News & Blog

There’s Much to Learn About Broadmead’s Bees

By Willy Sydnor

Early this spring the Broadmead Beekeepers checked the five hives to see how the bees made it through our winter, and the news was bad. Only two hives were barely viable, and in the other hives the bees had died (and in one hive the worker bees died while unsuccessfully trying to protect their queen from freezing). The bees did, however, leave a bountiful legacy of honey. Last year the beekeepers harvested 470 bottles of honey in two harvests, whereas in 2022 only 86 bottles were produced, showing the effects of weather and rainfall.

Despite the devastating loss of bees, there have been several silver linings. Cliff York, one of Broadmead’s original beekeepers, looked out his door this spring to find a swarm of bees had chosen to rest at his house. Unlike the majority of other residents, Cliff knew how to capture them and take them to the Broadmead apiary, where they moved into one of the cleaned-out hives. In addition to Cliff’s swarm, two other swarms decided Broadmead was a great place to live, so we now have a total of eight hives. (Tidbit: Swarms always have their own queen and will not pick an occupied hive.)

The beekeeping group has five regular members, with five more residents assisting, especially during the gathering and packaging of the honey. It’s very labor-intensive work, and can be quite uncomfortable when having to suit up, especially during hot weather. Because bee stings are a way of life for beekeepers, EpiPens are kept at the ready if needed.

Bees are super-organized; there can be approximately 30,000 to 40,000 bees in one hive, with each type of bee having specific responsibilities. As the worker bees do their jobs, the queen keeps them happy by producing pheromones so they don’t rebel or try to change jobs.

Broadmead is fortunate to have such dedicated people tending the bees who are happy to share their knowledge—not to mention gathering delicious honey for our enjoyment.