A honey of an idea: Beekeeping exhibit seeks to educate on the beauty of bees

Larry Kendall with his portable beehive he's brought to the Granite State Fair. (Rochester Voice photo)

ROCHESTER - What's the buzz at the Granite State Fair this year?
Well, let's start with the beekeeping display at the front of the Exhibition Hall, where Larry Kendall of Lebanon, Maine, brought an entire honeybee colony in a glass case that allows folks to watch all the activity of the hundreds of bees inside and try to spot the queen, too.
First off, though, this writer wanted to know how often Kendall gets stung.
"Every day," he deadpanned.
Kendall, who has been enjoying honey straight from the hive for 10 years, said he doesn't raise it commercially, but mostly just for him and a few family and close friends.
He said most people know that bees pollinate so many flowers, such as sunflowers, zinnias, asters, lavender and poppies, but what a lot of folks don't know is that local, natural honey sourced from local bees is a very effective way to fight allergies.
"You want local honey because those bees will have the best benefit for the local types of allergens," he added.
During the fair Kendall will be selling his home-grown honey for $15 a pound.
He hopes to be able to also make some honey at his display before the fair ends on Sept. 22.
It should be noted that the hierarchy in a honey bee hive comprises the all-important queen, then the drones, who fertilize the eggs and quickly die; and the worker bees, who rub her belly a few days after fertilization until the eggs are laid.
The queen is about twice the size of the other bees, and Kendall has put a green dot on her so fairgoers will have an easier time spotting her.
Even with the green dot, it won't be easy.