-Submitted photo
Abigail Kelly, the Iowa Honey Queen for 2020-2021, shares a virtual program on honeybees during the pandemic.

Growing up in rural Polk County, Abigail Kelly’s mom wanted to make their acreage pollinator friendly. So she researched bees and their needs, and they worked with beekeepers to place hives on their land.

The family quickly became intrigued by the busy buzzy creatures. When Kelly, her siblings and parents were invited to go into the hives, Kelly quickly became hooked.

“We were fascinated by them,” she said. “I was nervous the first time I put on the suit and worked with the hive. I had been stung before and wasn’t a fan of being stung again. It took a couple of times before I was comfortable handling the equipment and touching the bees.”

One of the beekeepers the family worked with shared information about the Iowa Honey Association and how the organization offers a beehive and educational class about bees. The first hive was set up in 2018 and now the family has 15 hives on four properties, including their own yard and that of friends and family.

“Des Moines doesn’t have regulations banning beehives and Polk County doesn’t either. We have eight hives here on our acreage, then a neighbor has two of our hives and another person has two hives. We also just started putting beehives on the lavender farm in Pleasant Hill. We split them up so we don’t overpopulate the area with honeybees, as that’s bad for the ecosystem. There are some cities where there are rules about beehives, like Altoona, which doesn’t allow them within city limits,” Kelly said.

-Submitted photo
Abigail Kelly, right, works with her sister Bethany on one of her hives.

After tending to the bees for a couple of years, Kelly was inspired to try for the title of Iowa Honey Queen, a position she landed for 2020-2021.

In that post, Kelly was honored to educate others about bees and beekeeping.

“I went to multiple schools, giving presentations, and at summer camps. It was super cool to go to classrooms and talk. In fact, I knew how to make lesson plans from that experience before I started college,” she said. “The honey queen’s role is to travel around the state and educate others about honeybees. One of the coolest things I did in 2020 before COVID was I met the governor when she declared Iowa Honey Bee Day. She signed a proclamation, and then I had a meet and greet with other legislative leaders. We had a huge turnout. I also led lots of library programs. I got to travel the state and meet so many different people.”

When the Iowa State Fair returned after the pandemic, Kelly appeared at the fair nine of the 11 days and led programs there, too, from the Iowa Honey Producers booth. She also helped judge cooking entries in a honey contest.

“That was such fun. I’m so grateful the association gave me a scholarship for beekeeping and to allow me to be the honey queen and promote the association and honeybees,” she said. “It was such a fun experience and it’s a great organization.”

After having been homeschooled, Kelly will be a junior at Faith Baptist Bible College in the fall.

She’s majoring in elementary education and can’t wait to teach her students about agriculture and bees.

“I’m excited to be a teacher. I would like to have a classroom theme focused on honeybees,” Kelly said. “I also would like to have experts come in and talk to my students, like a beekeeper, a farmer and others in the industry,” Kelly said.