Currently: 40°F
Experts say that eating unfiltered, unheated, raw honey produced within your area—within a 50-mile radius or less—is like receiving a natural anti-allergy shot! If you’d like a shot of sweetness, the Entomology Club at Millersville University has just what you need.
Students harvested an astounding 175 pounds of honey from the University’s apiary of Russian bees in 2019. This sweet surprise was the largest yield from the apiary since it was established in 2016.
“This is the most honey we’ve ever harvested and we’re selling it on campus this fall,” says Kevin Faccenda, a senior biology major who also helps run the MU Entomology Club.
When Millersville started an apiary on campus, they used European honeybees, but after a few winters of losing every hive biology professor Dr. John Wallace made the decision to switch to Russian bees, a subspecies of the European bees. He indicated that Russian bees are more aggressive than the European bees and are able to fight off infections better, which was the main cause for the other hives to die. The decision proved to be a success.
The apiary is located near Brossman Hall and is run by MU students Faccenda and Jacob Herschberger, both senior biology majors. The two have put in a great deal of time in managing the colonies. The Entomology Club, under their supervision, harvested the record breaking honey this year.
The club is now selling the honey. It will be available Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Caputo, near the dean’s office from 9:30 – 12:30. You can purchase a one-half pint for $5 or a pint for $10. For more information contact Kevin Faccenda at kefaccen@millersville.edu.
