Byesville Rotary learns honey is more than a sweetener

Pictured: Darrell Hopps, guest speaker, and Jamie Hopps, speaker host.

Guest speaker Darrell Hopps, a local bee keeper, told the Byesville Rotary that beekeeping is one of the world’s oldest professions. Bee keeping is mentioned in the Bible and in some of the earliest know written and pictorial records. Hopps reported that archeologists in Egypt discovered a 2000-3000 year old jar of honey. When the jar was opened, the honey was edible. Honey is almost indestructible and many people consider it the perfect food.

Hopps described the contributions bees make to humans. Honey is an important and healthy sweetener that contains many vitamins and minerals needed by humans. He explained that because honey sold in stores has been heated to 160˚, the vitamins and minerals are destroyed. Honey has traditionally been used to treat coughs and burns. Doctors are rediscovering honey’s effectiveness to treat burn victims.

Hopps stated that bees pollinate 65% of the food plants humans use for food. Without bees, food production would go down and costs could go up.

In spite of their usefulness to humans, bees are struggling to survive. Humans are a bee’s most dangerous enemy. Humans use deadly sprays to kill weeds or insects they consider pests. Bees become collateral damage because the poisons in the sprays migrate to the plant pollen and are taken back to the hive where the poison kills bee larva.

Hopps pointed out that people—including beekeepers—do not like to be stung. When a bee comes to investigate people who smell nice, people tend to swat at the bee. The bee feels threatened, and, since every bee has a stinger carry permit and a stinger, the bee will take action when it feels threatened.

Hopps advised people to avoid looking or smelling like a flower. Do not wear flowery perfume, lotion, or hair preparations and do not wear bright or flower patterned clothing. Do not swat at the bee. Let it smell you and go back to its hive where it will tell the rest of the bees that you are not a good food source.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chair Jim Vaughan, 740-260-2969.