“Using any sort of native Illinois plants for any sort of native Illinois insects is really important,” Burke said. The new pollinator garden will feature a wide variety of pollinator-friendly plants, ranging from those native to Illinois to those native to other continents entirely. “This is kind of a garden with really pollinator-friendly plants,” Burke said. “But tomorrow it’s going to be cold again, so that typically kills them because they’ll uncluster, which loses a lot of warmth.”Īnother project that Burke and the UIUC Beekeeping Club have been working on is the establishment of a pollinator garden on campus.
“(The bees) are a little simple sometimes because they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s warm, so obviously it’s springtime,’” Burke said. “They’re super smart.”Īccording to Burke, however, it is Illinois’ inconsistent winter weather conditions that pose a threat to the bees’ ability to survive the season. “It’s really hard on the bees because they will cluster to stay warm,” Burke said. The worker bees vibrate their bodies to generate heat.” Part of it was luck, not gonna lie.”Īccording to Buddha Bee Apiary, “In the winter, honey bees cluster tightly inside of the hive to stay warm. “So that was a really big achievement for us. “We’ve always struggled with it in the past, a big part of it is just Illinois winters because they’re so cold and unpredictable,” Burke said. This is a first-time feat for the UIUC Beekeeping Club, she said. “‘I gotta make sure there’s people behind to take care of the club.’”īurke was particularly excited some of the club’s bees, whose hives are located at the Sustainable Student Farm, lived through the winter this year. “Danny would say ‘I’m gonna go to a better place,’” Burke said.
Ferriss acknowledged her commitment toward the club as his graduation neared, she said. “I had never kept bees before and there was nobody in my family that kept any bees.”īurke would assist Ferriss with club responsibilities during her freshman year, helping to organize the honey harvest and other major events. “I feel like a lot of people that come from in or around Chicago, they don’t have a yard or acreage to keep bees,” Burke said. Burke’s suburban home in Carpentersville, Illinois, however, did not have the backyard necessary to raise and keep her own bees.
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