Bees don’t hibernate.
That was one of many wonderful things I learned about raising bees in our region from Northern Nevada Beekeepers Association (NNBA) president Jim Russell. Russell said that is a common question during the association’s outreach and education events.
Let’s also get the other big question out of the way—yes, beekeepers get stung. In fact, one of the first pieces of advice he gives people excited about the prospect of keeping bees is that if you have to carry an EpiPen, this probably isn’t the hobby for you.
But let’s back up a little bit—I wanted to spotlight a subculture in our area that many people may not realize exists here, given our high desert climate: beekeeping.
Russell likes to joke that he keeps 50,000 head of “livestock” in his modestly sized backyard. That’s how many bees he’s had since 2008. The previous year, headlines about colony collapse disorder kept popping up as commercial beekeepers were plagued by failures of colonies around the country.
“I wanted to do something to help save the planet,” Russell said.
There’s an idea that if honeybees go extinct, the human race won’t be too far behind. “I don’t know if that’s really true, because there are other pollinators,” he said. But it makes you think. Since he liked to travel and didn’t have any pets, and bees sort of take care of themselves for a period of time, it seemed like a good fit.
With seven colonies (to clarify the lingo: one hive, the white boxes you commonly see beekeepers tending to, houses one colony of bees, and your collection of hives makes up your apiary) under his control, Russell is your basic hobbyist-class beekeeper, with anywhere from two to 20 hives, typical of the majority of beekeepers in our area. Besides environmental motivation, sometimes people want to get honey for their own use and to share with friends and family; others have dollar signs in their eyes. Russell recounted stories of people wanting to get started, and then showing up at NNBA meetings excited to reap the rewards of big jars of honey that sell for top dollar at farmers’ markets—without realizing the amount of work (and sticky work, at that) that goes into collecting it.
Once you have more than about 25 hives, up to 100 or so, you are officially a “sideliner,” where the time and investment going into beekeeping is more than just a hobby, but not quite your profession. Typically, beekeepers at this level are doing it as a source of income from honey sales, at least, and sometimes transporting colonies to California to provide pollination to the agricultural sector. You might be surprised how dependent the almond industry is on migrant bees coming from all over the country, with hives transported on trucks just to pollinate almond trees each spring. The native pollinators aren’t nearly enough to support the massive volume of almonds being grown, so almond growers rely on bees being brought in from elsewhere.
Larger than sideliners are commercial beekeeping operations. There are some among the alfalfa fields in Fernley and Fallon, and one here in Reno, Hidden Valley Honey.
“Talk to your neighbors about how they feel about having bees in the backyard. You have to be a good neighbor.”
Jim Russell, president, Northern Nevada Beekeepers Association
Russell says the NNBA membership currently hovers around 100, with meetings held March through October; a good meeting might have around 60 people in attendance. Although it’s impossible to know exactly how many beekeepers we have in our area who are nonmembers, Russell estimates the membership represents less than half the active beekeepers in the greater Truckee Meadows.
Members sometimes move on after getting started and learning what they need to from other beekeepers. As Russell explained, “They come for one or two years, and they find out that our meeting lectures are about the same every year, because we talk about what’s going on in your apiary the next month. And that never really changes.”
NNBA is the predominant group in our area, while there are also groups in nearby rural counties, and a noteworthy nonprofit locally, Bees4Vets, which teaches beekeeping as a form of therapy for PTSD and traumatic brain injury for veterans and first responders.
If you’re considering joining the beekeeping ranks, the NNBA website has a basic getting started page, including links to recommended videos and tips on what you can expect to spend. (Plan on around $600 in startup costs.) The absolute first thing, Russell said: “Talk to your neighbors about how they feel about having bees in the backyard. You have to be a good neighbor.” If those neighbors have a pool, bees will likely be drawn to it. A good south-facing location for the hive will be needed.
The NNBA is presenting a two-part class, Beekeeping 101, at Rail City Garden Center on Jan. 22 and 29. The class is $100; if you are sure you want to take the plunge, it’s a great way to get started and meet experienced beekeepers in our area. If you aren’t sure yet, NNBA meetings resume in March. They are held at the Sparks Library and are a great opportunity to meet others and perhaps find a mentor for your new hobby.
Farther afield, there’s also the upcoming Nevada State Beekeepers Conference scheduled for Feb. 26-28 in Yerington, and the Douglas County Bee and Garden Seminar in Gardnerville in March 21-22.
Even when it is cold and snowy, remember that there are dozens of your neighbors keeping a watchful eye on their hives out there, tending to their queens, gathering honey—and quietly saving the planet.