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Beekeepers sweeten the county with benefits
Kim Williams / Staff Photo - John Talbert of Sabine Creek Honey helps his grandson, Brennan, with frames of honey before the extraction.
By Kim Williams, kwilliams@acnpapers.com
Appreciating the value and benefit of honey is something Collin County residents have discovered.
John Talbert, a beekeeper in Josephine, has been involved in the hobby for more than 25 years.
Josephine is Northeast of Plano.
Talbert maintains more than 100 colonies, each housing 40,000 to 60,000 bees.
“The honey we sell is called ‘surplus honey.’ It’s honey the bees don’t need to live on,” he said.
Talbert serves as executive secretary in the Texas Beekeepers Association and treasurer in the Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association, the largest in the state and one of the largest beekeeping associations in the country, with more than 300 members; almost two-thirds are in urban areas.
Due to the ongoing concern for the decline in the bee populations, the association president, Blake Shook, encourages beekeepers to maintain good nutrition in their colonies.
“Feeding a healthy balance of protein and carbs, just like humans, is vital to the health of a bee,” he said. “When they can’t make enough pollen, which is their protein, we feed them a pollen substitute called a ‘pollen patty.’ The patties are about 2 pounds and take the colonies a week or two to consume. If they are not getting enough carbs, we feed them a sugar syrup, which is basically sugar water, to meet their nutrition needs.”
The decline in the bee population is still being studied by several organizations, institutions and scientists. Among the causes are the varroa mite, small hive beetle, and miscellaneous other disturbances in the colonies.
Shook said the largest pest they have to deal with is the varroa mite, because the mites actually build up a resistance to the existing treatment methods. Colonies are best kept in direct sunlight and in warm areas to fight off the small hive beetle, since they dislike sun or heat.
“Honeybees are social insects and take on specific duties in a hierarchy system, much like the caste system in India,” Talbert said. “There are the drones, workers—and then, of course, the queen.”
Drones are stout male bees with no stingers and do not collect food or pollen from flowers. Their sole purpose is to mate with the queen. They are the lowest in the hierarchy and will often be kicked out of the colony if the food supply is depleted.
Workers are the smallest bees in the colony and are sexually undeveloped females. There are anywhere from 50,000 to 60,000 workers in a colony. The life expectancy of a worker bee is approximately 28 to 35 days. Their main purpose is to feed the queen and larvae, collect nectar, guard the hive entrance and help to keep the hive cool by fanning their wings.
The queen is the only sexually developed female in the hive and the largest bee in the colony. A larva is selected by the workers to be reared as the queen. She emerges from her cell in about 11 days and mates with several drones. This will be the only time she will mate in her lifetime, and she will lay up to 3,000 eggs in a single day.
“Many people don’t realize honey is just one simple ingredient: honey,” said Bruce Wolk of the National Honey Board. “Consumers need to be aware they may not be giving something 100 percent pure to their family if they don’t take a moment to double-check the label. Many of the honey-syrup blends are packaged very similarly to pure honey.”
Consumers can get involved by checking the label to make sure the only ingredient listed is honey. They can also buy and use only pure honey in more recipes or ask their grocer or favorite restaurant to carry only pure honey.
“Your local grocer is still a great place to buy 100 percent pure honey,” said Wolk. “Consumers just need to pay attention to the label to make sure they’re getting 100 percent pure honey, the way nature intended.”
The United States Department of Agriculture has estimated that 80 percent of insect crop pollination is accomplished by honeybees. Approximately one-third of the total human diet is derived directly or indirectly from insect-pollinated plants such as fruits, legumes and vegetables.
Honey has been used as a home remedy for centuries to help alleviate some of the symptoms associated with a common cold and is a safe and wholesome food for older children and adults.
Buying honey from a local beekeeper not only contributes to the local economy but helps in pollination in local farm products.
“It really helps us out because people don’t realize the cost involved in beekeeping,” Shook said. “Buying local honey alleviates the financial hardship involved, and because bees are needed to pollinate the food most everyone consumes, it is worth the investment.”
Local honey can be found at area grocers, feed stores, fruit stands and farmers markets.
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