For the love of bees: Association preserves the craft of beekeeping

The association has been growing in strength over the years and have extended into other regions since.

The association has 49 registered members who live around Ekurhuleni.

Some of these members have joined the association as hobby beekeepers while others have joined to generate an income by collecting honey and various bee products.

Yet, whatever the motivation, all members have a serious interest in the preservation of the craft of beekeeping and conservation of all bees.

According to the Agricultural Research Council there are 2 755 bee species in sub-Saharan Africa, about a third of which occur in South Africa.

EHBA is governed by the South African Bee Industry Organisation (SABIO) which is an organised body representing the Beekeeping Industry in South Africa.

It acts as the representative of the South African Beekeeping Industry in all dealings with government.

SABIO presides as the consultative spokesperson on all forums affecting the beekeeping industry and agriculture and strives to set and maintain world-class standards in Apiculture.

Most of the members of the EHBA are also registered with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in their own private capacity. A registered beekeeper will have a TA number from this department.

Peter Clark is the presiding chairman of the association for 2017.

Glen Terry, who is a long-standing member of the EHBA said the aim of the association is to promote beekeeping while educating the public about bees.

It is important for the public to know more about bees because they are part of our daily lives. They play a major role in producing some of the food we eat. People are not allowed to kill bees but they do it because they lack knowledge

Terry, who has been a beekeeper for a while now, said he has a passion for bees and having bees at the end is financially rewarding and satisfying.

Capie du Toit, who is also a beekeeper and committee member, highlighted that honey doesn’t taste the same as there are different ‘flavours’.

“The honey ‘flavours’ come from various pollens that can change the taste of honey. Some are Flame Beans, Amacadenia, Citrus, Avocado, Blue Gum, Cosmos, Bokonote and Fynbos,” du Toit said.

EHBA meets every third Saturday of every month at 9.30am to 11am in Benoni, Rynfield. During their meeting beekeeping methods are discussed with the main concern of conserving bees and preservation of the techniques of the members’ craft.

Guest or keynote speakers are often invited to speak or present during the meetings about different topics like pollination, healing bee products, bee management and many other interesting topics.

They then have a question and answer session where members get the opportunity to ask questions concerning bees.

Some of the other activities that form part of the association are the socialising platform, the monthly newsletter distributed by the association, beekeeping courses that are conducted and field days.

Young members are also encouraged to join the association.

What EHBA offers to the community:

• Bee removals
• Advice regarding “bee” problems
• “Raw” honey
• Wax, honey comb and other bee products

Bee show

The annual Bee Show organised by the Eastern Highveld Beekeepers Association will take place at Hecker Nursery, on October 21 and 22.

Bee lovers can look forward to seeing displays of beekeeping equipment, honey products and bee-friendly flowers. There will also be honey tasting available.

Beekeepers will be on hand to answer questions.

To find out more about the show or the Eastern Highveld Beekeepers Association, contact Mark Flee on 083 589 7314.

The members of the public may also have a look at the associations Facebook page for more information https://www.facebook.com/EHBeekeepers/