A beekeeping buzz

Meet Ted Hermann, a beekeeper who confesses he is afraid of getting stung and doesn’t eat much honey.

Despite these drawbacks, Ted is keeper of 10 beehives which produce an average of 30 gallons of honey each year. However, one year he harvested only 3 1/2 gallons and in another his bees produced 80 gallons.

“My son, Josh, was pushing the idea of raising honeybees for a couple of years before we got started,” said Ted, who was reluctant to have “boxes of stinging bugs” in the yard as his grandchildren were young and inquisitive. Josh continued to pursue the idea and was taking a beginner beekeeping class in Fairfield. “After each lesson, he would stop by all exited and share his new information with me.”

Ted’s interest began to grow, so he read Beginning Lessons in Beekeeping. The first part of the book dealt with installing and managing package bees, which seemed easy enough. T

he second part of the book went into all the different maladies that bees can suffer.

“Honestly, it sounded like the bees were just waiting for a chance to die,” quipped Ted.

In 2014, Ted and Josh ordered their first bees, two 3-pound packages from Tim Wilbanks (Heritage Honeybees) and got started.

Shortly after launching their beekeeping adventure, Ted met Scott, a beekeeper from Richland, who allowed Ted to follow him around while he worked his bees.

“Every Friday afternoon I’d go to his house, and we’d go through hives together,” he said. “This gave me a chance to ask questions and see how he manipulated the fames.”

Ted’s bee shadowing experience went on for nearly two years. During the winter, Scott and Ted would meet in Scott’s shop and build components for the hives.

Ted and Josh started with two hives and added more by splitting hives or purchasing more.

At one point, they decided they wanted to run 10 colonies.

After reaching that goal they set their sights on 25, but once they had 22 or 23 hives, they decided that running 25 hives would be more like having a part-time job so they started scaling back.

They now have 10 hives and find beekeeping a relaxing hobby. Ted also enjoys the challenges beekeeping presents.

To avoid getting stung, Ted suits up from head to toe in what resembles a spacesuit and approaches the hives looking like he just stepped off a spaceship.

Even with this protective gear in place, getting stung by a rogue bee happens.

Once, Ted forgot to zip up his veil and a bee got in and sat on his nose.

“She reached her hind end in and stung me in my nose,” he recalled. “Immediately my eyes started watering, my nose was running, there were fluids everywhere So, I can’t see and am stumbling around, so I dropped the frame I was holding.

“Josh was a few hives over from me and saying something about being more carful while I was trying to explain what happened. I still can’t see, so now I’m walking into a large shrub. Yeah, Josh was standing there laughing. He’d seen the whole thing. I always suit up.”

Ted explained that raising bees is like raising any other animal.

There is a commitment to keep them happy and healthy. The time it requires to do that varies.

Ted estimates he spends 10 to 15 minutes per hive per week.

“The time it takes varies a great deal depending on what task you are performing,” explained Ted. “There are very few circumstances that need immediate attention in beekeeping.”

One example that takes immediate attention is retrieving a swarm of bees from a tree.

“They may stay there two hours, two days, two weeks or more but we want to get them before they leave.”

Ted said that beekeeping is an ongoing learning experience. There is no set formula for beekeeping.

“The running joke among beekeepers is if 12 or 13 beekeepers are gathered, we’ll have 12-13 different answers to a question.”

Most people might think getting stung is one of the main hazards of beekeeping, and while it does happen it is not as common as you might think.

Ted said that bees aren’t normally aggressive. They are defensive. If someone or something upsets the order of their hive, they will attack to defend their home and fellow bees.

Despite the bees’ usually placid nature, occasionally beekeepers will find themselves at the mercy of a swarm of angry bees.

Ted vividly remembers the time he and Chad Venghaus were rehoming a hive of bees and Ted found himself on the wrong side of the box.

Chad stood on one side of the box while Ted stood across from Chad holding a lid to cap the box when Chad dumped them out. But the bees missed the box and landed in Ted’s lap. Even though Ted was suited up, the bees managed to find their way into his pants, sleeves and other sensitive areas.

“I had bees everywhere,” said Ted, whose reaction was to run and jump around screaming, “Light the smokers, light the smokers!”

His fellow beekeepers ignored their comrade’s pleas and laughed hysterically while recording Ted’s plight on their cellphones. This wasn’t a common experience, but it was a learning experience. Ted said it isn’t the actual sting that hurts, but the anticipation of getting stung that puts terror in this beekeeper’s heart!

A year in beekeeping starts in early spring when Ted removes and cleans the bottom boards of the hives where dead bees and other debris has collected over the winter.

Next, Ted treats the bees for mites, which are a common pest for bees and beekeepers. This can take a couple weeks and two treatments.

Following this, the hives are inspected, and frames are pulled, and splits are made to make new hives. Some of the bees are moved to a new hive. It is not uncommon to lose hives over the winter, and splitting is used to replace hives or add to the number of existing hives. An apiary is an area of several hives, like a small, private city.

Bees are not very hospitable and do not allow bees from other hives into their hive. Guard bees literally keep guard at the entrance to keep visitors at bay.

Each bee has a special job within the hive.

The queen bee’s sole job is to lay eggs. She is taken care of by other bees until she is no longer producing enough eggs — then she is killed and replaced by a younger more fertile queen bee.

Drone bees’ sole purpose is to mate with the queens. Drones do not have stingers and after mating they die. Mating is done outside the hives.

Nurse bees take care of the young bees and worker bees keep the hive clean.

Forager bees bring nectar back to the hive. Age determines their assignment.

Bees can leave the hive in search of nectar and travel up to a 5-mile radius and, after finding a field of flowers, return to the hive and, through a series of circling, dances, and other bee codes, tell the other foragers how to find the field.

In May dandelions are their best source of nectar and clover later in the summer.

Honey is gathered in late July and August to give the bees time to replenish their honey for winter.

In order to survive winter, the bees form a ball to keep warm. As the bees in the center get warm enough, they move to the outside of the ball so the outside bees can move inside to warm up.

Ted said he enjoys the challenge of beekeeping, but also the peaceful atmosphere when he is working with the bees.

The camaraderie of other beekeepers is also a prime reason Ted enjoys the hobby of beekeeping.

“If you need help, another beekeeper is always willing to lend a hand,” said Ted who usually works alone, but occasionally needs help retrieving a rogue swarm of bees.

Chimneys, crawl spaces, barrels, trees, houses and barns are all places where you might find a swarm of bees that need to be removed. Depending on where the swarm is located determines how much help may be needed.

Ted gives the credit to his son Josh for developing his beekeeping hobby.

“It gives us something we can do together that we both enjoy,” said Ted.

If someone is looking for an unusual hobby Ted encourages people to give beekeeping a try. Ted readily admits he doesn’t have all the answers, but with nearly 10 years of experience he has a lot of information he is willing to share with fledgling beekeepers.