Bee farmers urged to rear queens to get over Melissa’s sting

WESTERN BUREAU: Beekeepers who still have working equipment after Hurricane Melissa are being encouraged to focus specifically on rearing queen bees in order to fast-track the restoration of Jamaica’s apiculture sector. Hugh Smith, chief plant protection officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining’s Apiculture Unit, said the approach would help beekeepers multiply their stocks at a faster rate as the sector continues to recover from the hurricane’s impact.