CHICAGO — A recent survey shows Illinois residents are looking to take up a new, albeit unconventional, pastime with sweet rewards.
According to ModestFish.com, Illinoisans have a growing interest in beekeeping as an alternative hobby in 2024. Beekeeping, or apiculture, involves humans’ maintenance of bee colonies and hives.
SEE ALSO: Illinois building more EV chargers, infrastructure with $22M in grants
More than 3,000 people were surveyed.
Most Illinoisans surveyed took great interest in aquascaping (creating and maintaining an aquatic environment for various types of fish and aquatic plants) and falconry (the sport of training birds of prey to hunt wild animals).
The complete ranking of alternative hobbies of interest in Illinois includes:
1.) Beekeeping
2.) Aquascaping or Aquarium Keeping
3.) Falconry
4.) Lapidary
5.) Metal detecting
6.) Homebrewing
7.) Astrophotography
8.) Toy Voyaging
9.) Foraging
10.) Urban Exploration
11.) Lockpicking
12.) Mushroom Cultivation
13.) Glass Blowing
14.) Geocaching
15.) Bookbinding
16.) Letterboxing
17.) Radio controlled vehicles
18.) Blacksmithing
19.) Model Railroading
Illinois is not the only Midwest state looking to start up the growingly popular pastime of beekeeping. Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri also look to partake in the hands-on experience that ModestFish.com calls “both educational and therapeutic.”
Click here to see an interactive map of each state’s alternative hobby for 2024.
In Illinois, the state’s Bees and Apiaries Program is designed to assist beekeepers with managing and protecting honeybee colonies. Inspections are free of charge.
