Michigan Beekeepers Association: the oldest continually operating honey bee organization in the country, started in 1865. Our missions are to promote the honey bees to the general public, to help one another in maintaining healthy honey bees, and to encourage more research on honey bees.
WHY KEEP HONEY BEES?
Bees are important
Bees pollinate almost $1 billion worth of crops per year in Michigan alone. About 1/3 of our crops depend on honey bees. In Michigan, we have the ABCs that totally depend on honey bees. A for apples, B for blueberries and C for cherries.
Bees are sweet
Bees produce honey, which is the earliest sweet humans used. Yet it actually protects your teeth because of its antimicrobial properties.
Bees are versatile
Besides producing honey, it also produces beeswax, royal jelly, propolis and bee pollen…both royal jelly and propolis have antioxident, antitumor and antivirus properties.
Bees are beautiful
Almost no other insects compare to its beauty.
Bees are social
Honey bees have a society almost as complex as our own! They cooperate, have a voting process (for swarming), everyone is born equal (in terms of becoming a queen or worker), and send their soldiers to war…