Mann Lake an employee-owned Beekeeping supply store will hold Beginning Beekeeping workshops at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 17 at their showroom location at 485 Stewart Road in Wilkes Barre. The workshop covers basic topics such apiary setup, equipment selection and use, installation of the colony, releasing the queen and the first 13 days of hive care.

Beekeeping is an enjoyable and rewarding hobby that can be shared by young and older alike and is gaining popularity as people return to home food production and seek to become more self-sufficient Not only will hobby beekeepers receive the obvious reward of a naturally sweet honey crop, but also enjoy the little known benefits to the backyard garden.

Common garden plants such as melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, blueberries, raspberries and most fruit trees including apple and pear require insect pollination to set fruit. The honeybee is the most efficient insect pollinator. Bees visit these flowers to obtain pollen, the sole source of protein in the honeybee diet. Multiple visits to a flower increase the size of the fruit, the number of seeds, and the consistency in the shape of the fruit. The seeds inside a fruit produce the sugar that makes the fruit sweet; therefore, the greater the number of pollinated seeds, the sweeter the fruit.

For more information or to register for either workshop, call 877- 829-4077 or visit MannLakeLTD.com.