Natalee Thompson writes.. 
We are participants in Prof. Jerry Bromenshenk's online Master Beekeeper class at University of Montana. We're working on a research project investigating to what extent and why, are new beekeepers susceptible to becoming Bee Havers, rather than Bee Keepers, in George Imirie's words. The project is part of the class coursework. We're reviewing available literature and bee forums, as well as interviewing beekeepers on Facebook and local clubs. 

my comments...
first I would be glad to assist however I can.  I would suspect that the reasons for this are many and to some degree obvious.  I do think it would be worthwhile for you to investigate the origin of the phrase which I think likely proceeds George Imirie by several decades.  At least to my small understanding the phrase become popular when bees (beeswax) was considered essential war materials and beekeeping was a definable trade to get you a deferment from military service.  

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