Partnership yields honey and educational opportunity
On the north and west part of the Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU) campus is a 40-acre wildlife area that was created in 1998. It includes prairie land, deciduous woodland and some coniferous land.
“It kind of has a little bit of all the major biomes in the state,” said Alyssa Anderson, a biology professor at SMSU.
The wildlife area has trails and is home to deer and birds. Since 2019, it has also been home to honey bees.
The idea to have honey bees at the wildlife area emerged around 2017 when Bill Reilly approached SMSU administrators and asked if he and others could keep bees at the wildlife area because they couldn’t do so within Marshall city limits. SMSU Dean of Arts, Letters and Sciences Aimee Shouse said the university thought such a partnership had “great academic potential.”
She, Anderson and other SMSU staff started working with the Southwest Minnesota Beekeepers Club, of which Reilly is a member, to figure out how to make it work. Shouse said SMSU was able to allow people to keep hives on its campus because they could be used for educational purposes.
The bee yard is located in the north and east part of the wildlife area where there is a line of trees that creates a windbreak.
“I love that we have it,” Shouse said. “Somebody just had a great idea, talked to somebody at the university and we were able to capitalize on this great idea.”
Reilly said SMSU has been a great partner to work with. He said he donated funds to help with the fencing and signs that were posted around the bee yard.
SMSU mows and maintains the area and the local beekeepers who keep their hives there manage and keep up their hives. Ron Prorok, president of the Southwest Minnesota Beekeepers, said there were about 15 hives at the wildlife area the first year and about 20 in 2020. The hives are maintained by about 11 beekeepers.
The beekeepers said they share the honey from their bees with friends and family and sell some at farmers markets. Reilly said he’s also made some limited bottles labeled Mustang Honey in honor of SMSU, which he gave to administrators at the university as a thank you and for a few other occasions.
Anderson said the bee yard is a great addition to the wildlife area and a great teaching tool for her students and others who visit the wildlife area.
“I teach an insect ecology and diversity course and we went out and had a nice tour from Bill out there,” she said. “We haven’t used the yard directly, but more for observational studies in terms of ecological processes and the benefit of bees and other pollinators.”
Anderson said her students conduct observational studies on pollinators in the wildlife area as part of small lab projects. The students monitor how much time bees or other pollinators spend on certain types of flowers, the types of flowers they visit and other activities.
Anderson teachers her classes about the importance of bees and other pollinators and the benefits they provide to society. She said pollinators contribute upwards of $20 billion worth of service to the economy in North America every year with their pollination of crops such as almonds, apples, sunflowers, alfalfa and more.
Anderson said she also teaches her classes about problems that bees and other pollinators are facing due to land use change, habitat degradation, climate change and other ecological issues. Anderson said she would eventually like to get into beekeeping herself.
Anyone who is interested in setting up a hive at the SMSU wildlife area can call Prorok at 507-401-6227.
For those who were wondering what happens to the bees during the winter months, Reilly said they form a ball about the size of a volleyball around the queen and move their legs to generate heat, keeping the queen at around 91 degrees. The bees, except for the queen, rotate from the outside to the inside of the ball and over the winter some die off. By spring the ball might be about the size of a softball, he said.
“It kind of has a little bit of all the major biomes in the state,” said Alyssa Anderson, a biology professor at SMSU.
The wildlife area has trails and is home to deer and birds. Since 2019, it has also been home to honey bees.
The idea to have honey bees at the wildlife area emerged around 2017 when Bill Reilly approached SMSU administrators and asked if he and others could keep bees at the wildlife area because they couldn’t do so within Marshall city limits. SMSU Dean of Arts, Letters and Sciences Aimee Shouse said the university thought such a partnership had “great academic potential.”
She, Anderson and other SMSU staff started working with the Southwest Minnesota Beekeepers Club, of which Reilly is a member, to figure out how to make it work. Shouse said SMSU was able to allow people to keep hives on its campus because they could be used for educational purposes.
The bee yard is located in the north and east part of the wildlife area where there is a line of trees that creates a windbreak.
“I love that we have it,” Shouse said. “Somebody just had a great idea, talked to somebody at the university and we were able to capitalize on this great idea.”
Reilly said SMSU has been a great partner to work with. He said he donated funds to help with the fencing and signs that were posted around the bee yard.
SMSU mows and maintains the area and the local beekeepers who keep their hives there manage and keep up their hives. Ron Prorok, president of the Southwest Minnesota Beekeepers, said there were about 15 hives at the wildlife area the first year and about 20 in 2020. The hives are maintained by about 11 beekeepers.
The beekeepers said they share the honey from their bees with friends and family and sell some at farmers markets. Reilly said he’s also made some limited bottles labeled Mustang Honey in honor of SMSU, which he gave to administrators at the university as a thank you and for a few other occasions.
Anderson said the bee yard is a great addition to the wildlife area and a great teaching tool for her students and others who visit the wildlife area.
“I teach an insect ecology and diversity course and we went out and had a nice tour from Bill out there,” she said. “We haven’t used the yard directly, but more for observational studies in terms of ecological processes and the benefit of bees and other pollinators.”
Anderson said her students conduct observational studies on pollinators in the wildlife area as part of small lab projects. The students monitor how much time bees or other pollinators spend on certain types of flowers, the types of flowers they visit and other activities.
Anderson teachers her classes about the importance of bees and other pollinators and the benefits they provide to society. She said pollinators contribute upwards of $20 billion worth of service to the economy in North America every year with their pollination of crops such as almonds, apples, sunflowers, alfalfa and more.
Anderson said she also teaches her classes about problems that bees and other pollinators are facing due to land use change, habitat degradation, climate change and other ecological issues. Anderson said she would eventually like to get into beekeeping herself.
Anyone who is interested in setting up a hive at the SMSU wildlife area can call Prorok at 507-401-6227.
For those who were wondering what happens to the bees during the winter months, Reilly said they form a ball about the size of a volleyball around the queen and move their legs to generate heat, keeping the queen at around 91 degrees. The bees, except for the queen, rotate from the outside to the inside of the ball and over the winter some die off. By spring the ball might be about the size of a softball, he said.