PnO_Mader

Honestly it is somewhat hard for the average person to do a lot. Planting native flowers and plants in your yard or anywhere around you is great for the bees that are around. One other point that I want to make is towards people who are wanting to help by getting their own hive. If they want to do that, they should definitely know what they are doing first. Bees take lots of work to maintain and they can be very difficult to manage without the proper knowledge.

One of the coolest things I realized about bees is that whenever they are upset or trying to alert the other bees of a threat, they release a pheromone that smells like bananas. Sometimes I'll open a hive and smell bananas, which is a sign that they are pissed lol

I probably have been stung less than a couple thousand times, but I have only been doing it for a few years. My grandpa, who has been doing it for over 60 years, and he has been stung countless times. The worst he had in one day was a few hundred I believe.

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As I said in another comment, I believe people think honey bees are inherently mean or aggressive, which isn't the case. They are really calm as long as you don't provoke them first. Also, I think they need to be in the correct environment to be as "relaxed" as possible.

That they are inherently aggressive. Bees are extremely calm as long as you don't provoke them first. Unless the conditions that they are in aren't optimal for them.

My family has owned a beekeeping business since the mid-1930s. My grandpa still works with the bees and now my uncle owns the business and I have worked under both of them.

Regarding tips for anyone interested, I definitely say know your stuff. Research tons of information that could help make your hive survive. Maybe even try to contact local beekeepers for some advice. Also, don't expect to have much of a honey flow within your first couple of years. Focus on building your hive(s) strength!

Wasps are little assholes. In my opinion, they have no function besides being annoying, but that's just because I have had bad experiences with them lol