Fort Wayne Business To Give Beekeeping Lessons

A group in Fort Wayne is trying to raise Hoosiers’ awareness of colony collapse.

The Southwest Honey Company will use educational experiences to draw the public’s attention to the honeybee’s plight.

Since the 1990s, honeybees have suffered from colony collapse disorder– that’s when all the adult bees in a colony die even though the queen is still alive. Scientists still aren’t sure what causes it.

Nationally, scientists estimate that 30 to 40 percent of #bee colonies are lost every year. In 2014, Indiana lost 49 percent of its colonies, according to Indiana University.

Megan Ryan is a co-owner of the Southwest Honey Company. She says that honeybees are a critical component of the food production system.

“One out of every three bites of food you take you can credit or thank a bee for. We’re not just educating #beekeepers, we’re educating the general public and that could have a pretty valuable impact on the future of the #honey bees,” says Ryan.

Participants will get to hold honeycomb and even don a beekeepers suit to see a hive up close.