Written by Christie Crawford
Clarksville, TN – Some are in it to make honey. Some are in it to increase pollinators. While others say they are in it to relax and enjoy the challenge of a changing ecosystem. But without a doubt all beekeepers would say, it’s about the bees. There’s no question that honeybees have received a lot of attention lately.
Educational efforts have driven home the fact that bees are responsible for most of the flowering crops that we grow. Remarkably, bees are considered livestock in agricultural terms, yet they can’t be fenced in, contained or vaccinated like other types, according to local beekeeper Nicole Castile, which makes it a challenging effort to keep them, she says “alive, productive and successful.”
As there are many types of beekeepers, from small to large scale, from hobbyist to commercial, from beginners to generational, there are many ways to be a beekeeper. Having spoken to Castile and other beekeepers at the local Clarksville Montgomery County Beekeeping Association (CMCBA) meeting this August, they say they cannot emphasize enough the importance of education.
Luckily, in our state, there are beginner through master beekeeping classes offered by the state, online courses from U.S. universities, and local classes at the club level. Kamon Reynolds, a YouTube bee celebrity and Tennessee resident, has a large following online and insightful information to share among his apiary peers.
Castile emphasizes that the local bee clubs are an excellent way to learn and share techniques and practices among fellow beekeepers. Bee associations besides offering classes and programs, often coop their tools and equipment such as honey extractors to fellow members. There is also the added benefit of having mentors coaching new members through their hive experiences.
Dakota McNeeley, a local beekeeper, emphasizes that some financial means are needed to get into bees. Start-up costs should include a nucleus or “nuc,” which is a turnkey bee established colony with worker bees, a queen, and brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). That does not include beekeeping equipment and supplies, treatments or feeding.
To help out these expenses, there are TAEP grants (Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program) available for serious beekeepers, with fairly stringent requirements such as hive quantities, and three years of filing schedule F’s (farm income) on your tax returns, for example.
A beekeeper since 2021, Clarksville resident Brandon Thomas has been helped by the Heroes to Hives program, initiated through Michigan State University, which offers free online courses to military members since 2015. Thomas who got into bees circuitously by wanting to make mead, says that maintaining a bee colony is good for his mental health, noting that bees vibrate and make a sound equivalent to the musical note C, known to be soothing to the psyche.
Furthermore, bees are sensitive to human emotions and you must be “chill” among them. It should be noted that Thomas never ended up making mead, instead opting to purchase some for his own consumption.
It’s hard to know how many beekeepers there are locally or in the the state of Tennessee (estimates are at 3,000) but keepers must register their hive positions by longitude and latitude and communicate if diseases develop to ensure potential dangers do not spread – numbers which are kept by the state agriculture department. There is also an app that locates hives in the area similar to Google’s pins.
Within the hive itself is a sophisticated society. The hive operates with a queen, who lays the eggs and stores them up to 3-5 years, typically her lifespan. She sets the tone of the hive, depending on if she is calm or aggressive (likely to sting). Worker bees are females, who take care of the larvae, gather pollen for honey production, monitor the honey, and keep out intruders.
Males, known as drones, have one purpose (to mate) after which they die. If the queen does not maintain her job, the worker bees can force her out and look for another to replace her. Some beekeepers choose to replace queens each year to strengthen the livestock breeding line, increase honey production, or to change temperament if necessary.
Seasons are very important in the bee business. Spring is a critical time frame. This is when most blooms are present with corresponding heavy honey flow, and is the time when most honey is collected. It is also a period in which hives need to be inspected to ensure adequate boxes are available to house the increased growth rate of the bees. if not, half the hive with the queen can exit and reside elsewhere, called a swarm. These can be deliberate, to create a new colony, or on the whim of the hive. Swarm boxes can be set to collect these runways and start a new hive.
Summer is challenging and is known as “dearth” which comes from an Old English term meaning scarcity of food. In bee terms, it is a time when blooms are not present and most hive owners allow honey to be kept for the bees’ own consumption or even attempt to feed bees with a combination of sugar, water, and an added protein.
Fall is another time of honey collection, but it is risky to expect sufficient pollen to make honey. Golden rod is in bloom for pollen collection at this time. If honey is produced, the keeper must plan to feed the bees during the winter because, as Thomas says, “you are raiding their ( the bees’) refrigerator.”
Beekeeping, according to those who practice it, is a rewarding and challenging experience. It is difficult to maintain a hive over the winter, keep out predators, and keep the hives disease-free. The variables are ever-changing, and nothing is set in stone, according to Thomas. Additionally, Clarksville and Montgomery County’s explosion in population is creating development in areas that were once foraging areas for the bees. Popular blooms for TN bees are tulip poplar, blackberry, elderberry, and goldenrod.
If you’re up to the challenge, and like the intrigue or scientific experimentation of a bee colony, then beekeeping might be for you. Bees can be “fascinating and intelligent,” as Castille says, but they are not to be taken lightly. Visit a local beekeeping club, and take some courses which just might take the sting out of your learning curve. Local groups include:
Clarksville-Montgomery County Beekeeping Association www.CMCBA.com – meetings are on the first Saturday of the month at the Clarksville Montgomery County library – Dickson Bee Club, Bibb White Center, White Bluff, meetings are on the 4th Tuesday of the month — Home of the Honeybee Day Festival held each August in White Bluff, TN.
