Very few knew the mites were the cause of the problems. Fonseca helped organize the Cherokee Beekeepers Club with a goal of teaching members how to care for the hives. These Arnold Mill Elementary School 4-H'ers are learning more about honeybees from Marco Fonseca, upper left, an Extension Service agent in Cherokee County. Fonseca explains how bees relate to flowers and food production. They also have school bee programs.
Local schools can get an observation hive for their library or science class.
They now do a part of the whole program. We assign bees to a school, and the beekeepers keep a check on the bees and work with the teachers. Results are showing The beekeeping program seems to be showing results. We have increased the number of hives from about 30 to more than 500. Having more managed bees generally increases wild bee populations.