Swarm of interest keeps bees in business

By Ani S. Delmont
North Forty News

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It isn't easy being a bee in northern Colorado. Winter can last from October to May, the growing season is fleeting and flowering things are scarce.

And then there is the increasing barrage of pesticides, infestations, predators, diseases and mysterious afflictions like colony collapse disorder decimating bee colonies everywhere.

But the number of their human allies is burgeoning, too, as local beekeepers struggle to save these humble pollinators in the face of heavy losses.

On a recent warm day at his 10-acre organic farm on County Road 54G, Scott Raser kitted up, unroofed his two surviving beehives and nosed around for signs that they might go the way of the pair he'd lost this winter.

He found no evidence of disease or potential swarming, in which half the colony splits off to search for new home.

What's more, the hive he'd started from a package a couple weeks before had multiplied like gangbusters almost overnight.

"There are a lot more bees in it than even last week. No swarm cells. That's a good sign. There's a good nectar flow so I don't have to worry about feeding them," he said, pointing to a golden liquid that, once a surplus builds up, should ripen into honey.

He pulled out a panel fat with waxy comb. "Hopefully in this top hive we'll get some honey in a few months. When it's full, it'll weigh 90 pounds."

Raser planned to create a third hive by dividing his most populous colony once it's strong enough. He guessed the long winter killed his two other hives. Even so, they left no clues to help him prevent future die-offs.

Such unexplained losses are typical of this area. The estimated 40 percent death rate of bee colonies here surpasses the national average of 35 to 38 percent, said Beth Conrey, citing the preliminary results of this year's study by the Northern Colorado Beekeepers' Association.

Since Conrey took the reins of the organization three years ago, membership has surged from 65 to 350. This year's bee order, trucked in from California, came to 640 boxes.

The enthusiasm is encouraging, Conrey said, but she wasn't sure how many "good beekeepers we've made." The study will sift out what methods have yielded the healthiest bees. Results will be announced to members on June 8.

Even the more experienced beekeepers can't seem to stem the losses, however. Conrey recently lost 20 of her 37 hives on her property south of Berthoud, hemmed by commercial farmland.

"We are all victims of the same issues," she said. "Pesticides is one of them."

Most beekeepers have little control over where their bees shop for food. A whole hive can die if one bee brings back contaminated pollen. Beekeepers can move the hives or cover them with dampened sheets if a farmer notifies them before spraying. But not all farmers do.

Legally farmers could be held responsible for hives losses, said James Boyd, a retired IBM engineer who recently lost half of the 12 hives on his Wellington property. "But I don't know people personally who've gotten their money back," he said.

Some beekeepers blame home-owners for the bulk of pesticide overuse. "All that lawn-spraying – there's no regulation," said Benjamin Gilmore, who has taught the ropes to dozens of student apiarists at his Copoco's Honey and Bee Supply store on North College Avenue. "General agriculture is more careful about pesticides."

Even beekeepers who don't have to worry about pesticides have their hands full battling pests, bacteria and fungi.

"It's not like it was 40 years ago," Boyd explained. "We didn't used to have mites or colony collapse disorder. Now we're combating so many things: foul brood, viruses, mites, CCD, nosema, which is like dysentery."

Beekeepers can fight pests with chemicals – or gentler methods such as powdered sugar to encourage bees to sweep mites away – but they can't eliminate them. "We're more or less stuck with these on a permanent basis," Boyd said.

Even with so many diseases to contend with, Boyd chalked up the unusually high losses in this area to climate. "It was a hard winter," he said. "Not so much the cold but the length of the winter. After August there's absolutely nothing for bees. We go many, many months without growth."

Bees that do survive the long winter cooped up may emerge weak from malnutrition.

"The biggest problem is food," said John Lynne Jr., a retired pilot who keeps bees on his 37-acre farm on County Road 60. "They vibrate to keep warm. You need a large enough mass."

After losing half of his eight hives this winter, he has decided to follow the example of another beekeeper who throws tarps over his hives when the cold hits. As an experiment next winter, he said, "I'm going to wrap two of my hives and leave two of them unwrapped."

Wellington beekeepers Carl and Danielle Hosler seem to have found a winning ticket after they set up most of their 15 hives as pollinators on nearby Grant Farms.

Just three colonies died this winter, making the Hoslers' 20 percent loss far lower than most. Carl Hosler attributes the organic farm's success – and the health of his bees – to their variety of crops. Monocultures such as almonds are unsustainable because they're not pollinator-friendly, he said.

"More diversity gives bees and other pollinators a variety of stuff," Hosler said. "Not everything grows at the same rate or develops at the same time."

That diversity is also to be found in towns, where bees statistically do better than their rural counterparts. So even an amateur with a few acres can make difference.

"I'm so glad to see there's more awareness in people that bees are pretty much in dire straights," Hosler said. "The more people keep bees, the better off all of us are."