I still remember my first hesitant bite. Did they really expect me to put this fresh cut piece of dripping honeycomb in my mouth? We were visiting some new homesteading friends and they were showing us their beehives. It was late March and the snow had long since begun melting. A frame filled with honeywas pulled out of storage in an old hive and we were invited to try some. Although I was intimated by the waxy coating across the top that was keeping the honey tightly packed away, this was not an opportunity I could’ve passed up.
“Well,” I figured, “It couldn’t hurt to try.”
I popped the bit of honeycomb into my mouth. As I brought my teeth together, the fresh honey flooded over my tastebuds. It was the freshest, sweetest, most uniquely flavored honey I had ever tasted. Ever. You could practically taste the wild aromas of last summer’s woodland flowers.
Let’s just say that first piece was quickly followed by another, and then another! We must have made quite a sight, clustered around a honeycomb frame in the middle of the yard, dipping in our fingers and scooping out liquid gold.
I still remember that cold spring day and our early morning adventure amongst the bees. To this day, that is still the best honey I have ever tasted.
The Family Beekeepers:
Beekeeping runs in my family. During the Great Depression, raising bees was a very important source of additional income for my Great Grandfather. Tucked away in the mountains of Bristol, he faithfully and patiently cared for several hives. My Great Grandpa loved bees. We still have his old bee smoker displayed in our home.
Beginning Your Beekeeping Journey:
A bee’s environment will largely influence and dictate their needs and level of success. Prospecting beekeepers need to become very familiar with beekeeping in their area. Participating in a local Beekeeping association is a great place to begin!
Although beekeeping needs and methods vary greatly from location to location, the Bee Colony’s residents will remain the same.
Hive Hierarchy:
The internal structure of a beehive colony is fascinating and complex! The members of a colony can be generally divided into three groups:
The Queen, The Worker Bee, and The Drone.
With only one queen per colony, she is literally the “Queen Bee”. Queen Bees will only leave the hive as virgin bees to mate with drones, or with a swarm of bees to start a new hive. The Queen Bee spends her days being pampered by the worker bees as well as preforming the vital job of laying eggs.
Worker Bees are at the heart of the colony. These are sterile female bees that make and store honey and wax, care for the young, and defend the hive from predators. Worker Bees will preform a variety of jobs throughout their lifetime.
Drones are male bees, and exist for one purpose, which is mating with the Queen. Drone bees are sent out to find Queen Bees in neighboring colonies and will die a happy death after mating with a Queen. Drones that were unsuccessful in finding a Queen will return to their home hive, where they will enjoy eating stored honey until resources run low and Worker Bees force them to evacuate.
There are so many more things to know and understand about beekeeping. Let’s continue this discussion in the comments below! Here’s to a sweet bee-gining! 😉
