WHETSTONE TOWNSHIP—Nearly two years ago, Chris Heydinger began his due diligence to become an apiarist – or beekeeper– with the dream of someday owning his own hive. At the end of April, this dream became a reality when Heydinger picked up his shipment of 10,000 Italian honeybees. Yes, you read that correctly – 10,000 Italian honeybees!
However, one does not become a beekeeper overnight. Heydinger has put in hundreds of hours of research after initially having his interest piqued while watching a National Geographic documentary on the flying insect. After learning that 75% of our food supply relies on pollination, he was intrigued. He enrolled in online beekeeping classes, read book after book, watched countless videos on YouTube, and then joined the Black Fork Bee Club in Mansfield.
Some of his most valuable knowledge came from being mentored by his wife Amy’s uncle, who has extensive beekeeping experience. “I went down there quite a bit last spring and summer, and he kind of mentored me about getting close (in proximity) to 50,000 bees. It was intimidating at first-it kind of got me over my fear of being up close – and just getting to be hands-on,” Heydinger said.
During a recent tour of his hive operation in Whetstone Township, Heydinger referred to himself as still “green as grass” when it comes to beekeeping. While he might be a novice beekeeper, Heydinger’s Eighteen months of research have created a good foundation for keeping a healthy and hospitable environment for honeybees. Clad in white beekeeper’s gear, Heydinger went over the details of hive safety as he stoked a small fire in his bee smoker to calm the bees. He cautioned that the best way to approach a hive is from the side or back, away from the main entrance.
He then slowly and carefully took apart his hive – examining each frame. “There’s the queen! I’ll be darned! That’s the first time I have found her!” he said excitedly, pointing her out. It’s not often she is visible among the mass of bees – thought to be a couple hundred – working busily on each frame.
While 10,000 is no small number of bees, the low numbers keep them more docile than hives with 50,000 to 60,000 bees, Heydinger said. He has yet to be stung, but he knows it may happen eventually. “My wife’s uncle said if you get stung, you are doing something wrong,” he said as he slid each frame back gently into its correct position.
Recently, Heydinger expanded his hive from five frames to ten. This particular hive is called a Langstroth hive. He explained that there are three types of honeybees in a bee micro-environment. The worker bees are female, the drones are male, and then the queen bee, there is only one. Each type serves a specific purpose. Occasionally, a coup will occur within the hive, and the queen bee is ousted. Other bees will follow her into a swarm until they find a new location to settle.
Three significant problems could affect the health of a beehive. The first is the varroa mite that attaches to the bees, but this mite is treatable with the help of oxalic acid. Small hive beetles can also cause problems for the hive; however, keeping a pack in direct sunlight will discourage small hive beetles from overtaking the multitude. Lastly, American foulbrood can occur – it’s a disease that dissolves the larva, and the only way to fix that issue is to set the hive on fire.
Heydinger said that his bees are low maintenance despite these three potential issues. He tends to them for about a ½ hour to 45 minutes each week. “If you want to keep bees – it does take some investment of time,” Heydinger said. “The less you mess with it, the better, but you still need to be on top of things to watch for things like varroa mites or those beetles…if things don’t look right.”
He has a goal of someday having four hives. This first year he is not anticipating a lot of honey production from his multitude as the bees need about a year to establish their environment. Any created honey keeps the bees alive until they have an excellent system. Once his pack is ready, it will produce up to 100 pounds of honey!
“It’s been a really good learning (experience). I think I did it right when I spent a year and a half researching, reading, watching, mentoring Amy’s uncle, and joining the bee club-I think that gave me a good start. I don’t know everything, I probably won’t for 20 years, but it gave me a good start – I knew quite a bit going in,” Heydinger said. “It’s good for the environment. It’s healthy for us humans. Honeybees are a good thing.”
After spending nearly three decades in law enforcement with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and retiring in late 2018, Heydinger doesn’t want to see his beekeeping turn into a job. After years of serving, protecting, and responding to emergencies, the beekeeping hobby has been therapeutic for him – possibly a balm to the soul after a somewhat-chaotic-but-fulfilling 29 years in public service. As he methodically and gently put his hive back together, peace and contentment seemed to settle over Heydinger. As it regards beekeeping, everything done is with careful intentionality and something that is a mirror in his life as a husband of 28 years to Amy and as a father and grandfather.
If you are curious to learn more about beekeeping, Heydinger suggested getting a head start on bee-keeping education by reading up on the subject, joining the Black Fork Bee Club, or mentoring with a bee-keeper.
Friday, May 20th, was World Bee Day!