Beekeepers are a growing breed in Maine, and with it comes a responsibility of treating diseases.
By Deirdre Fleming dfleming@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
"Sometimes I talk to them. They like to sit on my hand and
I'll ask them why they're there," Watson said as she slowly turned the
frames from the hive.
Watson is one of a growing number of amateur Maine beekeepers
learning to keep their honeybees healthy. It's not only a tricky
prospect, it's the essence of beekeeping.
"A lot of beekeepers want to be bee-havers, not beekeepers. But you
have to manage the hive. Being a beekeeper is taking an inventory,
reading the frames. A honeybee colony left alone will die in three
years," said Geoff MacLean, a Scarborough beekeeper and instructor with
the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
More and more beekeepers in Maine are learning the art of nurturing
healthy hives. According to the Maine Department of Agriculture, the
number of registered beekeepers in Maine has grown from 246 in 2002 to
405 in 2007, to as many as 645 last year.
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