The Beekeeping Club is all the buzz on campus
Saturdays are a time for friends, family and…bees? If you’re a member of The Beekeeping Club at UMD, then this is your reality.
The Beekeeping Club meets every Thursday to discuss a variety of bee-related topics ranging from hive names to fundraising ideas. The group also meets on Saturdays behind the Xfinity Field to tend to their six beehives. The club is designed to educate students about bees, beekeeping and the preservation of beehives. The club provides a safe place for bees, which are a crucial part of how plants grow and produce food.
Members of the club break into groups and check the hives for honey, pollen and brute which is baby bees. Each hive contains 10 racks. Beekeepers use a hive smoker to numb the bees to prevent stinging.When you’re surrounded by hundreds of thousands of bees what would typically be a benign sting can turn into an alarm signal for other bees to sting you.
“If you get stung let us know so we can come over and smoke ya,” said Ian Howard, a grad student plant science major and former president of The Beekeeping Club. Howard joined the club in 2015, but has always been interested in bees.
“The Howard County Fair has an exhibit where the Howard County Beekeeping Association comes out and does an observation hive,” Howard said. “As a kid I would be there literally every year, just staring at the observation hive and trying to find the queen and see all that's going on in there.”
Ian Howard, a plant science major and former president of the Beekeeping Club, gives members a recap of the previous meeting. Howard's interest in beekeeping began as a child when he would attend the Howard County Fair. (Tayler Adigun/The Black Explosion)
The club named one of the more aggressive hives Guantanamo Bee. Olivia Meoni, a sophomore anthropology major, had multiple stingers left in her gloves after she finished checking on Guantanamo Bee, a sign that the hive was trying to protect its honey. Thankfully she sustained no actual stings that day, but doesn’t mind the risk because of how what she is doing benefits the world around her.
“It makes you feel good because I know that what I'm doing is good for the bees. It's good for the environment. It has a positive effect” said Meoni. She’s been part of The Beekeeping Club since last May and enjoys teaching aspiring beekeepers the trade. As a new member of the club, Kylah Jones, a freshman, is excited to learn the ins and outs of beekeeping.
“I know they are very complex insects,” Jones said. “They are endangered, and I want to make sure we can all have honey and keep the bees alive.”
The Beekeeping Club makes trinkets and treats with the wax and honey they collect from the hives. At the end of every Saturday meeting, they recap on the health of the hives and make a note of what is to come for the club.