Bee expert Tonya Redden shares her insights into keeping hives safe and healthy during a presentation Saturday, July 22, at Indian Lake State Park. (EXAMINER PHOTO | Sharyn Kopf)
For many, bees are something to avoid. Yet despite their stings, the buzzing insects provide a necessary contribution to our food supply. As such, they need our care and protection.
With that in mind, beekeeper Tonya Redden of West Liberty gave a short presentation about tending to bees and their housing — called an apiary — at the Indian Lake State Park multi-purpose building on Saturday, July 22.
“The more beekeepers, the better,” Redden told attendees.
Besides dangers to bees, their life stages and insights into beekeeping equipment, Redden encouraged her audience to pursue the often lucrative and always beneficial hobby. And gave them information on how to do so.
One of the best ways to learn more would be to attend Mad River Valley Beekeepers meetings, which take place from 9 to 11 a.m. on the second Saturday of the month at 4459 W. State Route 245, West Liberty. The next meeting will take place on Aug. 12.
Besides the pollinating benefits of beekeeping, Redden said the honey currently brings in about $8 per pint and at least $16 for a quart. For perspective, she recently extracted 45 pounds of honey from eight frames she pulled from her four colonies.
But Redden, who only sells some of her honey, said, “I got into this because I think it’s fascinating. We need more bees for food and flowers. It’s so important to the ecosystem.”
The Logan County bee inspector, Mike Woodruff, can be reached at (937) 597-3665. Woodruff will check your colony for diseases and pests as part of the registration process. Registering your hives costs $5 a year.
Another contact is Barbara Bloetscher, the state apiarist in the apiary program at the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Her phone number is (614) 728-6373.