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Sep 3, 2009 6:52 pm US/Central
Don Shelby Wears Bee Beard To Raise Awareness
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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"I'm not nervous at all," said Shelby as he began to perform a "bee beard."
CBS
Don Shelby has been a beekeeper and has a lot of concern about the disappearing number of hives around the world. To help raise awareness, he got up close and personal with a few thousand bees at the Minnesota State Fair.
It's amazing the crucial role honey bees play in producing at least one-third of all our food. Worker bees are busy all summer flying from plant to plant, gathering pollen, and pollinating everything from fruit to nuts.
"Bees are vitally important to our lives," said Dr. Marla Spivak of the University of Minnesota's Bee Lab.
Research at the lab promotes the health of bees and studies the collapse of their colonies.
"But if there were no bees," said Spivak, "it would be a very serious problem. All the fruits and vegetables, all the nutritious foods that we depend on in our diet, they wouldn't be there."
Exactly what's threatening the hives is under study. Disease, parasites and pesticides are all a big problem. But in order to raise awareness, Shelby wanted to demonstrate how they work.
"Are you nervous?" asked the man holding a box with about 10,000 bees in it.
"I'm not nervous at all," said Shelby as he began to perform a "bee beard."
The queen bee is in a tiny cage that is placed near his chin. The worker bees are attracted to the queen because of the pheromones that she releases. Within minutes, thousands of bees have formed a "beard."
So what can you do to help the future of bees?
First, plant flowers. Also, support the vision to build the most unique Bee Research Lab and Discovery Center in the nation at the University of Minnesota.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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