Saving Florida's honeybees, one backyard at a time

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1 Saving Florida's honeybees, one backyard at a time By Miami Herald, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 764 Ross Toyne checks on a tray of bees from a hive in his backyard in Coral Gables, Florida, Sept. 4, His 10-year-old twin daughters Kai and Nina are already committed beekeepers, eager to talk about the benefits of bees, despite the stings. Photo: Walter Michot/Miami Herald/MCT When Marcie Davis wanted to build a honeybee hive in her backyard in Florida she was surprised. It turned out her beekeeping dreams were against the law where she lives. She found herself in a legal fight between her county and the state over the honeybees in her yard. The state and county were fighting over whether backyard beekeeping was legal. The county has strict limits on the numbers and locations of beehives kept by non-professionals. The state, however, has different rules. The situation led to a yearlong battle in court between the county and the state. Davis and local beekeepers were relieved when the county backed off recently. The decision was a victory for Davis and other people who keep bees as a hobby in Florida. However, it was a small one in the larger war to save the honeybee. About one-third of the bees in the United States die every year.

2 Honeybees Hit Hard Over the past 10 years, bees have died because of both natural and man-made dangers. These can include disease or harsh weather. Bees are also killed off by poisons used to protect crops from insects and the destruction of their habitat. Honeybees pollinate 90 percent of the crops in the United States that are sold as food in stores. Pollination allows the crops to reproduce, making it possible to grow more crops. Florida is afraid of the honeybee crisis. The state makes a lot of the country's honey. Florida s warm weather is good for plants and bees. A plant of some kind is blooming 11 months out of the year. Fields, yards and open spaces are home to different types of wildlife. The flow of honey hardly ever stops. money for the state. Because honey is so important to Florida, the state created a law to allow backyard hives in The new law paid off. In the last year, the number of beekeepers jumped from 900 to 3,000. There are now almost twice as many hives as there were last year. Backyard Beehive Hobbyists Not all of these new beekeepers are trained professionals who make money from it. Many are people who simply enjoy taking care of bees. Longtime beekeepers call these new hobbyists "wannabees." The wannabees are often younger than the professionals and are a part of the local, organic food movement, said Al Salopek, the president of a local beekeeper group. "If mom and dad are keeping bees in the backyard, the kids are exposed and there's a chance they'll fall into the industry," Salopek said. John Gentzel started beekeeping as a teenager in the 1960s. At one point he managed more than a thousand hives. Today his house serves as his production plant. At one time, his hives were extremely successful. Then his bees started acting funny. They d venture out to look for food and get lost on their way back to the hive. Bloodsucking bugs called mites appeared and clung to the bees' backs. Bees are tidy and very orderly. They groom one another and line their hives with a sticky glue that prevents sickness. Still, they couldn t keep the mites away, or sickness. Tough Problems To Solve Solving this riddle of dying bees is difficult, scientists say.

3 There are two kinds of honeybees in the United States: domesticated and feral. Europeans first brought honeybees to North America. But four centuries of beekeeping has likely weakened the species. A tougher problem to solve is the ever-disappearing natural habitats where bees look for food. Getting A Good Buzz The Toyne family started keeping bees in their Coral Gables neighborhood two years ago. Ten-year-old twins Kai and Nina are already committed beekeepers, eager to talk about the benefits of bees, despite the stings. The twins first discovered a hive their backyard when their house was going through some construction. With the help of a beekeeping cousin, they convinced their parents to start keeping hives. However, a day after he set up the hives, their dad, Ross Toyne, said he got a ticket from the city. Luckily for the twins, their father is a lawyer. He was able to take a stand and fix the problem with the county. Toyne also helped Davis with her court case. When the county finally dropped Davis' case, both were very surprised. The law also helped create some much-needed buzz, or talk, in the newspapers. In the years before the law passed, there were a handful of beekeeping clubs in Florida. Now, there are 41 clubs.

4 Quiz 1 Which sentence is the LEAST important to include in a summary of the article? The state and county were fighting over whether backyard beekeeping was legal. Florida is afraid of the honeybee crisis. The state makes a lot of the country's honey. Not all of these new beekeepers are trained professionals who make money from it. 2 In the section "Honeybees Hit Hard" select the paragraph that BEST explains why honeybees are dying. 3 Why does the author begin the article with Davis' story? to help readers learn about beekeeping laws in Florida to allow the readers to make a personal connection to show readers how much Davis and liked having bees to ask readers to think of a solution to Davis's beekeeping problem 4 Select the sentence that BEST explains why the honeybee problem is important in Florida. Honeybees pollinate 90 percent of the crops in the United States that are sold as food in stores. The state makes a lot of the country's honey. Florida's warm weather is good for plants and bees.

5 Answer Key 1 Which sentence is the LEAST important to include in a summary of the article? The state and county were fighting over whether backyard beekeeping was legal. Florida is afraid of the honeybee crisis. The state makes a lot of the country's honey. Not all of these new beekeepers are trained professionals who make money from it. 2 In the section "Honeybees Hit Hard" select the paragraph that BEST explains why honeybees are dying. Paragraph 4: Over the past 10 years, bees have died because of both natural and man-made dangers. These can include disease or harsh weather. Bees are also killed off by poisons used to protect crops from insects and the destruction of their habitat. 3 Why does the author begin the article with Davis' story? to help readers learn about beekeeping laws in Florida to allow the readers to make a personal connection to show readers how much Davis and liked having bees to ask readers to think of a solution to Davis's beekeeping problem 4 Select the sentence that BEST explains why the honeybee problem is important in Florida. Honeybees pollinate 90 percent of the crops in the United States that are sold as food in stores. The state makes a lot of the country's honey. Florida's warm weather is good for plants and bees. Bees provide jobs for many people in Florida and bring in a lot of