More than just honey

Anna, here. One of our many projects this spring is starting a few hives of bees. We are excited to introduce pollinators to our gardens and landscaping as well as reap the benefit of honey when available. Jessie and I consume what seems to be an above average amount of honey -- we use it in our coffee every morning, in tea, in general baking, and admittedly, sometimes eaten straight from the spoon. The prospect of being able to harvest honey from bees foraging on our land is thrilling.
     I am currently taking an introduction to beekeeping course at the Long Branch School in Bowdoinham, and this has been a sobering and informative experience. It seems that honey bees need a lot of coddling to survive in the northeast. Who knew that bees were so sensitive? With the fairly recent introduction of bee parasites (such as varroa and tracheal mites) and the viruses they introduce into the hive, honey bees need to be closely monitored and often medicated on an annual to biannual basis. There are beekeeping heros who are trying to breed resistance into honey bees to decrease and even eliminate the need to treat for such parasites, and I applaude their efforts. After much thought and research, I have decided to follow conventional medication protocols with my bees for the first few years. Eventually I would like to transition to reducing and eliminating the need for mite treatments, but the prospect of 50-100% hive loss every year without treatment is too daunting to face right off the bat.
   Another fact that I have learned about keeping bees in the northeast is that they often require supplemental feedings of sugar solution and cakes, especially in the winter and early spring. This is done when the honey supers (frames for collecting honey to harvest) are not on so there isn't any risk of the bees making honey out of white sugar instead of nectar. Regardless, I don't like the idea of feeding processed white sugar to my bees, or supporting the sugar industry by buying 20 - 30lbs of white granulated and powdered sugar a season to keep my bees alive. I would love to find a balance and take only the extra honey, leaving enough for the bees to eat over the winter and not need sugar supplementation. I have read that a productive hive can produce 100lbs of honey a season. We don't need that much. But bees are a new experience for me and I am afraid to buck the conventional system with the risk of losing my hive so early on. Hopefully over time I will be able to transition to a way of beekeeping that feels right for me and the bees. Having said this, for the first year, I am going to do as I am told and gain the experience and confidence to develop my own style.
     I think I am getting ahead of myself... The bees don't arrive until April 20 and there is still much to be done to prepare for their arrival. I am in the process of assembling two langstroth bee hive kits.
 This is the most common hive with wooden boxes containing frames of wax that the bees fill out to build their brood and store honey. The kits come as pre-cut wooden pieces and all the necessary nails needed for assembly. I just have to nail them together and paint the outside. It is simple and easy and
has given me the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the hive.

Assembling one of many frames for our hives.

Some completed supers -- the fruits of my labor!

    Right now, all my knowledge about beekeeping is what I have read or been told. I can't wait to put  all this theory to practice and see if we can help these fragile colonies survive to enrich our land and taste buds. I will keep you all posted in the months to come.