News
Video: Athens’ Beekeepers Discuss Bee Health
By: Majd Mariam
Posted on:
Michael McAvoy is a beekeeper from Athens, Ohio. He has been beekeeping since he was 6-years-old. But recently, McAvoy’s hobby is being affected by the decrease of bees colonies in Ohio.
According to McAvoy, the bee population in Ohio is dropping due to parasites like the Varroa mite, cold weather, and different diseases imported from overseas.
“We could put our bees out and ignore them for most of the time, then coming and collect honey” Michael said. However, after the death of many colonies, he starts worry about the health of his hives.
“The last winter was tough because of the very cold temperature,” McAvoy said.
The cold weather is a challenge for some bees imported from warmer climates like California and aren’t used to the cold Ohio winters.
In addition to being an engineer and employee at Ohio University, McAvoy is also a mentor for first-year beekeepers in Athens. He thinks decrease in bee colonies in Ohio is complicated and more research needs to be done to understand and solve the problem.