Green Corner

In his book, “The Life of the Bee,” Nobel Prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck said that, “If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live.” While this statement is likely unfounded, the important role that pollinators play in our lives cannot be understated. Estimates by the US Department of Agriculture indicate that honeybees alone pollinate 80 percent of our flowering crops, which make up at least a third of what we eat. Unfortunately, due to factors such as destructive agricultural patterns, parasitic mites, pesticides and phenomena like Colony Collapse Disorder, our world is becoming an increasingly dangerous one for honeybees. Additionally, many communities ban their residents from keeping bees due to safety and liability concerns.Despite everything honeybees do for us, many people associate them with insects like wasps and hornets, which have painful stings and often cause allergic reactions. Surprisingly, hornets and wasps are not actually bees. When a bee stings something, it dies, whereas wasps remain alive after using their stinger. Honeybees are less aggressive than other stinging insects, and they also cause allergic reactions less frequently. According to a summary paper by Dr. David Golden (MD), based on 52 independent studies of honeybee allergies, only five percent of people are allergic to honeybee venom, with just two percent resulting in anaphylactic reactions. With relatively low levels of serious danger, and such great rewards as pollinated plants and delicious honey, it is unfortunate that misinformation causes people to fear honeybees.The Beekeeping Club, which is new this year, is working to remedy this problem. We meet on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in the Library Tower Room of Elm Street Dining Hall, and new members are welcome to join us at any time. Currently, we’re planning fun and informative events to educate the Exeter community about the importance of honeybees. Events may include honey tastings, movie nights or discussion forums. We’re also in the process of writing a proposal to the administration to get a beehive on campus in the spring! I have been working closely with Ms. Safford, the club adviser, to write multiple drafts of the proposal and meet with various people around campus about all the factors that must be considered.If you have experience as a beekeeper, if you’re interested in becoming one or if you’re interested in helping the environment, we’d love your help. For the remainder of winter term and the beginning of spring term, the members of the beekeeping club are going to be reading about bees and beekeeping, so that if our proposal is approved we will be knowledgeable and ready to go. If we get bees, in the spring we will need to paint and install the hives and inspect them on a weekly basis. We have lots to do, and any time is a good time to come to your first Beekeeping Club meeting, so I hope to see you there!