The Partial Observer by Steve Davis

Beekeeping Is a Hobby?

A recent survey by ModestFish identified beekeeping as the number one favorite alternative hobby in New York State. At first I was really thrilled to see that so many people wanted to participate in apiculture. Then that uneasy cloud cast its shadow over me. “Hobby?” Beekeepers take up the activity for various reasons. Most want their own sustainably-sourced honey. Some expect to make money from it. Many want to get closer to nature or appease their environmental guilts by supporting these little pollinators. And many beekeepers are just masochists, wondering what they can do to impose their YouTube techniques on one of nature’s most perfectly refined creatures.