Charles Stanley, local bee enthusiant and father of two current Staples students, Olivia ’13 and Venetia ’10, has been facinated with bees for nearly 35 years. When springtime comes along, Stanley is oustside bright and early collected honey and necessary nutrients. Venetia Stanley ’10 believes bee–keeping is just as satisfying as it is enjoyable.

“It’s very rewarding to be able to basically interact with such amazing little animals in your own garden and to then be able to extract honey at the end of it really is quite fabulous, ” said Venetia Stanley.

“For me, keeping bees is entirely a hobby and the satisfaction I have from hopefully helping manage the colony in a way that enables it to thrive,” Charles Stanley said.

Keeping bees is a lot more valuable to society than people may think. In fact, many foods are products of bee pollination.

In a world where technology and machinery control so much of nutrient production, society should be thankful for people like Stanley. Not only has honey proved to be sweet and delectable, it is also a health benefit.

“Eating honey from your local area is beneficial in addressing allergies and my daughters certainly eat it when they have colds or sore throats,” Charles Stanley said.

Whenever working with bees, it is important to respect the surroundings and environment. Charles Stanley explains that bee–keeping is a process that is all based on a system, much like the bees are themselves.

In order to collect wax and honey, it is important to give and protect the bees, one must establish trust and acceptance from them. It is all about respect. If the bees see a human as a threat, they will attack, but if they accept a human, they are nearly harmless.

The most important factor to an apiary is the queen bee, and without it, there is no survival.

The queen bee carries the necessary nutrients and proteins for the rest of th e bees around her. An apiary in full throttle may contain well over 5,000 bees, at times much more.

While it seems like a daunting task, the reward given to all of this keeping is phenomenal.

Honey and wax are two items that are expensive at stores and are usually not as naturally-sourced. Perhaps the greatest asset bees can give to society is honey. It never spoils.

These little creatures do a little more than buzz and sting. At one point in everyone’s life, they have wished bees didn’t exist. Well they do, and we should be more than thankful for it. Next time a bee is flying around your face, remember the great things they can do. Not just the painful.

usiast and father of two current Staples students, Olivia ’13 and Venetia ’10, has been fascinated with bees for nearly 35 years. When spring time comes along, Stanley is outside bright and early collecting honey and necessary nutrients.