Throwback Thursday – Bees

They are both beekeepers and care about what’s happening to bees.  They know how important bees are to farmers and the future of our food supply. 

The man on the left is a re-enactor at Isle La Cache in Romeoville, IL  representing a 17th century French settler who “farmed” honey and beeswax  to create candle wax, sweetener, and other very important products. Prior to 1622, settlers and native people knew the importance of bees for pollination, but honey bees were unknown until introduced to the Virginia colony by settlers from England. The honey bees spread naturally and relatively quickly from coast to coast. They were known as the “white man’s fly,” because they generally preceded the settler’s westward push. 

A huge beekeeping business has evolved over the years. The most lucrative and perhaps necessary is the rental or sale of hives to farmers who need thousands of bees to pollinate their crops. Hives can be transported and mailed any where in the country. For example, millions of bees will be shipped to California when it’s time to pollinate the almond crop… and then shipped elsewhere when the job is done. 

The modern beekeeper on the right may take honey and beeswax but primarily provides safe haven for bees and keeps them ready to be sent into the field to do what they do best––pollinate. 

Pollination of our food crops is an absolute necessity….but bees are dying at an alarming rate due to mites and viruses that infect hives. The U.S. experienced devastating hive losses between summer 2024 and spring 2025: over 60% of commercial colonies—or 1.7 million hives—were lost, resulting in an estimated $600 million economic impact.  And food prices go up. 

So, the next time you are buzzed by a bee, don’t smash it, just shoo it away. 

PS: At this time of year the thing buzzing around your food is probably a yellow jacket wasp —not a bee at all. Don’t mess with them.