New Hanover County beekeepers working to keep bee population safe
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Work is being done to ensure some of the area’s most needed residents stay warm in these frigid temperatures.
Susan Warwick, president of the New Hanover County Beekeepers Association, says with the high wind speeds and cold temperatures over the holiday weekend, concern is growing for safety of the bees.
Bees are essential for pollination. Without them, many of our flowers and crops would be in danger.
Warwick maintains more than a dozen hives at her home, and also helps maintain the public apiary at Halyburton Park.
She says wrapping hives in tar paper reduces the amount of energy bees use to keep the hive warm, and also making sure they have plenty to eat.
“What they’re surviving on is what the bees in the spring and summer have built up or what a bee keeper has added, you know from a supplement situation of some sugar syrup, and pollen patties,” Warwick said. “So, to try to keep those bees alive, so they don’t have to overwork. You know, you want to try to keep them warm, you want to try to keep them protected, and you want to make sure that those resources are there for them in the hive.”
Warwick says the hives in Halyburton Park are flourishing despite the cold temperatures. She also says the New Hanover County Beekeepers Association will be holding beekeeper introduction classes at the park next month and in February.
