Beekeeper Nancy Gentry has never worn a full bee suit, and sometimes she omits the veil too.
"I've grown accustomed to the bees and the stings," said Gentry, former president of the Northeast Florida Honey Bee Association. "I don't get stung very often. I moved eight hives one time and never got stung."
Gentry is hosting a meeting this Saturday in east Palatka to help beekeepers network and encourage them to start their own clubs. Gentry said there are many registered beekeepers in Alachua County who are interested in forming a local club.
The Honey Bee Association's meetings are held in Green Cove Springs, about 50 miles Northeast of Gainesville. Beekeepers from Alachua, St. Johns, Putnam and Volusia often cannot make the trip.
Gentry owes a lot of her skill to her 90-year-old mentor, George Waldoch, who has been beekeeping for 75 years.
Gentry started beekeeping five years ago and had only two hives. She hopes to have as many as 40 to 60 hives this spring.
"It's important to have an older beekeeper to mentor you," Gentry said. "This is why the beekeeping clubs and associations are so important."
Gentry said Floridians have a growing interest in local products, including honey, causing more and more beekeepers to emerge.
The Northeast Florida Honey Bee Association started with only 12 people, and when Gentry left the presidency in December, there were 120 members.
"Beekeepers are just wonderful people; it's a strange fellowship that we have," she said. "It's very rewarding and incredibly exciting when you produce your first jar of honey."
Jerry Hayes, chief of the apiary inspection section for the Florida Department of Agriculture, also agrees beekeepers will benefit from networking.
"I think (the benefit) is awareness; it's education," Hayes said.
Hayes leads a team of 14 full-time apiary inspectors, who work with the 1,200 registered beekeepers in Florida, altogether boasting more than 200,000 hives. Hayes said bees provide pollination for fruits, nuts and berries.
"And then there's the subset of people that really embrace insects," Hayes said. "They want to raise awareness to people that these insects are beneficial to the environment."
Hayes said beekeepers are reaching out and helping the community and environment because their bees stray up to 2.5 miles from their hives.
"You've got people who are stamp collectors, you've got people who collect model airplanes - everyone has their hobbies," Hayes said. "But this is one hobby that benefits the whole community."
