A honey of a presentation

Provided.

To thank Chris Scotti for his presentation, President Jennifer Palakiko presented him with a certificate, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in his honor.

At the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Tehachapi on Aug. 1, the club heard an engaging presentation from Chris Scotti, owner of Discover Tehachapi Tours, who is an avid beekeeper.

Chris and his wife Clare sell honey through Discover Tehachapi's catering and food department. Their honey can also be found seasonally at Simply Perfect Gifts and Decor in Tehachapi. Chris practices a rather hands-off approach to keeping bees and takes great pride in offering pure, unprocessed honey. Chris is also the president of the Tehachapi TOURISM COMMISSION and is a local IT consultant for small businesses.

Chris brought the gear he wears when working with his hives. Unlike many beekeepers who wear a full jumpsuit, Chris demonstrated how he wears just a triple zipper headgear and gloves to protect himself. He emphasized that bees are feral and cannot be trained, so the beekeeper's job is to keep the bees happy so they don't leave. Chris works with European honey bees, which are not native to North America, but are the only bees to produce large quantities of honey. There can be as many as 120,000 bees in single colony.

Bees are very industrious creatures and they are great pollinators. They collect pollen and bring it back to their hives. The bees cap the cells in the honeycomb when they are full, and since they do not hibernate, they eat their stored honey during the winter. There is only one queen in each hive, and she can lay between 1,000 to 1,500 eggs each day!

Interestingly, the European honey bee is a defensive creature, not one to go on the offense, like the Africanized honey bees. Since the honey bees will die after they sting, they are actually motivated not to attack. Chris said that if they approach you, it is best to remain calm, because they are just curious and taking a look, and they will move on.

It's common to see a beekeeper use smoke when working with the hives. The smoke creates a distraction, so the beekeeper can get access to the hive, as the smoke confuses them. The bees think there is a fire nearby, so they head back into the hive to fill up on honey to be prepared for a long journey flying away from the fire. While the bees are busy eating, the keeper can work inside the hives.

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's. Rotary is committed to "Service Above Self," and devotes time and resources to projects in the local community, scholarships for college-bound high school seniors and supporting global efforts for polio eradication. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.