BECKLEY, W.Va.— The president of the Raleigh County Beekeepers Cooperative Association was inspired by his grandfather to take up the art of beekeeping.
About 18 years ago, Mark Lilly picked up some bees and hives and started into the hobby.
Now, he manages 12 hives and teaches people all over the state how to raise the little critters.
“I’m not an environmentalist, but the more I learn about bees, the more obvious it becomes that every link in the food chain is important,” Lilly said. “We’d be on a poor diet if it wasn’t for the pollination services of bees.
“We would barely have any nut-bearing trees without bee pollination. In California, 100 percent of crops are pollinated with bees. That’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. It’s fascinating to think how dependent we are on an insect.”
Even though he’s been stung a few times, Lilly stands by his sentiment that beekeeping is relaxing.
“My biggest concern wasn’t ever being stung,” he said. “It was the fear of killing bees with my lack of knowledge. I didn’t have enough information to be successful in the beginning, so I accidentally killed a lot of bees and I hate that.”
Lilly said he loves the hobby and it has a way of taking you away from concepts like “humanity” or “time,” especially when you’re literally elbow-deep in nature.
“You lose track of schedules and time,” he said. “It’s very relaxing and I’ve heard of several veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder who are becoming beekeepers.
