Good Morning Lowcountry

Beekeeping

Bee City in Cottageville is run by Archie and Diane Biering. It has a cafe, a room for making beeswax candles, a honey shop, a classroom to teach visiting students about the life cycle of a bee colony and a petting zoo.

Don't go through the petting zoo if you don't like seeing animals in cages and smelling ... well, you know.

Except for a small display hive under glass in the classroom, the bees aren't in evidence. The hives, Beiring said, are scattered throughout the tupelo swamps around Bee City. He has 18 hives with 60,000 to 80,000 bees each ... or more than a million bees.

Beekeeping has become a difficult occupation, he said.

"With the bees, it is beyond critical," he said. "All over the world, it's the same thing."

All over the world, the problem is colony collapse disorder, or disappearing bee syndrome, a mysterious phenomenon in which bees just ... leave.

Researchers believe colony collapse disorder is caused by mites, pesticides, viruses, air pollution or a combination. The American Beekeeping Federation keeps up with bee disease, bee research, honey profitability and legislation concerning beekeeping.

For Biering and other South Carolina beekeepers, the problem is not colony collapse disorder, but the small hive beetle, a species native to South Africa that appeared in the United States in the late 1990s.

Every third Thursday, the Lowcountry Beekeepers Association meets at Archie's place. Membership has sunk from 80 beekeepers to about 30 between Orangeburg and Beaufort, he said.

South Carolina has about 2,000 beekeepers managing about 25,000 honey bee colonies, according to the S.C. Beekeepers Association.

Because bees are vital to the pollination of crops, South Carolina is among the states whose agriculture departments encourage amateur beekeepers to buy a colony and get started.

The Beekeepers Association offers a Master Beekeeper Program with four levels ... certified, journeyman, master and master craftsman. The fees for the program are small. Find out about it at scstatebeekeepers.org.

Bees can be bought online, but you're better off buying a hive or two from a reputable local beekeeper like Allie Crosby of Johns Island. Find out about the Lowcountry Beekeepers Association at 843-835-5912. Bee City is online at beecity.net. To watch a video of GMLc's trip to Bee City, go to charleston.net/videos/.

Lowcountry

landmark

Tonight, 6-7:30, historians Russell Horres and Skipper Keith will lead a lecture and walking tour on the history of Fort Johnson at the Marine Resources Center Auditorium on James Island (at the end of Fort Johnson Road).

Fort Johnson property is home to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other agencies. But it was the site of Revolutionary War and Civil War battles, and the first shot of the Civil War was fired from it. The program is free.

Hear more about Fort Johnson, sea turtles, artificial reefs and other topics at the Marine Center's open house Saturday, May 3, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It's also free. Find the list of events at dnr.sc.gov/marine/openhouse.html or call 953-9300.

GMLc
Call 937-5564. Write gmlc@postandcourier.com. Find the blog at gmlc.typepad.com.