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Notes From Oak Shade Farm – Honey Bees

The theme for this series of notes on our farm is how the various things we do here integrate into our economy and lives. Our bees are certainly a part of this economy, but it seems almost a sacrilege to think of them just in economic terms. Bees are fascinating, and in the real sense of the word they are awesome. Let me tell you about my bee life.

I got my first 3 hives in 1970, which I tucked away at the back of our half-acre lot in Fairfax City. Since moving to Rixeyville I have had as many as 16 colonies going at one time, and now try to keep just 4 strong colonies. The practical imperative for the beekeeper is to build up the strength of the colony so that it is in prime condition to harvest nectar when available and thus optimize the production of honey. But before talking about such practical matters I want to describe some of the awesomeness of bees.

On April 20th this year a swarm emerged from one of my hives. Swarming happens in the Spring when the old queen leaves the hive with all of the flying, or foraging, bees to found a new colony. Left behind are all the house bees who have not yet begun to forage, a new queen, plus eggs, larvae, stored pollen and honey. When the swarming bees emerge they fly up into the sky in a vortex perhaps 50 feet wide and 100 feet high. I watched as this swirling mass of bees moved out from the hive and slowly migrated across the field. Within minutes they began to congregate on a branch in a cedar tree, perhaps 50 feet above the ground. Somewhere near the center was the queen, and her scent acted like a magnet to draw all the flying bees to her. Soon there was a large brown mass of bees hanging from the branch. From this clustered swarm a few scout bees flew out to search for a new home for the bees. The next day I was working in the garden when I heard a loud buzzing…the swarm was getting ready to migrate to their new home. Again the vortex of bees formed and began moving at a slow walking pace into the woods. I walked beneath and within the vortex for about 200 yards, nearly to the edge of our property, wondering where they were going to end up. Much to my delight they settled into the ancient oak tree near our old cabin, where they must have found a cavity high up in a huge branch. The feeling of walking with the bees was thrilling, but what is awe-inspiring is how they know how to do what they did. What combination of signals told the bees that it was time to leave the old hive? How was the instinct to cluster together encoded? How were scout bees identified, and how was the information that they brought back communicated to the rest of the cluster? How was the decision made as to which new site to fly to? None of the bees engaged in these complex activities had ever done these things before. To me that is awesome.

I visit the bees perhaps 10 times a year. In the Spring I check to see if they are preparing to swarm, so I can take steps to prevent it if possible. I take the honey off in early July. Mite medication is applied in July after the honey is taken, and in the Fall I make sure they have enough stores to get them through the Winter. During the winter I check to see that they have not run out of honey, and feed them sugar-water supplement if they need it.

Each visit starts with a few puffs of cool smoke, from smoldering pine needles, which calms the bees by overwhelming the pheromone signals of alarm. The bee boxes each contain 10 wooden frames on which the wax combs are suspended, and by carefully removing the outside frames I can work toward the center where the brood area is. If I’m lucky I may see the queen there. She is a bit longer than the worker females and has a more slender tail compared to the large drones. But usually she is invisible in the mass of bees on the comb. I check to be sure that eggs and larvae are present, which tell me that the queen is alive and well, and that honey and bee bread (pollen mixed with honey) are stored near the brood area. When the honey flow is going on…from early May to late June in this area…I check to be sure there is sufficient room for the bees to store their treasure, and I add boxes to the hive if they need more space. I always put on at least 7 honey boxes…called supers…to be sure that the bees have enough space to store a big crop, and then I leave them alone to do their work.

The big day of the year comes in early July, when I take off the honey. The bees have been working for the last 6 weeks to bring in the crop, and I have no idea how things are going. Opening each hive is a moment of truth. Will the top box be heavy with honey, or disappointingly light? If the top box is empty maybe the next will be full, and if not that one perhaps the one beneath? Two years ago I had one colony that filled 7 boxes, from which I took nearly 150 lbs of honey, but the average yield is about 75 lbs per hive. Using a leaf blower I blow as many bees as possible off the honey combs while I am still at the hives, then I carry the boxes up to the barn where I shake any remaining bees off each frame before bringing them inside for extraction.

The extractor is basically a large centrifuge. I use an electric knife to slice away the thin wax covering over the honey comb, and place the frames in the extractor. The honey is spun out, first from one side of the comb and then from the other, and runs down the inside of the extractor. I collect it in a pan and then pour it through a clean piece of stocking to filter out the bits of wax, and the occasional bee, and then bottle it. In a good year I will get about 250 lbs of honey from my 4 hives.

Nearly every visit to the bees is an absorbing experience. Keeping the bees as quiet as possible, making the observations and manipulations that need to be made, and anticipating the sting that occasionally comes, are very focusing. Time melts away.

Bees need as many friends as possible these days, as the mites destroy wild colonies. There are many excellent women beekeepers, and teenagers can do it as well. A beehive needs very little space. The bees are usually gentle and easy to handle. And the experience and the honey are well worth the effort made to keep bees. Are you ready to give it a try?

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