This spring, MTSU is offering a class teaching beginners the art and skill of beekeeping. The course, sponsored by the Farm Lab and Dairy Science Club, is eight weeks long and will teach students a skill that has been used to make honey, dating back to the Ancient Egyptians. The beekeepers meet every Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. on MTSU’s campus at the Horticulture Center.

The class is taught by Ed Holcomb, who has over 40 years of experience, and Joe Dement. These specialists will share their experience with novices, to teach beekeeping as a hobby or for the purpose of selling the end result of all that hard and sometimes painful work: honey.

The cost is $350 per enrollee. This covers all the materials needed for successful beekeeping including books, hive and safety equipment and the bees. The students will make their own hives and learn all the steps needed to care for the bees and hives.

If you are interested in this class, here are some facts about our buzzin’ friends and the honey they produce*:

-In nature, a bee will visit 2 million flowers and fly 55,000 miles to make a single pound of honey.

-Think about how fast can you run away from a bee, because those little guys can fly up to 15 miles per hour.

-That buzzzz is the sound of a bee’s wings flapping 11,400 times per minute.

-Here is a little vindication: honey bees die after stinging.

-Lorenzo Langstroth patented the beehive in 1852.

-There are over 300 types of honey in the United States.

*Facts provided by the National Honey Board