Throughout history, beekeeping has developed and thrived.
In the United States alone, more than 200,000 people keep honeybee hives. Around 90 percent of them do it simply as a hobby, and the rest of the beekeepers do it as a business.
Whether it’s a hobby or an occupation, beekeeping is year-round work. Beekeepers have to order bees, tend hives, and extract honey. They must also protect bees from disease, make sure there’s food near the hive (and also stored for when the flower-growing season is over), and do other tasks to keep hives productive. In winter, cold-climate hives need to be wrapped in paper to keep them warm. New equipment needs to be ordered and assembled, and planning for the coming year must be done. Busy as a bee? It’s probably just as accurate to say, “Busy as a beekeeper.”
