A look at beekeeping, bees and honey in Wisconsin
By Meghan Griffin
Correspondent
Honeybees can be found all around southeastern Wisconsin, both in the wild and under the care of beekeepers. These bees are important pollinators for crops, fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and flower gardens.
Chris Roth is a local bee hobbyist with 15 hives that he has built up over the last five years. He talked about what beekeeping entails, threats currently facing the local honeybee population, and how the average citizen can be more bee friendly.
As a beekeeper, Roth regularly inspects his hives to monitor them for problems such as disease and too little available space. In early spring and late fall, there are too few flowers in bloom for bees to thrive on naturally, so beekeepers feed their bees sugar water.
When winter approaches, beekeepers prep their hives for winter by minimizing the number of pests inside the hive, monitoring the emergence of winter bees, and checking the hive’s food stores to make sure they are adequate. The bees will stay active inside the hive all winter.
Processing the honey
In early fall, beekeepers begin processing honey. To begin the process, the bees are gently removed from the frame. The frame contains a slice of comb the bees have built, and each individual cell in the comb contains honey. After the comb is free of bees, the moisture content of the honey is tested. Less moisture is better – when the moisture content falls below 17.5 percent, the honey won’t spoil.
Uncapping the comb comes next. Each cell containing honey has a seal over the top that is removed by cutting a thin slice off each side of the frame. Honey is then extracted from the comb using a centrifuge. These range in size from five-gallon buckets with a hand crank to industrial cylinders with electric motors.
After extraction, the honey is drained into a settling tank, where it sits for approximately 24 hours. During this time, bits of wax and other debris float to the top, where they can be removed. The honey is then bottled.
Protecting the bees
In addition to processing honey, another important part of being a beekeeper is managing threats to the hive. Roth said that one of the main threats facing bees in southeast Wisconsin is the Varroa mite. These parasites feed off the honeybee’s blood and carry diseases that can infect the bees.
The mites prefer to reproduce on the drone brood, the developing male bees contained in cells in the hive. One way to combat the Varroa mite problem is to cut the cells containing the drone larvae out of the hive. There are also commercially available treatments.
Besides the Varroa mite, another significant threat to honeybees is Colony Collapse Disorder. CCD happens when most or all of the worker bees in a hive die or disappear over a very short period of time, leaving insufficient worker bees to maintain the hive. Suspected causes of CCD include pesticides, genetically modified crops containing neonicotinoids, and mono-crop agriculture.
How to help
How can people help the honeybees? Roth says the best way to be bee friendly is have a variety of flowers that bloom throughout the year. This assures a steady food source for the bees. He adds that people shouldn’t use pesticides to kill off flowering weeds like dandelions and white clover in their lawns. It is understandable to use these practices for the outside, however, inside the home, there is the chance that pests and other infestations can grow inside the home resulting in the need for homeowners to look into key phrases such as ‘How to Find Termite Treatment Services Near You?’ so they can eradicate these pests, otherwise it can spread throughout their house and garden, meaning nothing will be safe from these multiplying pests, eventually.
However, sometimes it is best to – “Let things be natural rather than trying to make things perfect,” said Roth.
Not only does letting flowers grow naturally in lawns and gardens provide bees with much-needed nectar and pollen, but many of the pesticides used to remove flowering weeds are also harmful to honeybees. Roth advises people to read the label on any pesticide or weed killer they are thinking about using to make sure that it says the product won’t harm honeybees.
Thinking about becoming a beekeeper? Roth’s advice for first-time beekeepers is simple, “Join your local bee club.”
Local bee clubs provide beekeepers with valuable information that is specific to their area and help beekeepers make connections with each other. Roth said that he is constantly learning new things from other beekeepers, as well as sharing his own experiences and advice.
For more information on honeybees or beekeeping, go to www.walworthcountybeeclub.com.
