News

American Honey Princess in Wisconsin

American Honey Princess Susannah Austin is spending this week in Wisconsin.  The Florida college student is visiting schools and will attend the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association annual meeting later in the week.

She says the industry is making progress on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), mites and viruses which have been taking their toll on bee numbers.  Researchers have found that CCD is caused by a combination of factors: “Colony Collapse Disorder is really the perfect storm within the beehive.  It means you may have parasites within the hive, you probably have viruses and other diseases, a lack of nutrition, other stresses on the bees and maybe some chemical influences.  It’s hard to determine what exactly caused the bees to die.”

However, she says that all of the publicity has been good in that people have become more aware of the importance of bees to their food.  “We now have a lot more public interest in bees, more people planting things that are good for bees and looking for other ways they can improve their habitat.”  And it looks like the efforts may be paying off: every year USDA counts the national loss of bees.  Usually we lose about 30 percent of the bees across the country. “Last year we were at 23 percent and we are hoping the number will be lower this year.”

Her message to school children is about the importance of bees.  “In fact, honeybees are responsible for nearly one-third of our entire diet, in regards to the pollination services that they provide for a large majority of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.  This amounts to nearly $19 billion per year of direct value from honeybee pollination to United States agriculture.”  She also talks to them about the wholesome, natural nutrition of honey.

Austin talks about the health of bees and honey:

Read more about Wisconsin honey bees and beekeepers here:

Learn more about how you can help with bee habitat here: