If you have not paid a lot of attention to bees before, you might only see them as some sort of nuisance that ruins your summer barbecues or picnics outdoors. However, that is simply not the case.
Bees do a lot more good for our world than many people know or understand. As a result of this, beekeeping is a pretty common activity that many people enjoy. It’s also a great way to make some form of passive income.
Simply put, bees are fascinating creatures. If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of beekeeping, you’ve come to the right place! This article will tell you everything you need to know.
You Are Part of a Community
Becoming a beekeeper means that you can join with other like-minded individuals and form a community. Here, you can ask questions and learn new information about bees and how to properly care for them.
You can start a discussion about pollinator health and invite other people to simply observe the process of beekeeping. By doing this, you might even encourage others to take up beekeeping as a hobby in the future!
You can always take a look at websites such as Betterwithbees.com which is a brilliant resource for all things to do with beekeeping.
Potential for Increased Income
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Beekeeping is a type of hobby that manages to pay you back and then some. Although many people may not be aware of just how effective the hobby truly is.
When you think of the types of items that you get from a beehive, honey is likely the first that comes to mind. Other obvious reasons for beekeeping are to collect royal jelly and beeswax, both of which have pretty high commercial values.
All of these items can also prove to be useful for plenty of everyday resources, including anything from candles and cosmetics to shoe polish.
Beekeeping can also be very profitable, so it’s a great way to generate some income.
It Can Help the Economy
Over $15 billion of total crops are pollinated by bees every year, including anything from vegetables to fruits and almonds. US honey is worth around $150 million annually.
A lower number of bees means fewer crop yields, higher prices for customers, and much higher overall production costs.
Therefore, bees have huge economic importance and are vital for the pollination of seed, fruit, and vegetable crops.
It also means that keeping bees has the potential to indirectly lower the prices that customers pay for vegetables and fruits at the grocery store – as long as more people do it!
In addition to selling their produce for personal profit, beekeepers have the option of using their bees for commercial pollination services. This type of service involves renting out hives in order to increase agricultural output — commonly used with crops such as almonds or apples — which subsequently sends money back into the local economy. Furthermore, some states offer incentives like tax breaks to those who supply pollination services on a large-scale basis.
Health Benefits
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While many people take up beekeeping as a hobby and are inspired by the sweetness of locally-made honey, there are other benefits of this unique pastime. Beekeeping offers a variety of health benefits ranging from improved physical well-being to improved mental and emotional health.
Physical Health Benefits
It is a relatively safe form of exercise that can help you build strength and endurance over time. Regular beekeeper activities such as lifting heavy hive boxes and carrying supplies back to your apiary can help you keep in shape. Additionally, some studies suggest that the honey produced by bees has anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce the risk for certain chronic illnesses like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or cancer.
Mental & Emotional Health Benefits
In addition to physical health benefits, it may provide mental and emotional benefits too. As anyone who spends time with bees knows, observing and caring for honeybees can be incredibly rewarding and calming; being around bees encourages mindfulness due to how still we must stay in order to observe them or when we’re working on our hives. Furthermore, studies have found that keeping bees may also have an effect on reducing stress levels and improving your overall mood by strengthening relationships with family members who also participate in these activities.
It Helps the Environment
Bees do many amazing things in addition to creating honey. They have proven themselves to be an incredible agricultural tool, providing considerable pollination for flowers and plants in just about any outside environment. This works to fertilize different plants so that they can continue to grow and then reproduce.
Without the existence of bees, and the efforts of beekeepers everywhere, there would be a huge decrease in the way that common crops grow. It would also result in more crops dying due to a huge lack of pollen.
It’s also important to note that bees do not just help the immediate area. Instead, they’re also able to gather pollen and nectar from miles around, spreading sustainability and diversity throughout the entire ecosystem that they are part of.
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It’s Fun!
Most importantly, beekeeping can be fun (provided you know what you are doing).
It can be very fun spending time around the bees and immersing yourself in everything nature has to offer. You also get to witness some of the most unbelievable things when you care for bees.
Not only that, but you can also enjoy the rewarding experience of sharing your knowledge of bees with those around you.
Plus, you get to dress like an astronaut! While some beekeepers tend to their bees in just a t-shirt and jeans, it’s highly recommended that you wear a proper suit. The beekeeper suit prevents you from getting stung by your bees – something that will prove to be crucial for beginners to the hobby.
Summary
You may not think it, but beekeeping can be a very rewarding activity with a huge payoff. If you learn the ropes of caring for your bees and dedicate time and effort to looking after them, you will get to see some of the incredible ways that they make the different products that we use in our everyday life.
