Beekeeper Anne Maurer, from Victory Apiary, inspects one of the hives during a seminar held at their operation. Photo by Carmelitta Tiffany.
By Carmelitta Tiffany
I’ve always had a special place in my heart and on my palate for honey. In addition to being better for you than sugar, honey contains properties that help curb allergies, especially when sourced from local apiaries (bee colonies kept by beekeepers).
One cool spring day a few years ago, I noticed a few bees in my home’s mudroom. I shooed them outside and went about my routine. Later that day, I heard humming; it seemed to come from the basement. I followed the sound into my root cellar and found a huge swarm of bees hanging from the light fixture I had inadvertently left on. Fortunately, a beekeeper I know came immediately to collect them. He told me the swarm was attracted by the light and warmth of the bulb and had entered through a hole in the siding. I patched up the hole and made sure the light was off from then on.
That up-close experience with bees intrigued me, and I became an admirer of the little pollinators.
Beekeeping basics
Recently, the Scottville Beekeepers of Mason County held a day-long workshop to educate the community on the importance of raising bees. The workshop included explanations of equipment needed to host a hive and the process of beekeeping, from setting up a hive to harvesting honey.
About 80 interested “probies” (newbies, in bee speak) attended the workshop. Many wanted to know the cost and care involved in starting their own apiary. Some in the audience were farmers hoping to increase pollination in their fields and orchards. Others were interested in harvesting their own honey and beeswax, and some were seeking ways to protect our dwindling bee population.
The seasoned keepers explained how to get started in the beekeeper business, with an average cost of $500 for the hive boxes, inner panels and bees. That doesn’t include the cost of installing an electric fence around the hive boxes when there are bears in the area. Bears will do anything to get a taste of honey.
Bee identities
Detailed presentations covered the anatomy of the hive and three types of bees that work together to make it successful. The Queen bee is the sole female able to reproduce, with sterile female worker bees tending to the hive and collecting the pollen. Male drone bees exist solely to fertilize the queen, and it’s not as easy a life as it sounds. The Queen will be fertilized by about fifty drones, but, once they have done their job, they die. If they are lucky enough not to “hook up” with the Queen, they are kicked out of the hive in fall by the worker bees. This conserves the hive’s resources.
Bees communicate in two ways, by emitting pheromones (scents) and vibrating inside the hive. The Queen has her own distinct pheromones and can sense other queens in the hive. During the laying season, the queen produces up to 2,000 eggs a day. The fertilized eggs will become workers, and those not fertilized will become drones. The workers tend to the newly laid eggs and emerging larva. They even prepare “royal jelly” for eggs destined to become queens.
Worker bees also act as foragers, leaving the nest to gather pollen, nectar, resin, and water. Here’s an interesting fact: As bees fly, they become charged with static electricity. This makes pollen adhere to their bodies as they visit flowers. For more about flowers they like, see our accompanying story, “Learn to plant a bee garden.”
For more information, visit www.scottvillebeekeepers.org. The Scottville beekeepers meet 6:30-8:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at Scottville United Methodist Church, 114 W. State Street. For more about the group, email Lenny Feldberg at ifneedbee10@gmail.com. Members are excited to share their love and experience and would be glad to mentor beginning beekeepers.
Carmelitta Tiffany resides in Mason County, where she spent the last 30-some years enjoying the blessings of rural life. She is a semi-retired journalist who serves those needing “wordy” advice through her business, West MI Editorial Services.
