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Children try on beekeeping hoods. -
A comb with honey inside was available for children to touch and taste. -
Children examine a case with live bees, and try to identify the queen. -
A comb with honey inside was available for children to touch and taste. -
Children examine a case with live bees, and try to identify the queen.
On a table in the Rindge Meetinghouse, a glass box was filled with movement as bees hurried about their work. They were being observed by a group of children, who watched in fascination.
Jodi Turner of Imagine That Honey spoke to a crowd of people about the importance of bees – and of beekeeping – to the environment. After the talk, families were invited to observe the live bees, see an empty hive, try on beekeeper hoods and equipment, get a taste of honey direct from the comb and make a bee out of a paper plate and craft supplies.
Turner, who tends to about 35 hives as a beekeeper but has had as many as 75 at a time, spoke about the importance of bees as pollinators. While perhaps the best-known pollinators in the area, they are joined by other insects such as flies, butterflies, birds, beetles and moths, Turner explained. In North America, most bees are solitary pollinators, and at best may travel three to five miles in search of food.
Some species, such as mason bees, only travel about 200 feet, but they are still important pollinators who will visit over 1,000 flowers in a single flight, whereas honeybees will only visit about 150. That’s why, Turner said if people are going to keep bees or encourage pollination, planning accordingly is important.
Bees, because of their vision spectrum, are most attracted to blue and yellow flowers, and particularly flowers with a visible center. Turner encouraged anyone planting to attract pollinators to not use pesticides, use local and native plants, chose several colors of flowers, plant flowers in groupings and include flowers with varying shapes.
It is also important, Turner said, to plant flowers that will bloom across seasons, not just in the spring or summer. She said plants like aster and goldenrod that bloom in the fall are important to provide food sources when the rest of the flowers have gone by the wayside.
“Plant knowing it’s not just summer you need flowers for,” Turner suggested.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.