Beekeepers are counting down the days for the harvest

Beekeepers in the plateaus and villages of Bayburt, which has a rich plant cover, are counting down the days for honey harvesting.
In the months of May, beekeepers set up tents and shacks near the plateaus and streams to produce quality honey, living away from their families, without technology, and in close proximity to nature. Beekeepers, who bring their beehives to the region rich in plant diversity and water sources by trucks, continue their intensive work to produce quality honey. Waking up with the first light of day, beekeepers take care of the bee colonies in the hives day and night, performing daily maintenance to ensure their development. Resilient to all kinds of natural conditions and experiencing a sweet excitement these days, beekeepers contribute to the family and national economy by selling the honey they produce in the plateaus and suitable villages in the autumn market.
Cemal Gümüş, who has been making a living from beekeeping for 40 years, stated that there is little time left for harvesting and they are counting down the days. Gümüş mentioned that the rainfall this year has also been effective and will affect honey yield, saying, “I have been beekeeping here for 40 years. Our village, our place, and our nature are very beautiful. This year, the swarming of bees has been quite frequent due to the abundance of pollen. Pollen is like the bread of bees. After undergoing certain processes, the bee buries it in the honeycomb cells and then feeds it to the brood. Bees are very different. I see this hive as a kind of pharmacy, a doctor, a nurse, and a factory. It is not just about honey. There are many different food substances in bees, and all of them are medicine. Honey is not just a food substance; it is a source of healing. Besides honey, there is propolis, pollen, royal jelly, drone jelly, wax, and bee venom, but we cannot evaluate these. We have no contribution; it is whatever comes from the mountain here. The rainfall has also been effective this year. As I said, there were many flowers; when there are many flowers, there is pollen, and when there is a lot of pollen, the bees bring pollen back to the hive, which encourages the queen bee to lay eggs. Since the queen bee is laying a lot of eggs, we have not been able to finish the swarming process this year. We will start harvesting after August 15-20. We are counting the days for the harvest.”