The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
THE COUNTY’S BEE MAN
Jonathon Reichel was reappointed the Ohio Department of Agriculture Apiary Inspector
Jonathon Reichel said one of his favorite words to describe beekeeping is “fascinating.”
“(It) can be incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Unfortunately, it can be unbelievably frustrating and heartbreaking too.”
Reichel was reappointed the Ohio Department of Agriculture Apiary Inspector for Lorain County for the third time by the Lorain County Commissioners at their Jan. 17 meeting. As part of that position he will be paid $3,400 and 52 cents a mile.
An apiary is defined as a location where beehives are kept. In his role as inspector, Reichel is under the auspices of the department’s plant division.
“They manage, they train, they monitor, they compile information,” Reichel said describing the apiary section within the plant division.
According to Reichel,
each beekeeper is required by law to register their hives, and it is the responsibility of his section to maintain records of those registrations.
While Reichel is technically an agent of the state and he said he has the legal right to do certain things, he is just trying to help people.
“Our intent is pretty much to get along, help people and make sure these diseases and pests don’t spread,” he said.
It’s the possibility of diseases and pests that make registering a beehive necessary, according to Reichel.
“The example I use is in Oberlin, and it’s happened in other parts of the county. There’s been a problem with a disease that’s awfully contagious,” he explained. “What I mean by contagious is that if a hive dies, bees from someone else’s hive will come in to steal their honey and take spores of this disease back to their hive, and their hive gets the disease.
“So, when we find that disease, the first thing we do is look at all the registrations, find out who’s nearby, go check their bees, make sure they’re aware there’s a problem they need to keep a sharp eye out for it.”
For his inspections, Reichel said he does them, sort of, at random but not to try and surprise anybody.
“I’m not trying to get anyone in trouble,” he said with a laugh.
During an inspection, Reichel is looking for the health of the hive which is evident by the brood pattern. Brood is a term used for any form of bees in their gestation — eggs, larva or pupa.
He also looks at the amount of honey and pollen they have, and then looks at the bees to see if they have symptoms similar to any of the known diseases.
Reichel said he usually looks for evidence of varroa mites which can carry viruses and small hive beetles and ants.
Reichel said the challenges facing hives in Lorain County has changed in recent years.
“In the old days, you’d open up your hive in the spring, say hello to your bees, make some adjustments, catch some swarms, split some hives and then people would come back in the fall and get some honey,” he said. “You can’t do that anymore.
“The prevalence of pests and diseases is so great now that you’ve got to check your hives a minimum of every 10 days to see how they’re doing,” he continued. “It takes a lot of time. The learning curve for beekeeping is very steep.”
While it is difficult, Reichel said the push among people to focus on locally produced food products has led to a boom in beekeeping.
“I can’t change farming practices, I can’t end pesticides, I can’t make everyone plant flowers, I can’t make people stop spraying their yards and killing all the dandelions and clover, but I can raise bees in my yard and my bees will pollinate my trees and my flowers,” he said.
“People who want to be concerned about their environment and about animals and plants, beekeeping is a perfect way to get into it,” he continued.
For those interested in becoming a beekeeper, the Lorain County Beekeepers Association will be holding their 23rd annual Beginner Beekeeping class from 7 to 9 p.m. on the first four Fridays in March at Life Church, 1033 Elm St. in Grafton.
The classes cost $50, which includes a one year family membership to the association and a monthly email newsletter.