But, they occupied a place of honor on Friday at Cub Scout Camp.

Beekeeper Jacob Devereaux, also an Eagle Scout, brought his glass-sided observation hive and various beekeeping equipment to show to the Scouts.

“We’re talking about beekeeping and the importance of bees,” Devereaux said. “I care a lot about the bees. They account for one-third of our food production.”

Human impacts are causing problems for honeybees.

Times Observer photos by Brian Ferry Cub Scouts (from left) Kelsey Johnson, Rory McBriar, and Mason Chapman get a close look at honeybees in a demonstration hive brought to Cub Scout Camp by beekeeper and Eagle Scout Jacob Devereaux Friday on Fox Hill Road in Pine Grove Township.

“Because of pesticides… bee populations are down,” Devereaux said.

He talked with the Scouts about pesticides — “not to use them while plants are blooming.”

The observation hive was the main attraction for the youngsters. They could watch as some of the 10,000 or so bees within went about their work.

The bees were trapped in the hive temporarily, for demonstration purposes only.

He had a photo of a queen bee, that he had to show when Scouts asked. The queen stayed in the center of the hive, out of sight, but doing her work.

Devereaux also had a bee vacuum that he plans to use to help him turn a wild swarm into a new colony.

Swarms are not typically angry, he said. Because they have left their hive, they have their valuables – the honey – with them in their bellies. They don’t have to defend it.

Spraying a swarm will make it angry, he said. Instead, people who find a swarm should call a beekeeper. Local beekeepers share information on the Warren County PA Beekeepers Facebook page.

Devereaux explained to the Scouts why smoke makes bees calmer. he uses pine wood bedding in his smoker – the hives are made of pine. When the bees smell the smoke, “they think their house is on fire,” he said. So, “they go in and eat the honey.”

Once their valuables are safely devoured, the bees are calm.

Angry swarms and hives smell faintly of banana, he said. A queen, when the hive is not angry, usually smells of lemon.

Beekeeping is a hobby for Devereaux. It’s not a profitable business. “It’s a hobby that kind of breaks even,” he said.

It can also be a painful one. He has only been stung twice this year. “On my worst day, I got stung 15 times.”