INTERVIEW WITH A BEEKEEPER

When and how did you first become interested in beekeeping? When I was offered the job as a sells’ manager in the Beekeepers’ Organization of Thrace. As much as I worked with the bees the more I loved them and they attract me.

Did you learn the art of beekeeping from someone? I learnt the art of beekeeping from books, through Internet, by asking for advice from other experienced beekeepers, by attending seminars.

What is the cost to start a hive? 1 hive costs about 100 Euro.

What's the most fulfilling part of a beekeeper's job? What's the most fulfilling part of a beekeeper's job? The sense of being in contanct with the nature and the conciousnes that keeping bees we protect the foof chain and in general the natural environment.

Which are the difficulties in this job? The production of honey depends on the weather conditions and the thing that some people import honey from other countries and they label it as a Greek honey.

How many bees are in a hive? It depends on the season: In winter time I spring (flowering time) about

Do bees recognize their hive? Yes by the smelling of their queen, the queen’s feremones.

Do you feed the bees? Only in winter time we help them by feeding them.

Most people do not react well to the sight of swarming bees, were you afraid of the bees when you first started out as a beekeeper? If yes, how did you overcome that fear? No, I am not afraid because I know that the bee’s sting has a therapeutic role in human body.

Which is the difference between the honey of Thrace and the honey in the rest of Greece Trees and flowers are flowering later and altogether in Thrace, thus Thracian honey contains more elements of a lot of flowers.