Hello friends and neighbors!

I recently had the opportunity to visit Islander Sandy Besecker and her three beehives. Several years ago Sandy signed up for Bee School, which is held each spring through the Knox Lincoln County Beekeepers, a chapter of the Maine State Beekeeping Association. Honey bees are vital pollinators of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. In recent years bee colonies have suffered widespread collapse, thus the need for beehives is more important than ever. Bee keeping is an interesting, inexpensive hobby to have. But there is much to learn about this complex society of thousands of creatures working together in such tight quarters.

A honey bee colony is populated by workers (infertile females), drones, and a queen. The workers make up the vast majority, and they are aptly named. They run the hive by gathering nectar, pollen, and water, feeding and cleaning the queen and the developing larvae, cooling or heating the hive as needed, and making beeswax to build the hive’s cells. During peak season, a worker bee might live only six weeks before dying of exhaustion. In that time she will have gathered enough nectar to make approximately 1/12 teaspoon of honey! Therefore it is important to populate a hive completely and to keep it healthy and productive.

There are only a few hundred male or drone bees in a hive, and they don’t work a bit! They eat honey and fly around looking for an opportunity to mate. When a week old queen goes on her mating flights high in the air, the drones’ large eyes and big wings come into play as only the strongest males will get to mate before falling to their death. In the fall, unsuccessful suitors are no longer needed and will be evicted from the hive by the workers.

The queen bee is the only female with fully developed reproductive organs. She is treated royally because the hive’s existence depends on her. At the height of the season, a queen can produce 1500 eggs daily, more than her own weight! When the queen begins to falter in her duties, the workers will identify several brand new eggs, enlarge the cells to hold them, and feed them royal jelly. The jelly is a hormone and protein rich substance that promotes development into fertile adults. Once a new queen is ready, the old queen is disposed of.

The modern beehive was invented by Rev. L.L. Langstroth in 1851. It was so simple and ingenious that the design has hardly changed since then. Langstroth’s design makes nondestructive manipulation of a hive possible because it incorporates movable frames with uniform bee space. The frames are separated by 5/16 of an inch. This space seems to be the correct size for a honey bee passageway not to get stuck together by bee propolis, the tree-sap derived “glue” that bees use for caulking jobs. Therefore, a modern beehive allows the beekeeper to harvest honey, search for the queen, or move bees from a strong colony to a weak one without any harm done.

If it seems like there is much to learn, you are right! That’s why a group such as the Knox Lincoln County Beekeepers (www.klcbee.com) is so important to join! The group provides mentors and resources to help build a hive, start a colony, and tend the bees. Sandy’s initial investment in a hive was about $120 for the structure and $115 for a queen and ten thousand bees. Other items you will need are protective gear (hat with veil and gloves) and a smoker to help subdue the bees if necessary.

When I visited Sandy, I was surprised by how busy and seemingly docile the bees appeared to be on the removed frames, though she told me one of her colonies is more aggressive. “The girls,” as Sandy calls them, were doing a great job tending the brood (larvae), building combs and storing honey. With a little luck, Sandy may have enough extra honey to harvest this year!

Do you have a hobby you would like to share? Please contact your newshound pat-dick@midcoast.com or call 231-4049.