2017 Iowa Honey Queen Carly Vannoy. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Honey Producers Association.

Honeybees are critical for the health of produce and plants we use everyday.

The Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge and Louisa County Conservation are hosting “Honey Bee Basics” for those wishing to learn more about honeybees and beekeeping. This year’s Iowa Honey Queen Carly Vannoy will be leading the program, as Louisa County Naturalist Bobbi Provost describes, “She is planning on talking about her own personal experience with beekeeping and honey production, and then she’ll also talk a little bit more about honeybees themselves and what they do inside their colonies.”

This is the first year Louisa County Conservation is hosting the program, in an effort to educate people about the importance of honeybees as pollinators, as much of the Iowa population has been decimated by pesticides and parasites. Honey Bee Basics will be taking place on July 22 at the Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge.