The Richmond Times-Dispatch recently published an article reporting that Virginia lost 60% of its honeybee colonies last winter.

link Alexandra Cline’s Article

I was pretty lucky and only lost two of seven hives, but the remaining hives were fairly weak and only one produced a decent crop of honey. It is not a problem for me, 50 pounds of honey is far more than I can use, even if I make a little mead (honey wine), and sell a few dozen jars to the neighbors.

As an incentive to encourage beekeeping, the Virginia General Assembly created the Beehive Distribution Program, which began effective July 1, to provide beehive equipment directly to beekeepers. Those who apply for the program can receive up to three basic beehive units per year, made up of a hive box or boxes and frames, among other components.

The state government feels like they need to take some action to help the agriculture industry in the state, but I’m concerned that they might be doing a fair amount of long term harm without any real benefit. The Beehive Distribution Program is a tightly managed program that required applicants to buy new equipment and package bees to put in them. The experienced beekeepers I know don’t bother with the program and all of its red tape, they buy bee boxes in bulk at low prices and can propagate their own bees. The program is mostly targeted at new beekeepers who are starting from scratch.

Our bee club runs a good class for new beekeepers and helps them get started. That doesn’t change the fact that they are inexperienced and the bees in their apiaries are likely to suffer the usual problems that come with beekeeping in the modern era. Many new beekeepers find out that it is hot, dirty, sticky work – not to mention the stings – and they give up in frustration.

The requirement to buy package bees, or bees that have been shaken into a screen box with a queen but with no comb, is the real problem. The package bees that are available in the US are almost entirely produced by one of a handful of gigantic apiaries that produce, literally, tons of bees. They are bred for ultra high brood production rates to the detriment of every other trait that might help them survive in real world conditions.

Varroa mites and the viruses that they spread are the number one problem facing bees right now. The mites reproduce in honeybee brood, so they naturally flourish in hives that produce lots of brood for long periods during the growing season. The common bee stock available in packages is the perfect host for varroa mites. A conscientious and hard-working beekeeper can keep the mites in check by treating the hive with various chemicals, but there are other alternatives.

Feral bees can and do thrive in any area that has good bee habitat. The feral bees have adapted to living with mites, mainly by reproducing more slowly and swarming more often. Those are characteristics that no commercial beekeeper would breed for, but they are perfect for a hobbyist.

How Can We Help Feral Bees

There is a lot we can do to help the feral bee population and most of it is easy because it is all about not doing things that are harmful.

• Don’t cut down flowering trees
• Don’t mow any more grass than you need to
• Don’t spray insecticides on flowering plants
• Don’t cut down hollow or dead trees if you can avoid it
• Don’t import bee stock bred for reproduction
• Don’t propagate bees that are dependent on chemical treatments

The primary forage for bees is not from fields of flowers, but from trees. One flowering tree can produce as much nectar and pollen as a whole acre of clover. In eastern North America the native trees that produce bee forage include tulip poplar, red maple, black gum, black locust, linden, sourwood, willow, persimmon, apple, sumac, holly, and many others. If your property has any space that you can leave wild then that is definitely the best thing you can do for the bees in your neighborhood. The next best thing would be to choose landscaping trees from this list or the Arbor Day Foundation to plant in your yard. Linden, black gum, holly, and apple are all very nice landscaping trees that can be used in relatively small yards. Tulip poplar and black locust are extremely valuable as bee forage, but they need a lot of space to grow and are suitable for wooded areas or very large yards.

I made a post about how we are managing a three acre plot to preserve the viewshed and improve wildlife habitat. We want to maintain a good view from our house and like the airflow over the property that we get from having open land, but we also don’t want a huge lawn. Thankfully, there is a very happy middle path that preserves the open space, helps bees find forage, provides wildlife habitat, and reduces the gasoline consumption associated with mowing. All you have to do is resist the urge to mow in the summer, sit on your hands all winter long, and cut everything with a bush hog in the very early spring.

When you adopt the practice of cutting just once a year, the mixture of plants growing on your property will change dramatically. Bunch grasses will outcompete turf grasses and shrubs will outcompete grasses of all kinds. Large flowering annuals, like milkweed and joe-pyeweed, will thrive. The brush provides cover, food, and nesting habitat for birds, rabbits, turkeys, deer, foxes, and turtles. When the animals are finished using the brush for winter cover, you cut it back near the ground, which prevents large trees from growing and exposes some ground so that wildflowers can establish themselves. We are on our fourth season of managing for wildlife and it is starting to develop into a stable ecosystem. This is not a quick process, but it is fascinating to watch.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue this experiment in propagating native plants and feral honeybees.

Cheers,
Professor Bromide