TWO MEN AND A BEE 

On a moderate winter hike in early 2018, friends, Stuart and David, trekked along Black Head Mountain in the Catskills. Often while walking the miles together, whether in the Catskills, Adirondacks, Yosemite or other beautiful climbs across the country, the men kept mostly silent as they took in nature and their thoughts. This is the calming attributes of hiking in the great outdoors. On this particular winter day, as they walked 6 miles together, Stuart began to talk after a long silence that he recently read a very interesting article about the crisis of the honey bee and how beekeepers, as of about 10 years ago, found that hives were mysteriously becoming empty, not only in the United States but globally. This concern had a label and it was the phenomena called Colony Collapse Disorder. It is when a majority of the worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen. 

 

What causes Colony Collapse Disorder?  it is thought to come from various sources:

  

•  Increased losses due to the invasive varroa mite (a pest of honey bees).

​

•  New or emerging diseases such as Israeli Acute Paralysis virus and the   gut parasite Nosema.

​

•  Pesticide poisoning through exposure to pesticides applied to crops or   for in-hive insect or mite control.

​

• Stress bees experience due to management practices such as transportation to multiple locations across the country for providing pollination services. 

​

• Changes to the habitat where bees forage.

​

•  Inadequate forage/poor nutrition

​

• Potential immune-suppressing stress on bees caused by one or a combination of factors identified above

​​

Losing bees can have tragic consequences, as bees are the pollinators for  one-third of the plants we eat.  Therefore, Stuart began to discuss with David his thoughts on this article and stated that he would like to start raising bees on his property in Windham, New York, the northern part of the Catskill Mountain Range.  David who lives in Albany, stopped in his tracks as he also was thinking independently of doing the same, but he was not allowed to do so in his homeowners association.  David discussed how his sister raised bees for years on her land in North Carolina, and he discussed with Stuart how it is done and what is required.  David and Stuart then excitedly began to plan their new hobby, of raising bees to produce more pollinators and harvest raw, organic honey for all to enjoy.

 

Before pursuing their plan, they both took a bookkeeping course in Kingston, New York and once they completed the informative program, they were ready to begin.  The first year was an interesting one, they raised two busy hives and learned much about raising bees with their mentor, Heidi.  They even experienced a swarm.  As they were informed, it was rare to harvest honey the first year as the bees had to make enough honey to help them survive their first winter.  The winter of 2018-2019 passed and unfortunately a hive was lost.  However, that did not deter the two friends, they forged on and not only replaced the lost hive, but also added a third.  This spring, they were successful and harvested the delicious, sweet and very smooth tasting honey.  This year they will be entering not only the honey, but their label in a contest and stay tuned for the results of their first official harvest from Two Men and a Bee honey from the wonderful mountains of Windham, New York in the great Northern Catskills!