few beekeepers under 50

[Kimbrell]

I wanted to follow up on a comment bluegrass made about very few beekeepers being under the age of 50.  The comment made me pause because I started beekeeping at 49.  I don't have any beekeepers in my background and had never been around any.  The thought just came to me one day that it would be something interesting to try.
I have a two part question: How old were you when you started beekeeping?  And why do you think it's mostly us "older folks" that really get into it?  I am very interested to hear your answers.

[thomashton]

Hmmm. I was 30 when I got interested in it. 31 when I got my first hives. Am just about to start my 3rd season at 33 in April. Guess I'm a young'n :-D

I was like you. It popped in my head one day. I was actually in Iraq and bored while on a computer. Looked up beekeeping and found this site. The members were very kind and sent me several books to help my boredom and to give me my beginning knowledge.

When I got back, I continued reading, began building woodenware, and began with 2 colonies less than a year later.

[Michael Bush]

Well, I started when I was 20... but I am over 50.  Young people want to play video games. :)

[Galaxy]

I started when I was 13.  I am now 67.

[malabarchillin]

45 here

[keeperofthebees]

I have wanted to keep bees since I was about 12 but only last year did I have the opportunity to. I am 18 now, so 17 last year.

[Kirk-o]

I was 22 when I started I'm 60 now .Kids now like t.v. and video stuff
kirko

[tillie]

I only started in 2006 - I was 57 - I'm turning 60 this year  :-\ :-\ :-\ - but I'm hoping that his weekly contact with my bees will inspire my grandson who is only 20 months - but one of his first words was BEEEEEE as he pointed to the hives.

Linda T in Atlanta

[fincalinda2]

32 started when I watched my uncle in 2001.  2 Hives on 04.  5 now. 9 total this spring.

[watercarving]

We had about 9 hives when I was a kid but nothing since then. I'm 38 and will have my first hives this year.

[bailey]

45 years old when a swarm decided to occupy one of my purple martin gourds.
couldnt let them go to waste!

found jp on the internet and he was quite helpfull in getting me started by talking me through the first one on the phone.

up to 5 hives now with another on the way as soon as i can find the time to get it!

great hobby, almost as good as fishing!

bailey

[Moonshae]

I was 13, but took an 18-year hiatus. Restarted "for real" at 32.

[shawnwri]

42

[Brian D. Bray]

I started in 1959, that may I found a swarm while doing my paper route.  I was 10 at the time, turning 11 that August.  This coming August I'll be turning 60.  I always say I started when I was 11 but I was actually 10 years, 9 months.

[Kimbrell]

Thanks for all the replies.  Seems like your answers put the lie to only people over 50 are beekeepers!  I'm glad to be in the company of all you young-uns!  There are some of you out there who prefer the great outdoors to video games. ;)  And we more "mature" types are keeping up with the best of you! :-D :-D :-D

[Tropic]

Well.. I started with wild stingless bees when I was 12 and got my first european beehive and working apiary when I was 16. I am now 67 and find that my present pace suits the bees better. All of my bee keeping has been in the tropical areas of Brazil, Guyana and now Costa Rica. With the introduction of the AHB to our areas, the older beekeepers retired and many apiaries were abandoned. Now, there are a new generation of beekeepers and with modern methods being employed, the interest in establishing apiaries in more remote areas away from populated zones has increased.

[johnnybigfish]

Ive thought over the "over 50 thing"..I think, when you get about 50 you see things better...You see life of all things more clear..Something triggers something in your mind about "being closer to Gods little creatures". I feel that a person usually doesnt see things like this until they've matured to a certain level..Some people are ready for this change at an earlier age, I started bees right before I turned 50..other than 4 people in the bee club here, I'm the youngest. The oldest guy just turned eight and theres a woman whos ninety.
I just wish that i had started this beekeeping 20 years earlier....for lots of reasons.
your friend,
john

[Understudy]

40 years old here.

Excuse me I have to go yell at some kids to get off my lawn.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Sir Stungalot]

I am 43, started in my mid 30's. Just in the past couple years really cranking up. Sometimes it seems everyone thinks beekeeping is for old duffers. I think the bigger issue is money. Lets face it...when I was in my 20's, with a ton of kids, an always pregnant wife and working for near minumum wage, I could not dream of shelling out a 100 plus bucks for just ONE hive. Silly little things like EATING tended to keep my beekeeping dreams at bay.  In addition to that (something probably most people had to deal with, young poverty), there was the fact that untill we reach a certian age, we are sorta' "stuck" living where we are. Yeah, you can keep a hive or two in the city...maybe- but untill you are rich enough or smart enough to get settled out in the sticks you just arn't going to get very far.
I was born to a couple of professors, not farmers.  I did not have the "home" advantage that some of the people who started very young might have had.  Probably I am like most people out there.

One last thing...what (who) is there to spark any interest in kids?  I NEVER met a single beekeeper in my whole life untill I sought them out. Not exactly lots and lots of popular press about bees and bee heros are there? You have to be a certian age to even begin to... I dunno'...dream/think about something like this.  No, beekeeping is NOT going to die just because kids are not swarming to it. It is the new 50 year old keepers joining the fold that will keep the torch on fire.

It is not an old folks hobby...it is a grown up endevor. Did I spell that right?

[JP]

I could have sworn that I replied to this post earlier tonite, in fact I know I did. The wife was hounding me to get away from the computer so we could go to the the inlaws to have dinner, and I kept telling her, right after I post this response! I must have deleted my response instead of posting it. Oh the nagging sometimes, oh, you guys know what I mean, I know I don't have to explain myself.  :-D

Anyway, I became interested in keeping bees about 5 and a half yrs ago. I started keeping bees as a way to understand bees better, in order that I could perform live removals and save colonies that I got calls on. It all started with a hive that was in a customer's rental. Soon after, I began getting more and more calls, and things kinda balooned from there. The more I learned the more fascinated I became. I have always liked the outdoors and nature in general.

Bailey is the friend I mentioned in an earlier post. We talk about bees and fish together now, all because of a hive that set up shop in his purple martin gourd.

I don't think its really an age thing but it does help when you're more settled into a routine way of life, you're more able to plan your hobbies better. I believe there are a lot of people out there who would keep bees if they knew how fascinating they really are.


........JP