Imported from Europe in the 17th century, the honeybee has developed an almost cult-like following, with an estimated 120,000 beekeepers across the US.
When asked what kind of people keep bees, Dax Torrey, two-time defending champion honey producer, said, “The common thread is people who have an appreciation for how nature works.” Torrey grew up on a farm in Millington, TN. When he moved into the city, he initially couldn’t understand why his garden didn’t do as well. Then he realized there were very few bees around. “It’s all about pollination. That’s what bees do. Without bees, we would have major problems with our food sources.” In fact, California almond growers import billions of honeybees each year to pollinate their trees.
Craig Christenbury says he became interested in honeybees around 2015. “I got into it not knowing what I was doing and fell in love with it. You discover how unique this insect is and what an incredible organism a bee colony is. The more you learn, the more you want to know.” Two years ago, Craig and his wife, Brooke, took over a small business that supplies local stores with honey they produce on their Williston, TN property.
Like wine, the taste and color of honey is determined by location and climate. The primary determinant is the source of the nectar, a sugar-rich fluid produced by flowers that bees take for energy and feed to their young. The bees process the nectar into honey, which they store in the hive for later use. Beekeepers take some of the excess honey but leave behind enough for the hive to survive and thrive.
Getting the honey from the hive to the jar is an arduous task. The beekeeper has to don a sweaty, goofy-looking “bee suit,” introduce some smoke into the hive to distract the bees and gently remove some of the honey-laden frames, which can weigh up to 50 pounds. Then, the hard work of separating and filtering the honey and storing it in an appropriate container begins. According to Albert Alexander, it is an all-day, exhausting, sticky, and ultimately joyous job.
The East Memphis home of Albert and Kathie Alexander is a veritable bee oasis. Albert’s love of beekeeping stems from all the little things the bees have taught him. "They like a low-stress environment, so we keep hive disruptions to a minimum—a lot of beekeepers like to make frequent adjustments and move things around in their hives. We planted clustered mountain mint, a bullet-proof pollinator the bees love. It attracts a wide variety of bees, including types I have never seen before. When bees swarm, you have to bring them back to the hive. If you are lucky enough to get the queen back in, all the other bees will immediately follow suit.”
Honeybees have long fascinated deep thinkers—from biologists who marvel at the process of honey production to social scientists who are amazed at the decision-making complexity of a bee colony. Beekeepers disagree on many topics about bee management and honey production, but they all agree on one thing: the end product tastes great!
The complexity of the organization and decision-making of a bee colony has long fascinated biologists and social scientists.