Backstroking bees

Area beekeeper Roy Hall has been raising the insects since 1993, and they have some pretty curious habits.

By RENEE FITE

When you do the backstroke across the pool, consider this, somewhere in a birdbath honeybees are doing the same thing.

“See that one, he’s swimming,” Roy Hall said pointing to one of his birdbaths with about 30 bees on or near the edge of the water. “They will swim around in the water on their back then move over the edge and climb out.”

Beekeeper and local rescuer of swarms, Hall said he’s been enjoying watching them since 1993.

And the honey, of course.

Gladiolas, other flowers and blooming weeds grow for his bees around the yard, which has a, “Beward of Bee” sign posted.

Honey crops look better this year, he said.

“Looks like I’m going to get a decent yield this year,” Hall said. “Seems to be a lot more swarms this year.”

In spite of the rainy then hot weather, he said. “We got a lot of rain whenthe bees needed to be out working. Now it’s dry and hot, not a lot of flowers out there now.”

There are probably more pollen flowers, like Rose of Sharon than nector flowers, white clover and vetch, he said.

The first day he took honey was June 22.

“After the first of August everything on the hive belongs to the bees.”

He leaves about 90 pounds of honey on the hives for the bees to live on during winter.

At $15 a quart, he sold about $500 worth last year. This year, he speculates it will be about $800. The honey is flavored and colored by the flowers the bees visit.

“Some is light and some is dark,” he said. “I mix it all together.”

He normally leaves extra pollen granules in his honey, using a double sifter but no cloth in between for this honey. He strains others with the cloth, as customers prefer.

Every two to three days he checks on a colony.

“If the hive is well capped-over with wax, it’s time to take the frame out,” he said.

His queens didn’t do so well last year, which he attributes to being lost in the mail from California.

“They were found in a bid in Muskogee,” he lamented.

But this year his queen delivery from Georgia arrived in two days like the Express Mail usually does.

“They’ve been very, very good queens, all but one survived,” he said.

At $18 each, the queens are usually treated like royalty.

He buys a few every year for his 15 or 20 hives that also survive.

Since 1993 he’s been all about bees.

“I picked up several swarms this year, from calls to the OSU Extension office of people with problems,” Hall said.

On the fence by the Phillips 66 on the 51 Bypass, he finally sprayed water from a small bottle to damped the bees so he could collect them into a brood box. He fed them sugar water to sustain them until they could survive in their new hive.

“I do not fed sugar water to producing bees,” he said, “and the other bees won’t let them in to get it.”

If the swarm is on a branch, he cuts the branch off and shakes the bees into the brood box without much trouble, he said.

Bees are starting to come back, Hall said, “I’ve been talking to OSU Extension, we’ve both been hearing about a lot more bee tres this year, than in a while.”

Bee friendly and safe gardening options are important to Hall, who encourages other to consider them.

“Seven Dust powder has a tendency to kill hives of bees. They get it on them and take it back and it kills the colonies,” he said. “To me it’s almost as bad as the DDT they took off the market.”

Seven Dust liquid or Malathion are good alternatives he suggests, when used around dusk when the bees stop flying. If its not blooming he uses Rotene.

The Afrcan bees haven’t been heard of around this area, either, he said.

“Bees in tall trees you don’t have to worry about bothering you,” he said. “You’re more likely to gt stuck walking though clover, the bee’s defending itself. Most bees aren’t agressive.”