<\/p>\n
Lorel Allen, sophomore physics major, holds up a frame from one of three hives located outside the arboretum Thursday. Allen looks for\u00a0capped or uncapped broods, parasites and signs of honey.<\/p>\n
Leah Judah<\/p>\n
Students gathered at the UCF Arboretum Thursday for the first spring inspection of the university\u2019s beehives.<\/p>\n
The event was organized by the student-run Beekeeping Knights Club to monitor hive health while giving students hands-on experience in environmental science.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley Demosthene, doctoral student in biomedical sciences, said the experience allows students to explore environmental science outside their primary fields of study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo having more opportunities like this helps me and other students get more involved in working with the environment and other scientific aspects like that,\u201d Demosthene said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Club members inspected three hives during the visit, checking frames for larvae, pests and overall colony activity as part of routine seasonal maintenance. The inspection, typically held in early February, was delayed until March due to the extended cold weather, which slowed bee activity.<\/p>\n
During the inspection, students carefully removed every other frame from the hive boxes\u00a0to reduce stress on the colony and limit sunlight exposure. Inspectors looked for signs of healthy brood development, such as capped larvae, while also watching for potential threats like small hive beetles or Varroa mites.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the arboretum on Thursday, UCF students smoke the bees to keep them calm. The beekeepers can open it up to reveal the combs for the first spring hive inspection.<\/p>\n
Leah Judah<\/p>\n
To keep the bees calm, participants used a smoker fueled with burning pine straw. The smoke disrupts bees\u2019 pheromone signals, making them less likely to react defensively during inspections.<\/p>\n
Students also observed the bees\u2019 behavior closely. Some colonies appeared lethargic, a condition different from calm behavior caused by smoke, which can indicate environmental factors affecting the hive. However, it does not necessarily signal a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what we\u2019re trying to do, basically, is provide a hands-on learning opportunity for students to learn how to beekeep,\u201d said Chloe Planakis, senior biology and anthropology major, who serves as president of the club and an intern at the Arboretum.<\/p>\n
The inspection is part of the Beekeeping Knights Club’s broader mission to give students direct exposure to environmental work that many might not encounter in a classroom. Planakis said working with bees offers lessons beyond traditional coursework, including leadership and crisis management.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think any experience where we get to lead other students is helpful,\u201d she said. \u201cEspecially outside, because things can happen. Someone might get stung or something unexpected occurs, so it helps with leadership and crisis control.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many students, the club provides their first opportunity to interact with bees directly. Lorel Allen, sophomore physics major,\u00a0joined the club despite initially being afraid of bees. Allen said she saw joining the club as a chance to confront her fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like being outside and working with the little creatures,\u201d Allen said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really important to learn about different aspects of the ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Students walk the trail just outside of the UCF Arboretum on Thursday morning to inspect the three hives located inside the gated field.<\/p>\n
Leah Judah<\/p>\n
Planakis said the club faces challenges in maintaining the hives and sustaining the program long term, despite its educational value.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the university has a lot of priorities and sometimes some of those programs tend to slip through the cracks,\u201d Planakis said. \u201cI fear that this might end up being one of them, because we simply do not have the allocated resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club was previously overseen by former UCF Arboretum director and professor of biology Dr. Patrick Bohlen, but is now largely managed by students. Planakis said this can create uncertainty as leadership changes each year. Managing hives also requires patience when teaching new members, she said.<\/p>\n
Still, club leaders see the experience as worthwhile.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, this is the kind of opportunity that we can provide to students for free,\u201d Planakis said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s something that most people have said they would never have been able to do anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briana McCaughey, senior\u00a0environmental leadership major, is a beekeeping intern and said the club helps students realize that working with bees is more accessible than many assume.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a really good opportunity for students to get out there,\u201d McCaughey said. \u201cAnd one, get over their fears and to realize this is not the hardest thing in the world. It is not out of reach for people to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Beekeeping Club plans to continue weekly hive inspections for the remainder of the semester as temperatures warm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lorel Allen, sophomore physics major, holds up a frame from one of three hives located outside the arboretum…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1210,139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-184071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-life","9":"tag-orlando","10":"tag-orlando-headlines","11":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}