By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

CRESTWOOD, Ky. — Apis mellifera is the scientific name of what we know as the honeybee, and with its presence in the news lately, bee enthusiasts will want to attend a lecture and seminar coming up May 23-24 at the Foxhollow Farm Center.

Gunther Hauk, author of Toward Saving The Honeybee, co-founder of the Pfeiffer Center in New York – an organization involved in education, research and outreach in farming, gardening and beekeeping – and cofounder of Spikenard Farm, a biodynamic research farm and apiary in Carrollton, Ill., will lead the event and speak about honeybees and why they are one of the most important guarantors for nature’s vibrancy and health, as well as humans’ food production.

He will also lead a workshop focusing on the sustainable practices of beekeeping, lending his views on the form and substance of the hive, the importance of wax creation, how to work without foundations, honey versus corn syrup, diseases and the role of drones. Hauk and participants will actually go into the field and work with the hives at the center.

Farmers have known about and used bees for generations to pollinate crops, and while news of a condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has been the main topic in the world of beekeeping, it goes far beyond that.

The disorder refers to the collapse or death of colonies of bees, causing great loss to keepers across the country and around the world. While the cause is not known, many speculative suggestions have been offered, including pathogens, parasites, environmental toxins – and even cell phone transmissions, according to information from the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, Kan.
Hauk has a more focused outlook of what has caused the disorder and what must be done to correct it, explaining the plight of the bee is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what is happening in our environment and with our practices.

“We see the disorder wherever modern beekeeping methods are introduced. Whenever we keep bees or animals in an industrial way, we will have a real problem,” he said. “We want more output than input and the bottom line becomes the problem.

“We are asking too much of them, not caring for their health and masking the illness with medications like antibiotics.”

Hauk has been working with bees for 30 years and said he has never had trouble with CCD. “Where we see indigenous ways of beekeeping, we don’t see the problem,” he added.

While CCD is a major concern, it is not too late to change what is happening, according to Hauk.

“We can turn this thing around, or I wouldn’t be doing the work I’m doing,” he said. “We need a crisis before we wake up. Without it, we would continue the foolishness. We need to understand the organism of the beehive and what the basic needs of this organism are and what is good for them to be healthy.

“This is very urgent and a lot has to happen on many levels, but I am grateful for CCD or we would continue the madness. The bees are absolutely necessary for life on Earth.”

For more information about the event or to register, contact Janey Newton at Fox Farm Center at 502-241-6375 or e-mail JNewt00@aol.com

The cost of the seminar is $10 for the May 23 lecture, $85 for the May 24 bee workshop or $90 for both. Directions are available online at www.foxhollow.com