Conservation, honey and bees oh my!

What started as a hobby has grown into a business and a cause for this couple of beekeepers

The term busy as a bee is something Buzz Worthy Apiary knows all about. 

Owners John and Nancy Lawlor have been working with honey bees for the past six years, giving the couple the knowledge to provide some of the best honey and wax products in the the region. 

"My grandfather was a beekeeper, that's when I first learned of the hobby," John recalled. "I studied biology and have always loved animals, but it wasn't until I read about a class in a local newspaper that I decided to take a beekeeping class, and that was six years ago."

The Lawlor's, based in Hagerstown, Maryland, started out with three colonies of bees and have grown to 30, spread throughout three states. 

"We have colonies in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, Hagerstown, Maryland and Martinsburg, West Virginia," he said."We got into it as a hobby, and it has grown into a part-time business for us."

For beekeepers, the end of July into August is a busy time of the year for honey collection from the frames; the part of the hive where the honey is stored. 

"Bees gather nectar from the trees during spring and summer, and they put that into the frames. Then they pack all the nectar into cells, and when it gets to a certain water percentage, they will cap it with wax; that's when we know it's ready to pull and extract," Lawlor explained of the yearly process. "After we extract the honey, we filter it to remove any small contaminants of wax, and then it is ready to bottle." 

In addition to their popular local honey, Buzz Worthy sells other products made from the beeswax. 

"We sell lip balms and a lotion bar as well as a wrinkle cream with Vitamin E and candles all from beeswax," John said. "We don't add any preservative or colors to it; it's all 100% natural." 

When the Lawlors are not working with bees directly, they are educating the public on the importance of honey bees through talks with scouting and school groups. 

"When we do the talks, the kids are always interested in the bees because we bring a functional hive that they can look at that's in a display frame," John said. "We are starting to see the honey bee come back and people are asking questions on conservation, a lot of it has to do with local farmers markets that help to bring honey bees to the front line."

According to Stephen Repaksy, president of the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association, we all can do our part in protecting honey bees promoting a healthy environment for them. 

“Honey bees are important because they are responsible for pollinating about 80% of the food that we eat," Repasky said. "Think of it that about one out of every three bites of food can be attributed to the honey bee population. Honey bees play a large role in the economy."

In Pennsylvania, the population of the honey bees drops about 40 percent over winter naturally, and has to re-populate during the spring months. 

Repasky said that pests, pesticides, pathogens and poor nutrition have negatively impacted the population. 

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"None of the symptoms are the same each year, it could be drought that causes a lack of food or it could be chemical-based. When pesticides are used to get rid of things like dandelions, they kill the food for the bees," he said.

"Before you take that can of insecticide, go and check and make sure what it is. Remember by spraying chemicals on the lawn, it also destroys the ecosystem underneath the surface of the yard. Clean and green is not always the most beautiful." 

While there are over 5,000 registered beekeepers in Pennsylvania, you don't have to be a beekeeper to be a part of the conservation efforts. 

"You can plant a pollinator garden, use less pesticides and maintain wildflower growth areas," Repasky said. "Honey bees are just 1 of 400 species of native pollinators in Pennsylvania."

While planting bee-friendly flowers is great for pollination, for some, intentionally attracting bees to an outdoor living space can be a scary thought. But not to worry, honey bees are usually too busy to even notice your presence. 

"Honey bees are very docile and gentle, wasps and hornets are aggressive because they are hunters by nature," Repasky said. "Yellow jackets have a smooth stinger where as a honey bee has a barb stinger, and they can only sting once and they will die. Typically they are a lot more selective on how and when they use their stinger." 

For more information about Buzz Worthy Apiary visit them on Facebook. For more information on bee keepers in your area and conservation visit  www.pastatebeekeepers.org

Buzz Worthy products are available for purchase at James and Jess House of Goods, Postmasters Coffee, Gordons Grocery as well as at the Hagerstown and Waynesboro farmers markets. For more information or to place an order, email BuzzWorthyApiary@gmail.com.