You as a Researcher

Most of what is known about honeybees has been learned by beekeepers.  By watching, recording, and trying new and different things, beekeepers have discovered many new things that scientists or other beekeepers did not know before.  As a beekeeper you should always be watching.

  • Look at what flowers your bees visit and when.
  • Watch how your bees behave.
  • Learn to tell when something is wrong.
  • Find out the problem and figure out a way to fix it.
  • Watch the weather and see how it affects your bees.
  • Watch one of the bees’ enemies or pests.

When you ask a question and try to figure out the answer by trying something new, an experiment of some kind, you are doing research.  You will become a better beekeeper yourself.  You may add to everybody’s knowledge of honeybees.


Activity: Research Activity

Mark And Recapture Research Project. This project is to help figure out the number of frogs that visit your bee yard and whether they are a danger to your honeybees.

  1. Go to the hives and count the number of frogs in the bee yard. Record this number and then answer the following questions:
    • If each frog ate 200 bees a day, how many bees could these frogs eat in one day?
    • In one week?
    • Do you think this is a problem and why?
  2. Try to catch all of the frogs in the bee yard. Put them in a rice bag, move them at least 100m away. As you let them go, put a spot of correcting fluid or nail polish on each frog’s back (MARK).
  3. You will visit the hives each day over the next 2 weeks to count and record the number of frogs with marks (RECAPTURE) and the number without. Those without marks should be captured, marked and moved, and their number added to the total number of marked frogs.
  4. At the end of two weeks, look at the information you have collected and answer the following questions:
    • Does catching and moving the frogs solve the problem, or do they come back?
    • Were the frogs moved far enough away?
    • Did the mark wash off?
    • Did new frogs keep moving into the area, or did the number of frogs go down?
    • What other experiment could you try?


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