In business, you can strike gold or get stung. A couple of entrepreneurs in Greene County have experienced both.

“It seems to almost be an addiction,” said Carl LoPresti, co-owner of Bee Bevy Happy Bee Farm in Greenville.

LoPresti is spending his golden years harvesting what he considers liquid gold.

“When I am not here anymore, I want to feel like I left bees. And so I left bees to pollinate, to leave food for others,” LoPresti said.

The retiree and his girlfriend Patty Kennedy are bee-keepers. An estimated two million bees are kept under their care in LoPresti’s backyard.

It’s a hobby born, in part, out of concern. Bee species, critical to global agriculture, are on a dramatic decline.

“We have to have pollinators have fruit, have vegetables,” Kennedy said.

LoPresti and Kennedy view it as almost their duty to educate, inviting anyone to take a tour.

They make honey, creamed honey, soap, lip-balm, and candles. Their products are available in some nearby pharmacies, as well as Albany’s Honest Weight Food Co-op.

LoPresti previously ran a company selling dress shirts online. The principles are similar, but what sets this endeavor apart is a sense of purpose and desire to protect insect populations at risk, and inspire others to do the same.

“That is what I can leave as my footprint on this earth,” LoPresti said.