Greetings
I am always a little leery when people talk about *educating the public*
about their special interest. Usually this means *persuade them of our
point of view*.

Beekeepers ought not to be thinking about how to force people to see what
they see. We have to be accepted by the public on our own merits.

As far as educating them, will you tell them in a small apiary -- say 20
hives -- there are up to one million bees? That this many bees are enough
to kill one thousand healthy men? Will you tell them all you have to do is
bump into a hive with a lawn mower and you could be covered with stings?

Will you tell them that most beekeepers have no control over which breed
they keep? Since they don't mark their queens, they can be superseded and
replaced by queens with African blood and the beekeeper might not even know
it.

Will you tell them you have no way to prevent a swarm from issuing on a
June day and landing right in the middle of their expensive catered wedding
party? You wouldn't let your dog run loose and pester the neighbors, but
what about swarms?

Or isn't better to try to keep a low profile? The public has a right to
live without bee hives too near their homes. We should consider their
rights as well as ours. Bees can be kept successfully in out of the way
places, hidden from view. If people need the pollination services of our
bees, let them rent hives from us, knowing full well the benefit and
the risk.

pb