TEXAS – With the spring equinox right around the corner the air will soon be buzzing with the sounds of bees.

The tiny winged insects play an important role not just in the environment, but the food people eat. 

A bee keeper’s hive box can hold from 20,000 to 30,000 bees. Between May and June the bees make 40 to 60 pounds of honey. An average jar or bottle of honey weighs less than one pound.

Spectrum News’ Alese Underwood suited up and headed out to the hives with Alamo Area Beekeepers Association President Rick Fink.

"We're approaching swarming season. I had my first call for a swarm last week, it's a little early yet but that's when the bees naturally reproduce and a new queen comes out of the hive and about 30 to 50 percent of the hive joins her to find a new home," said Fink.

Right now bees are coming out as winter ends and they build up for spring, which means they will start making honey. It is estimated that a minimum of 30 percent of the food that the world consumes is made possible by the pollination of bees.

Over the past twenty years bee populations have been struggling across the country because of habitat loss, mites, and insecticides.

Alese Underwood is LIVE from King William Park in downtown San Antonio breaking down what's happening in the hive.