PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP) – Honey bees create the foundation of our environment.
They pollinate flowers and trees, which helps nature grow and thrive. However, some consider them pests because they instinctively protect their hives and defend themselves. The W.Va. State Honey Fair promotes bee education to help the community understand how important they are.
Honey bees have different roles in their hives: the drones, the queen and the worker bees. The drones are the male honey bees. Their job is to mate with the queen and produce larvae or baby bees. When winter comes, the drones are expelled by the worker bees to save food and other resources that will sustain them until spring.
The queen bee is responsible for harmony in the hive. She is the only female honey bee that can lay eggs that later become larvae. She produces pheromones to ensure unity in the hive.
There, the worker bees, which are exclusively female, collect nectar and pollen, care for the queen and the drones, feed the larvae, ventilate the hive, defend it and perform other necessary tasks to ensure the survival of the bee colony.
Honey bee colonies managed by beekeepers tend to produce too much honey. The excess honey is then removed from the combs and sieved to remove beeswax residue and other impurities.
The festival featured many vendors, most of them beekeepers, selling honey, honey-containing foods, beeswax products and other bee-related items.
Lynn Stoll, a beekeeper with the Mid-Ohio Valley Beekeepers Association, said it is important to teach children the importance of honey bees.
For more information, visit the MOV Beekeepers Association website.
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