Beekeeping Clinic Set in Corinth

The Associated Press

CORINTH, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi State University bee specialist Jeff Harris will conduct a workshop for beekeepers on Aug. 20 in Corinth.

The Daily Corinthian reports the session is designed for beginning beekeepers and will be held at the Alcorn County Extension Service office near Crossroads Arena.

There is no charge to attend.

The workshop is scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m.

Registration is requested by Aug. 16 and can be done by calling the Extension Service at 662-286-7755.

“I’ve had a lot of folks call and ask about where to get bees and what to do to get started,” said county director Patrick Poindexter. “I also get calls about bees that are swarming — what to do about it and who can catch them.”

Interest is probably also being driven by the decline in recent years of bee populations.

“People have started realizing their importance,” said Poindexter.

For the past two years, a Department of Agriculture program lured some into beekeeping by making funds available for people starting out with honeybees. It may be re-appropriated for another year.

“A lot of people took advantage of it, and they ran through the money pretty quickly,” said Poindexter.

Harris has kept bees for 40 years, starting at age 8. He moved to Mississippi last year after working for 15 years as a bee breeder with the USDA’s breeding lab in Baton Rouge, La. His session will cover basics such as biology of honeybees; equipment, such as suits, smoker and gloves; how to work with bees; and colony growth and swarm management.