up to 2 miles to find flowers and it takes about 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey. Backyard beekeepers are a real benefit to their community.

This does raise some questions about the landscape where the bees forage. An upcoming ALE lab study aims to examine how the surrounding landscape structure along an urban-to-rural gradient influences bee pollinators due to differing pesticide exposures. How are stressors different in a commercial apple orchard versus a suburb where many homeowners apply Roundup?