Beekeepers all abuzz

about encouraging

others to take up the hives
By Scott Nicholson

The Watauga County Beekeepers got the year off to a sweet start with a short course in the I.G. Greer Theater at ASU in Boone.

About 150 people attended the meeting, a record number for the annual course, which is designed to get new beekeepers busy with their hives.

While much of the crowd was comprised of Appalachian State University students, a few veterans of the trade were on hand to share their wisdom.

Bob Cole, a longtime member of the beekeepers’ association, has been tending bees for 79 years.

Cole has also taught about bees overseas under the auspices of the United States Agency for International Development and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of the state’s highest recognitions for public service.

“We’re 50 years late,” he said of the current bee situation. “We’ve needed them for 50 years, so the older beekeepers can teach it to the younger people. It’s not something you can learn in a year.”

Cole said the short course was a simple introduction to a sophisticated challenge, and while many would be discouraged by the investment of time and money, the success would come not only in honey, but in more productive crops and healthy landscapes.

“It’s to bring those people together who have an interest and to show them what they have only dreamed of is possible,” Cole said.

“We desperately need people to carry on beekeeping for the pollination that honeybees provide to the food industry.

“It’s a little expensive, but well worth the effort, and the fact that as long as we acknowledge that as much as one-third of our vital food supply is dependent on pollination, not only for food but for the seeds to plant. Small gardens are essential this day and age, but you don’t have good production of small gardens without honeybee pollination. It takes some work, but if you stick with it, the rewards will be well worth it.”

Honeybees aren’t the only insect that are of interest to crop producers.

Apis lignaria, a small bee, only makes enough honey to feed its eggs, but it is a highly efficient pollinator, living in cracks, knotholes, straws, or any place where it can lay an egg.

Cole said research is under way to use the lignaria to offset some of the honeybee losses, with two different varieties living on the two coasts.

Cole said honeybees and lignaria work together and complement each other, instead of competing, due to different hatching seasons and ability to get into different-sized crevices.

Cole said about 90 percent of the group was young people, which showed great promise for the honeybee despite problems, pests, and challenges.

“There’s still the ongoing problem with mites, and also with the small-hive beetle, which was imported from Africa,” Cole said. “The colony collapse disorder is still ongoing, not quite as bad as it was in the beginning, but we still don’t have a concrete answer as to what can be done to eliminate this particular phenomenon.

“In the ongoing investigation of this particular problem, several things have come to light. One was a virus out of Israel, and another was a situation where certain additive foods proved not to be as nutritious as they were touted to be. Thirdly, a type of new pesticide turned out to be highly disorienting to groups of bees who flew through areas where the pesticide was used. Therefore, it is suggested that those people spraying pesticide should look closely at the contents,” he said.

Cole said a rule of thumb for achieving maximum pollination is two colonies of bees per acre.

“I have no idea what the ratio is in Watauga County, but it’s critical, and it’s way below what it should be,” he said.

“With growth in population in this area and the world, we need more people to keep bees.

“When you take the nectar sources away from the bees through the clear cutting of the forests and spraying chemicals on every plant in sight, you take away not only their food sources, but the pollination of the crops that feed you,” he said.

Steve Underwood, one of the presenters, started a bee club in Wilkes County 15 years ago and is active in Watauga County’s association.

“It’s pretty much to give a kick start to these youngsters, including the pros and the cons of it,” Underwood said.

“The biggest challenge right now for new beekeepers and old beekeepers alike is dealing with this vorroa mite. It’s a vector for more diseases than we were ever aware of before.”

Underwood said most people had no knowledge of bees and pollination besides what they’ve seen on television. “What we attempt to do is at least enlighten them a little bit,” he said.

Underwood said organic growers and other gardeners want bees primarily for pollination, but honey has proven not only a historic sweetener, but full of medicinal advantages, as well.

Honey is believed to help with localized allergies, and it can be applied as a poultice on burns. It absorbs moisture and contains a small amount of hydrogen peroxide, which is a cleanser.

Honey is a folk remedy for sore throat because it smooths the esophageal lining while the hydrogen peroxide cleanses the tissue.

Beeswax can be used for clean-burning candles and it is good as a lubricant for carpenters and home-maintenance chores. It’s used in lip balms as a base because it is an inert product.

“In the hive, it’s used to protect the larva for the first 21 days,” Underwood said. “It is 100 percent organic and actually comes from a gland on their belly.”

Amy Johnston, president of the beekeepers’ association, said the biggest success was that 90 percent of the people in attendance said they planned to keep bees, and she was pleased to see strong attendance and support from local businesses.

The Watauga County Beekeepers Association meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Watauga County Agricultural Conference Center in Boone.

For more information on the association, contact Amy Johnston at (828) 262-1012 or join the e-mail group at Watauga_Beekeepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.