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 Beekeeping can be either a business or a hobby. Commercial beekeepers employ honey bees to pollinate agricultural crops, often transporting hives long distances between fields or orchards. Honey is also harvested at the end of the season. Hobby beekeepers generally are interested mainly in honey production.
Besides pollination and honey, a third valuable product of all this bee labor is beeswax. Beeswax is a complex wax secreted by bees and is used to build the structure of the hive. Beeswax is used by humans to make high quality candles, cosmetics and polish. Beeswax candles burn very cleanly and won't drip or smoke as much as paraffin candles.
Beekeepers now face a number of serious pests. A strain of highly aggressive honey bee, the Africanized honey bee ("killer bees"), can take over a colony and make it practically unmanageable. And, a parasitic mite called varroa mite which can weaken and kill colonies. Anyone considering starting beekeeping should check with their local county Agricultural Extension office, or equivalent, about the status of these honey bee pests in their area.
common misspelling: bee keeping
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