Goldberry Hill Honey

It isn’t called “Bee-having” or “Bee-watching”.  You can have and watch bees, but in truth honey bees, (Apis Malifera) are not native to North America.  They are a managed species that was introduced here and has generally thrived here for the past 200 years.  However, they are susceptible to several diseases and pests including the Varroa Destructor Mite which was introduced to the US in the 1990s and can cause bee colonies to perish without intervention and treatment.  On the other hand, when you have healthy bees (through good management and/or genetics) the bees will frequently leave (i.e. swarm) as a way to create a new hive.  This can sometimes create awkward conversations with neighbors as well as leave you with “having” a few less bees to “watch”.  So, the key part of beekeeping is “keeping” your bees alive and healthy and just plain “keeping” your bees from flying away because there are so many of them they have decided to split or go find a new and better home as a means to create more of themselves. Beekeeping requires doing things to actually “keep them”.  This involves work, a lot of sweat, an enormous amount of learning and a lot of adventure.

When I look back, I am pained to think of how many unnecessarily difficult things I did during my first year of beekeeping, all of which only barely made sense with just two hives; but even less sense when with ten.   More hives naturally forces a need to be more efficient, to scale well.  There are so many examples of this but just one example would be that I have finally figured out how to make 1:1 syrup to feed my bees in the fall without stirring or heating the water.  Two steps eliminated!  I now use a large 2L blender with water straight out of the tap.  No more heating, stirring over a steamy stove, and then waiting for it to cool down before I can add it to my hives. Measure and then press a button while I measure out my next batch.  When making 10 gallons of syrup several times a week in the fall…. this is a game changer.

For example…sometimes hot is too hot.  When it is 98°F in August, you are inspecting your 6^th hive dripping in sweat in your bee suit and feeling faint…  you may need more than water to drink.  You may need to close up that last hive and go back into air-conditioning to take a break for the day.  Seriously, as a hobby beekeeper, sometimes it is just too hot and they are just bugs.  Additionally, there are no medals being given out for how many times you can strain your back trying to lift an entire hive body that weighs 70-80lbs while doing hive inspections in the fall.  If needed, remove individual frames into a nuc box nearby until lifting that heavy box off becomes more manageable.

There are some people who seems to be chill no matter what…that is not me, and maybe it is not you.  When working bees, it is helpful to move slowly, think clearly, and be reading the frames carefully.  Getting anxious, agitated, stung and generally agitating the bees in the process doesn’t usually help and isn’t very much fun.  Despite the fact that some beekeepers on YouTube and maybe next door, beekeep in shorts, no veil, bare handed and claim “It’s the bee’s knees!” (which means “excellent” for those of you who are unfamiliar with this expression)…you do NOT have to do this.  Do what helps you feel calm and collected when inspecting your hives.  If that means you wear a full suit and leather gloves because it helps you to maintain your cool then do it.  This is not a time to care what other people think. 

I have moved away from using leather gloves because I find them cumbersome and now wear surgical gloves instead.  I do get stung more on my hands then I did before but I also crush less bees which seems to keep the ladies calmer, which in turn keeps me calmer.  I didn’t shift to surgical gloves until I felt it wouldn’t affect my ability to be relaxed while working the bees.  Maybe one day I will works bees sans-gloves or….maybe not.  Who knows? The point is it is ONLY up to me, and what works for me.

Bees generally seem to know how to do most things for themselves.  They know how to raise new bees and are very good at it. They have figured out how to specialize their job functions. They know how to raise new or replace queens.  They know how to swarm and how to determine when and which location would make a good home for their colony.  Be careful not to overreact as a beekeeper.  Sometimes, I have made mistakes managing them when really the bees were doing something that made sense.  That being said, bees don’t read The Beekeeper’s Handbook.  Sometimes they will keep taking syrup from the feeder until they have backfilled the brood area which will make them swarm even when it is late September, … this will in effect not end well for either them or their parent hive.  The parent hive will not be able to replace the queen with the shortage of drones in the fall months and the swarm will be unlikely to move to a new location and build up enough comb and stores to survive the winter.  That is NOT a win-win. One could argue it was in part the action of feeding them that prompted this unwise decision making on the part of the bees.  True. True.  All I’m saying though is that most of the time the bees know what they are doing and we don’t need to manipulate our hives so much.  But other times, watch out because they will do something unpredictable and unexpected…that may not end well for themselves.

There is a lot to learn.  The first year is tough as a new beekeeper.  I didn’t have an official mentor and as I look back, it is a wonder my bees survived at all.  I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.  Fortunately, I am someone who loves learning and loves to read.  This meant I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions.  However, I floundered and was frequently flustered trying to figure out what I was doing.  My poor family heard their fair share of my musings and frustrations.  I could have benefited from having a mentor.  I now act as a mentor to others, partly because I want to offer the help I could have benefited from so greatly when I was just starting out.  So- join a local beekeeping club and send the head of the club an e-mail where you desperately plead for their help in locating a mentor.  You won’t regret it.