The Buzz about Bees

Spring is in full bloom, the flowers are blooming, and the trees are full of blossoms. And if you sit still and listen, you can also hear the buzz of the bees enjoying the new beauty spring and summer bring. There are a number of people that support hives in the Eagle Mountain and the surrounding areas. According to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food website there are 266 active beekeeper licenses in Utah County. One of those licensed beekeepers is Stephen Briles who has been a resident of Eagle Mountain since 2002. Stephen noticed when he moved to Eagle Mountain there were no bees in the area. “When I moved to Eagle Mountain in 2002 I wanted to grow a garden but noticed there were no bees around our area to pollinate the garden. I have always been fascinated with bees so I decided to build a hive and get some bees. That year I started with my first two hives.”

He has now taken to beekeeping in full force. “I retired from active duty military back in 2000 after some 29 year and moved to Eagle Mountain in January 2002. I became a beekeeper that same year to have a healthy productive garden. In 2003 I joined Utah County Beekeepers Association. After a few years I found myself as President of the association. After a few years I stepped down from that post and since then I been on the Board of Directors of the association. I still remain an active member of UCBA, and teach beginning beekeeping and other classes for the association. I have taught beekeeping at other locations as far north as the Ogden Nature Center. A few years ago I had about 40 hives in the Utah Valley area but I am getting older and I have cut back to about 5 hives keep locally.”

For almost last 10 years, Stephen makes a trip to Northern California for his love of beekeeping. He returns to Utah with 50 packages of bees from a supplier that has been in business for over 110 years. Those packages are for his hives, members of UCBA, and local people who wish to purchase them. I purchased two packages from him this year, and have purchased packages in the past as well. A package usually consists of 2-3 lbs of bees, each pound contains roughly 3500 bees, and a queen. Stephen is not like all suppliers, he takes it to the next level, “I noticed that some people were loosing their bees shortly after buying them from other suppliers. New packages are fragile and if there was a cold snap they would freeze. I therefore started bring them in during the first week in May, about 3 to 4 weeks after other suppliers, as there was less of a chance of a good freeze. The bees have a better survival rate due to warmer weather and more nectar sources. To add to that I furnished a protein patty as part of the package price to insure better nutrition and faster buildup. Since most of my customers are fairly new beekeepers the packages include a marked queen. This allows the newer beekeeper to identify their queen. To my knowledge I am the only Utah bee supplier that furnishes these two items to their packages at no additional costs. I want my beekeepers to be successful.” He continues, “I take great joy in helping others started in beekeeping and have mentored many people that wanted to be a beekeeper. I have also supported the Be A Beekeeper (BAB) program of the UCBA. It is a program that starts junior beekeepers (ages 8 to 18) in beekeeping. For more than ten years I have furnished the program with materials for building hives and all their equipment. This is totally free and is funded from my profits selling bees and hives. Again it is great watching these kids learn and grow raising bees and reporting at meetings and talking to people at various fairs.”

Having hives in Utah County can have be a challenge, Stephen discusses this challenge. “The biggest problem in preserving bee population is lack of flora in our areas. Some of this is natural but much comes from the way we garden trying to kill every weed we see, keeping lawns a green desert with out dandelions or clover which used to be normal in lawns 50 years ago. Today modern flowers are breed for beauty not nectar as with older flowers and plants. Treating everything with chemicals is also a threat to bees. Laws and ordinances suppress beekeeping in many communities. There are several disease and pests that also weaken the hives. With that said the number of beehives actually stay fairly stable because beekeepers replace lost hives and create new ones. We need to encourage people to become beekeepers and to plant good diverse gardens. We are losing older beekeepers so we must look to younger generations to take up beekeeping. I don’t buy the thought that the earth will end if we lose bees. First we are not going to lose bees as we continue to start new hives and we improve the bee we raise through better breeding programs. Still increasing good forage for bees is very important and something we all can do.”

So as you enjoy the blooms of spring, remember that those bees you see, could be a direct result of beekeepers in your area. Since I moved to Eagle Mountain, I have kept bees. But last year I was unable to do so. I had neighbors comment that they could tell a difference in their gardens the year I did not have a bee hive. This year, one of my neighbors purchased one of the packages of bees for me, because she sees the value of having local beekeepers keeping the bee population up. Keeping bees has been a run hobby, and has had its many returns. It helps the garden to produce, as well as gives beekeepers a steady supply of local honey.