On Wednesday and Saturday mornings, students at our University split up across the various academic farms of the Guácimo Campus to attend the Work Experience course, where they put into practice the knowledge acquired in each course in real-life contexts. On these days, Sergio González (Class of 2024, Costa Rica) hops on his bike and heads to the Botanical Garden, where he leads one of the 19 scenarios that are part of the course. There, he prepares the day’s tasks to care of the bees that live in the Garden and the Didactic Apiary.
Since his first introduction to beekeeping during a second-year internship, Sergio has developed a great passion for learning more about this insect that, despite being so small, is essential to ecosystems. Bees are pollinators, and their function is fundamental for the reproduction of various plants, including many that are part of our diet. Without bees, the production of fruits, vegetables, and other crops would be severely affected, directly impacting global food security.
“My interest in bees arose when I realized that it’s a huge world that hasn’t been explored enough. The more information I acquire about bees, the more I want to learn about them.”
In the Botanical Garden and the Apiary, Sergio, along with faculty, welcomes rotating groups of first and second-year students and talks about the stingless bees that inhabit both spaces. This type of bee, known as meliponas or native bees, is characterized by being more docile and less aggressive. Sergio explains to the students their importance as pollinators, talks about their diet, and shows them how a hive works inside. He and the students also analyze the different diseases that threaten bees and talk about possible solutions to protect them.
Sergio shares four tips with us so that we can all take a part in protecting these fascinating and necessary creatures:
- Respect the habitat and the climate in which a hive is located: “Stingless bees become disoriented when moved, so when they need to be relocated, it’s a process that takes months of adaptation, not only because of the climate but also because when we move them we’re also changing their diet. If they are accustomed to feeding on species from the forest and are moved to an urban area, for example, they will be greatly affected.”
- Use biological microorganisms instead of chemical fertilizers: “Bees carry certain beneficial microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria in their bodies, mainly in the intestine, which maintains hygienic behavior and protects them from other pathogenic microorganisms.”
- Implement integrated pest management for pests that affect the well-being of bees, such as the management of certain types of mites: “For my Graduation Project, I am researching alternative methods of Varroa mite control to avoid the use of chemicals, and monitoring levels of infection by nosema, which are important diseases in honey bees.”
- And most importantly: education, awareness, and sensitization about the importance of bees for the balance of life on Earth.
Thank you, Sergio, for sharing your passion with the EARTH community and for being a protector of bees!