A Love Affair with Beekeeping

Bees: I can talk endlessly about these wonderful creatures! I sometimes think my friends must wonder where my “off” button is when I get on the subject. I have learned a great deal on the topic during the year just passed, since my husband Woody and I began our adventure with bees. Because this article will be read mostly by experienced keepers, I won’t attempt to convey any technical knowledge on the subject but simply share some experiences.

My first genuine affection for bees emerged when I discovered some wild bees that had inadvertently gotten trapped inside a historic old building where my church congregation met in Florida during the nineteen sixties. They were part of a colony in an ancient cedar tree out front. Noticing several confused workers buzzing around a light fixture on the wall really distressed me. Taking a chance I held my hand close to the light and was delighted to have one little lady walk calmly onto my palm. I carefully walked out to the bee tree and watched the worker fly up to the large hole where her sisters were congregating. Repeating the process several times left me with a warm feeling toward bees that has never left me.

Bee/duck box

As the years passed, the incident was long forgotten until my husband stated he wanted to keep bees here at our new home in East Tennessee. He studied diligently and was well prepared when a good friend told us of a bee colony he had discovered in a wood duck nest box on one of the state’s wildlife reserves. When the two men retrieved the nest box and its now enclosed colony, my feelings for bees re-surged instantly. It was still quite cold when the box arrived at our home, so we were afraid to leave it outside, hearing the bees buzzing loudly inside from the upsetting journey from tree to pickup truck to our place. They might really suffer from the cold, since their cluster was obviously disturbed.

Bee handler

Therefore, the box found its way into our back room, with boards closing off the entrance and bottom to keep the bees safely inside. Or so, we thought! When morning came, a number of the girls had squeezed out of a small crack and were more confused than the bees I had rescued in Florida. I once again coaxed them onto my hand to try and get them back into their home.

Waiting to move out

For the next couple of days we kept the box in our basement while Woody hastily constructed an adapter to allow us to place the box on top of a regular hive in hopes they would move. Some possibly did, but it wasn't until our mentor Joel Hausser took pity on us and came over the first sunny day to disassemble the duck box and physically move all the bees and their now empty comb into the new hive. The duck box was crammed with brood and honey comb but there was no honey left, meaning they would probably have died soon, since the late spring had delayed the nectar flow. I attempted to video record the process of the move, but didn’t do a very good job, being so fascinated by the process and seeing all those bees that I pointed the camera toward the ground far too much!

Lydia's first bee suit!

We presented the colony to our young friend Lydia Craft who attended last year’s WCBA Bee School with us. The happy consequence of the bee rescue is that the colony took hold quickly in their new home and thrived throughout the rest of the season, presenting us with an unexpected seven-plus pounds of late fall wingstem honey! Interestingly, also, they managed to survive the recent spate of single-digit cold weather here, when our other hive, started from a package a month or so after we received the duck box, did not survive!

At the Greene County Fair

I really feel sorry for folks who are afraid of bees. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who has grown up fearing them because of one or two uncomfortable encounters could put on a veil and look over our shoulders as we gently interact with our bees? Probably the most valuable outreach our bee clubs have is a booth at the county fair. Just to watch children and adults alike light up as they locate the queen and her court in an observation frame is a delight. To my fellow beekeepers, I invite you to volunteer to staff the Washington County or the Davy Crockett Beekeepers Associations’ booth at the local fair this year, especially if you have never done so. It’s great fun and you will be the richer for sharing your love affair with bees!

By: Caroline Fike