46
|
SUMMER
2016
Bee
girls
thrive
in the
hive
Story | Photos | Tom Hakala
Buzzzz...
I love that hypnotic soundwhen
I stroll through a patch of flowers, clover or
dandelions and hear honeybees as they
gather pollen. It is calming, andat the same
time alarming since I don’t wish tobe stung.
The invasion has begun. As beekeepers say,
“Thegirlsareback”. So like the titleof the sci-
fi ‘B’movie from theseventies, this is ‘The Inva-
sionof theBeeGirls’.Of course, there is a lot
more tohoneybees thenbuzzing from flower
to flower or making honey—they are our life-
line—Honeybeesare like the the ‘canary in the
mineshaft’ for thewholeworld, and right now
they are telling us that there is a problem. If
bees are not around to pollinate flowering
plants, theplantswillnot reproduce. Thischain
reactionwill eventually leadall theway tohu-
mans. Lifeaswe know it will dwindleandwe
will not survive.
There are stories cropping up worldwide
about bee colony collapse, disorder or mass
beedeath.Someof thisphenomenon isdue to
parasites, disease, loss of habitat and of
coursechemicals suchas neonicotinoids.We
have to be vigilant in finding the causes of
massbeedeathsand thenchangehowwedo
things—ie: stop using those powerful insecti-
cides. Neonicotinoids do not necessarily kill
honeybees directly, but insteadmess up their
balanceandnavigational instinct so theycan-
not find their hives. The invasion in this case is
on the bees and it is up to us to help them.
Localbeekeeperssay that theuseofneonicoti-
noids inour area is relatively low, therefore it
is agoodplace tobeanapiarist. Thankfully,
Escarpment countryhas anactive community
of apiarists or beekeepers, whoareworking
diligently tonurturehoneybees.
I recentlymet withayoung couplewhohave
beenworkingwithbees foranumberofyears
andanother couplewhoare just getting into
the ‘bee’ business.WithDerekand PamGib-
son, beekeeping is a family affair—Gibsons
PureHoney.Derek is thebeekeeper,Pamand
daughter Zoey are in charge of their honey
shop just south of Chatsworth, while their
youngsonKyle likes toworkwith thebeesand
doother tasks likebuildbeeboxes.When it is
time togatherhoneyandprocess it, thewhole
familychips in.
Derek got into the bee business through the
backdoorwhen the contractor heworked for
asked him towork in his bee yards while the
construction business was flat. Eventually he
split off hisownhivesand startedgatheringhis
ownhoney. A few years agoDerekand Pam
bought 25 acres south of Chatsworth and
moved their familyandbeeoperation there.
