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[Confused Bee]

ive been told to make a 3slide powerpoint on beekeeping but I don't know anything about it! can anyone give me some points to include in it??

 

[psafloyd]

ive been told to make a 3slide powerpoint on beekeeping but I don't know anything about it! can anyone give me some points to include in it??

Is this a homework cheat? If so, go off and read something at the BBKA website or even Wikipedia?

If not, what is the audience and we can give you a few pointers.

 

[Confused Bee]

Its is for my English Presentation and I just thought id ask if there were any important things that are to do with beekeeping that I haven't already got. its to be presented to my class.

 

[psafloyd]

Its is for my English Presentation and I just thought id ask if there were any important things that are to do with beekeeping that I haven't already got. its to be presented to my class.

OK, tell us what you've got and I (and I am sure others ) will give you plenty more. Enough to write a book.

 

[MonseigneurBienvenu]

That's going to end up one contradictory, over-detailed monster of a presentation! *rubs hands*

 

[Confused Bee]

Anyone can do it
not much space or land needed.
Provides employment and money.
low investment activity
not much time and effort needed.

 

[Confused Bee]

that's basically all I've got so far.

 

[psafloyd]

Anyone can do it
not much space or land needed.
Provides employment and money.
low investment activity
not much time and effort needed.

Let's respond to those in turn:

Anyone can do it.
Well, yes, that's true to a certain extent. Helps if you find the bees interesting and most important you are not allergic to bee venom (see anaphylaxis).
However, you do need a degree of mobility as apiaries are not always the most accessible and boxes can become quite heavy. Reasonable eyesight also helps as you want to be able to see eggs, which are very small, but some make do with a magnifying glass.
And a steady hand helps, as those who crash and bang around inside a beehive are likely to get stung more often.

not much space or land needed.
Again, true. You don't need much land and they can be sited in the most unlikely spaces. However, you need to be able to move them if they turn nasty as they sometimes will and you don't want them to be too close to main roads, busy footpaths or bridle paths, etc.

Provides employment and money.
This can be true if you are a bee farmer, but the vast majority of beekeepers are hobbyists. They rarely see any meaningful return from their investment for some considerable time.

low investment activity
What do you mean by this? You don't know because you copied it from somewhere, didn't you?

not much time and effort needed
That is moot. Maybe no more than half an hour per hive a week, but if you're involved with an organisation like a local beekeeping association, there are meetings, etc and these take time.

You might mention something about the reports of bee deaths in the last year due to a harsh winter. And the danger of bees disappearing in the US and the impact that would have on agriculture.

Ask your classmates how much of their food is reliant upon pollinating insects. They'd be amazed.

 

[psafloyd]

I do wonder at schoolkids these days who are so reliant upon the internet for their homework, they have no concept of how to research topics or even use their local library.

I do think it promising Confused Bee had the initiative to come here, but I do worry.

Confused Bee, how much of your homework do you copy directly off the internet?

 

[Confused Bee]

thanks for that I really appreciate you using your time to help me. The Low investment activity bit meant that it doesn't cost much to do.

 

[Confused Bee]

I never copy my homework directly from the internet. I usually write notes on what I find and reword it. I also use my school library for homework but there wasn't any bee keeping books in there to use. im kind of offended psafloyd that you assume I copy my homework straight from the internet!

 

[clv101]

These seem like a strange five points to make about bee keeping.

Anyone can do it

Yes, but compared to what. "Anyone" can do most things.

not much space or land needed.

Whilst the apiary itself doesn't need a lot a space there are many considerations regarding hive location especially impact on neighbours and access. In fact finding a suitable location for bee hives is often a major challenge for bee keepers living in urban areas. I would not characterise bee keeping as an activity that "doesn't need a lot of space".

Provides employment and money.

Many bee keepers would disagree! Whilst it is of course possible to make money from bee keeping, and some even manage to employ others, the vast majority of bee keepers consider themselves to be doing well if the year's honey production pays for itself.

low investment activity

Again, this is not a point I would particularly associate with bee keeping. The initial costs of hive, clothing and associated equipment as well as training course and association membership can run to several hundred pounds and that's before the colony of bees has been bought for well over £100 this year. It's a low investment activity compared to... motor racing, but as hobbies go I wouldn't characterise bee keeping as cheap.

not much time and effort needed.

Compared to what? During the swarm season ~weekly hive inspections are recommended which can be problematic depending on holidays and work commitments. Hives and frames have to be built, honey and wax processing can be a messy business...

In general these are not the adjectives I would use with respect to bee keeping.

 

[pargyle]

that's basically all I've got so far.

Wow, that's a tough assignment - three slides to cover beekeeping. I think you probably need to narrow it down to some aspects of beekeeping or a single aspect of beekeeping.

Perhaps you should concentrate on what is currently detrimental to bees as it is very topical - and indeed, all pollinators. For instance, lack of suitable habitat, changes in agricultural practices and the change in plants grown in domestic gardens. Difficult weather conditions for bees. Pesticides and other chemicals used in agriculture and domestic gardens. That's your slide 1.


Follow that up with what effect this is having on our bees and pollinators - thats your Slide 2.

Then into what we can all do to make things better for the bees:
Grow bee friendly plants.
Avoid using pesticides.
Leave areas of garden wild.
Provide insect friendly ponds. That's your Slide 3.

There is so much involved in all the above that your could write a book on that aspect of bees alone.

You'll have to do a fair bit of research on your own but the BBKA website has some good stuff if you google BBKA and there's a good bit being put out by the Coop at present under their save the bees campaign if you google that - you might even get a few freebies from the Coop to give out to the class if you get in touch with them.

Good luck. It's sometimes harder to decide what NOT to put in a presentation like this than it is to decide what to PUT IN !

 

[clv101]

I do wonder at schoolkids these days who are so reliant upon the internet for their homework, they have no concept of how to research topics or even use their local library.

The Internet is the primary way to research many topics these days. The fact that Confused Bee can log in here and have access to many beeks is a fantastic development. A decade or two ago the average student would have no other options than to track down the single out of date library book. Now that the 'net provides far more information is a good thing and we shouldn't suggest research by engaging bee keepers on a forum like this is a lesser form of research or some kind of cheating.

 

[pargyle]

I never copy my homework directly from the internet. I usually write notes on what I find and reword it. I also use my school library for homework but there wasn't any bee keeping books in there to use. im kind of offended psafloyd that you assume I copy my homework straight from the internet!

Thicken your skin up a bit ... you're on a pretty grown up (well some of us are) site here and you will find that some people can be quite direct. Just go with the flow, you might find that comments from real beekeepers - even if they may be a little abrupt - are quite helpful. Credit to you for finding us ...

 

[Confused Bee]

thanks pargyle

 

[clv101]

Another option for your three slides might be "a year in the life of a bee hive".

You could start in the spring as the queen starts to lay eggs and explain the difference between workers, drones and the queen.
Then talk about swarming.
Finally talk about how the bees make and store honey and what the bee colony does over the winter.

 

[Mellifera397]

Hi confused bee Is this a GCSE presentation? If so, it might be useful to put in something controversial, something you can argue about. There are loads of examples in beekeeping, i think everyone can agree on that point, a recently high profile example is the neo-nicotinoid debate have a look at the environmentalists point of view and the view of the BBKA. That is if you have time to learn about the topic. Both the Telegraph and Guardian wrote extensive articles on the topic immediately after the EU Parliament debate.

P.S I did my GCSE presentation last year and got high marks because of the debate I sparked amongst the class it was on scottish independence.

Just a thought

M

 

[pargyle]

See ... told you would get some good stuff here ... already some great options coming out of the woodwork. Good luck with it.

 

[Confused Bee]

mellifera397 no its not a GCSE presentation and I don't have much time to research the topic but thanks anyway. I really appreciate everyone's help!