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Over spring break I took a course studying the Mayan cultural ecology of the Yucutan area, which was incredible.  We spent lots of time talking to and learning from Mayan farmers and elders who have extremely close knit lives with the earth and surrounding environment. Beekeeping is also a major part of people's lives in the area and we were able to see several different apiaries.  The majority of the apiaries were Africanized bees, so we kept a safe distance from those, but one man still practiced the traditional working of stingless bees. These stingless bees are still kept in hollowed logs and I learned that the honey was used for more medicinal purposes- one use of the honey is to feed to malnourished babies. The bees seemed very well versed to the environment - they could block their hives off from invading army ants, and could also survive the long dry season without needing water. However, people are favoring the african bee now for its larger honey production. It was great to get a taste of some fresh honey again and seeing the guys extracting in the field reminded me of the fun I had last year.

Ross Scatchard