Show Me the Honey! Meet Campus Celebrity Tyana Weaver!

Her Campus; Tell us about your position as a beekeeper at Boise State!

Tyana: I basically just tend to the needs of the bees. We make sure the hives are doing well and that the queens are doing a good job. We harvest the honey every so often and jar it to sell.

 

HC: What does a typical beekeeping day involve for you?

T: Well right now we are making sure the hives will be strong enough to get through the winter. We have treated them for mites to make sure that won’t be a problem. We are feeding them sugar syrup right now. And we make sure they have water and that the flowers on the roof are getting water.

 

HC: What’s your favorite part about being a beekeeper?

T: I just think it’s so fun, and I learn so much each time I work with them. Also shout out to the awesome local beekeeping community, they’re great people and so helpful. Also bees are such an important part of our environment, they pollinate around 80% of the country’s crops, so without them we’d be seriously lacking in our diet.

 

HC: How did you get the position?

T: I heard about the rooftop bees and knew it was something that I had to do, so I just applied online and got the position. I was so happy.

 

HC: Do you have any special names for your bee friends?

T: Well the other interns and I sometimes refer to them as ladies, since all of the worker bees are girls. Sometimes I like to call them my beezies. 

 

HC: We love that term! You should copyright it(; Have you tasted the BSU bee honey? Describe it in one word!

Yes of course! In one word.. AMAZING

 

HC: What’s your best advice for healing a bee sting?

T:I’ve only been stung once so far and it wasn’t that bad. In the past I’ve put meat tenderizer on stings to take the pain away. But I generally don’t worry about the bees stinging me, they’re friendly, it’s the wicked wasps you have to worry about.