ATHENS–GA
Some people hate bees, and other people really hate bees. Reporter Bailey Anderson went to the Entomology department today and spent some time with them.
The Entomology department has recently installed rooftop bee hives as an instructional lab.
UGA also has a honey Bee program that is researching why honey bees are vanishing. It is called Colony Collapse Disorder. It is a mystery that they are looking into.
Marianne Shockley says, “The fact and the matter is, is that we have far less bees then we did 10 years ago.”
The decline is significant because honey bees pollinate around 15 billion worth of crops annually.
“Bees are actually really important in our ecosystem becase they provide a wonderful economic benefit for free–they pollinate all of our flowering fruits and vegatebals. So without that simple act of pollination, we would be unable to eat or enjoy a lot of fruits and vegetables that are common in our diet.” Says Shockley.
So the benefits of bees far outweigh the fear of them. If you eat local honey, it will actually help you with your allergies.
The concept of the rooftop is to promote sustainable and local agriculture, and roofs, specifically, are often under utilized, but a perfect space for gardenng and bee keeping.
Bees are actually a docile creature and will only sting you if they are in a life or death situtation. so don’t swat at them.
The University of Georgia is the first and only land grant that has rooftop bee keeping, as well as the first in the SEC, and the first in Georgia.
Bailey Anderson
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