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( Beekeeper)
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity. Persons who keep bees are usually classified as hobby beekeepers, sideliners, or commercial operators, depending on the number of colonies maintained. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers or apiarists (from Latin apis, bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper usually refers to a person who keeps honey bees in hives, boxes, or other receptacles. It should be noted that honey bees are not domesticated and the beekeeper does not control the creatures. The beekeeper owns the hives or boxes and associated equipment. The bees are free to forage or leave (swarm) as they desire. Bees usually return to the beekeeper's hive as the hive presents a clean, dark, sheltered abode. Most beekeepers are hobby beekeepers.[1] These people typically work or own only a few hives. Their main attraction is an interest in ecology and natural science. Honey is a by-product of this hobby. As it typically costs several hundred American dollars to establish a small apiary and dozens of hours of manipulation and work with hives and honey equipment, hobby beekeeping is seldom profitable, however not largely in Europe, where the lack of organic bee products sometimes causes buoyant demand for privately produced honey, therefore maintaining this hobby greatly profitable. A sideline beekeeper attempts to make a profit keeping bees, but relies on another source of income. Sideliners may operate up to 300 colonies of bees, producing 10 - 20 metric tons of honey worth a few tens of thousands of dollars each year.
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