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ENCORE: The Sweet Science of Florida's Honey Bees

Photo: Forest Wander via Flicker Creative Commons
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/forestwander-nature-pictures/7224224332

Fundraising effort are underway for the humble honey bee, as the University of Florida’s Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory reaches toward just shy of its $3.5 million goal to build a state-of the-art facility for scholars and Florida beekeepers to study the behavior, husbandry, ecology, biodiversity, and conservation of the honey bee.

Dr. Jamie Ellis, the Gahan associate professor at the University of Florida, joins Gulf Coast Live to discuss the need for the honey bee lab and the current status of nature’s sweetest pollinators.

We’ll also hear from Keith Councell and Melissa Lee Councell of Councell Farms in Cape Coral about what keeps beekeepers buzzing in Southwest Florida, and the swarm of recreational at-home beekeepers blossoming across the country.

Matthew Smith is a reporter and producer of WGCU’s Gulf Coast Live.