Page 54 - Walton Living

You’ll learn where to set up your hives, how to split a hive, Health Benefits of Honey
why and when you need to start feeding your bees and why
bees swarm. •Prevent cancer and heart disease
”Bees typically swarm in the spring for two reasons,” Gless- •Reduce ulcers
ner said.”One is the hive has gotten too crowded or because •Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal
the queen has produced a new queen. The current queen •Reduce cough and throat irritation
leaves the established hive with half the colony and swarms to •Blood sugar regulation
a new location to create a new hive.” •Heals wounds and burns
If you are not interested in beekeeping yourself, you still can •Probiotic
participate in the making of the honey. Bees start gathering
pollen in the early spring, just when the owers are starting to
bloom. You can help them along by planting some bee-friendly Bees in the Hive:
plants. Some suggestions would be Rosemary, Poppies, Clover,
Sun owers, Marigolds, Asters, innias and others. The bloom- QUEEN - Each hive will have 1 queen bee who is the only
ing season usually runs April into June here in the South. reproductive individual in the colony. She leaves the hive
Honey Harvest starts in the month of June. Your bees will under two circumstances: as a virgin queen to mate, and
have to be fed sugar water starting in July through ovember. in some cases, as an experienced queen with a swarm.
The hibernation period is ovember through February. When
the bees come out of hibernation, the honey making process WORKER BEES - Worker bees are sterile females who do
starts all over again. all of the foraging, feeding of young, honey production and
“Beekeeping is not hard, just somewhat time consuming, storage, wax production, cleaning, and defending the hive
2-6 hours a month,” says Boss. “Your hives should be checked against intruders.
each month for beetles, mites, pests and to be sure there is
ample room for brood and honey.” DRONES - The only male bees in the colony are drones.
The art of beekeeping is enjoyed by young and old. Every- Their sole purpose is to spread the genetics of the colony
one can participate in this amazing process either by having by mating with virgin queens from other colonies.
hives of their own or just by planting the owers needed to
provide the nectar bees need to make honey. We need the bees
and the bees need us. Together we can form a partnership.
They provide the honey and we reap the benefits and enjoy
this wonderful age old product that only a honeybee can make
so deliciously. •WLM

54 Walton Living Magazine