Tyler Traylor is an average seven-year-old boy. He enjoys sports, playing Star Wars with his friends, and he loves to play video games. One thing sets Tyler apart from the other kids around town, though. Tyler is a beekeeper.

His father decided to go into the bee business when Tyler was in first grade, so he has been right by his side watching the business grow and helping out. “The hard part of working with the bees is checking the frames because they have lots of honey which makes them very heavy,” Tyler says. A bee frame can weigh 10 pounds or more when completely filled with honey.

The bees stay busy, and can travel for miles to get pollen and nectar for their colony.

Tyler now has his own beekeeper’s suit, and is very helpful when it comes to checking the bee hives. He doesn’t have to wear it when he plays outside, but he does wear it for protection when he helps check the hives.

Tyler says that his favorite tool to use when working with the bees is the smoker. The smoke has a calming effect on the bees, and it causes them to retreat to their hive.

Tyler and his family add new hives whenever they can. The bees provide honey, wax, and pollination for crops.

Pollination is when the bees visit flowers to gather pollen for their colonies. Bees use the pollen for food, but as they land on other flowers a little portion of the pollen rubs off, causing the flower to be fertilized.

Honeybees are an important part of our ecosystem, and they are fascinating little creatures. Tyler loves to watch them bringing in pollen for their hives, or help when their feeders need to be filled. Although bees gather their own food, new hives need help getting started, so food must be made for them to live on. Tyler enjoys helping make the sugar-water mixture for his bees.

Being a beekeeper is a full time business. Just as farmers take care of their livestock, a beekeeper must take care of his bees.

Tyler says that they have had good luck with all of their hives except one. They lost it to fi re ants. The ants invaded the hive, killing the bees and stealing their honey within twenty-four hours. It was a very sad sight.

While Tyler loves being a beekeeper, he is not able to help with every task yet. Sometimes the bees are not very happy when their hives are being invaded by a beekeeper, but as Tyler grows, his ability to help will grow as well. Tyler is an important part of his family’s business.