September is buzzing because it’s National Honey Month!

September is buzzing because it’s National Honey Month!

September is National Honey Month, a tradition started by the National Honey Board in 1989, according to the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture.

In the United States, honey collection season typically ends in September as the bees begin to secure their hives and prepare for winter.

According to the LSU AgCenter, 250 species of bumblebees are reported worldwide and about 50 North American species. Of those, nine species are found in Louisiana.

“Beekeeping is really an art, but it’s a very old art,” said Tim Haley, a local beekeeper for Haley’s Honey and Bee Keeping out in Dry Prong. “It dates back to the time of the Egyptians and before where people were raising bees for, primarily at that time I would suspect, honey. But it didn’t take long to realize that bees’ primary benefit to mankind is pollination. 1/3 of everything that goes to your plate is due to pollination.”

You can follow Haley’s Honey and Bee Keeping on Facebook to stay in the know on all your honey and bee things.