Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Grad Keeps Bees
HUTCHERSON HARVESTS HIVES
FAYETTEVILLE – It’s gardening season and more and more people are out planting, weeding, and taking care of plants, flowers and yard work.
This means pollinators are out doing their thing as well, which involves moving pollen from one part of a flower to another part, fertilizing the plant.
As gardeners and homeowners move about, bees are on the move as well.
To help facilitate the reproduction of flowers, fruits and vegetables, and maintain habitats and ecosystems, swarms and hives can be relocated, and University of Arkansas student Caleb Hutcherson can help with that.
Hutcherson, a 2016 graduate of Farmington High School, is an agricultural economics and agribusiness major in the university’s Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. He’s also a beekeeper and works on his family’s farm, Pick & Peck Farms in Prairie Grove.
“Honeybee swarms are not highly dangerous under most circumstances,” said Hutcherson. “The bees are very gentle in a swarm due to feeding before departure (reduces ability to sting). Honeybees are gentle until they are provoked.”
Hutcherson said he typically moves a swarm by searching for the queen in the cluster of bees. Once the queen is discovered, he places her in a queen cage and between frames of a nucleus colony box.
“I hold the box near the swarm and all the bees march into the box to be reunited with their queen,” Hutcherson said.
Another method is to use a bee vac to steadily move the swarm into a bee cage for easy transport.
Hutcherson, who got involved in relocating swarms through the NWA Beekeeping Alliance, recently moved a swarm which had settled in a tree in the backyard of Heather and Kris Parks, a pair of U of A staff employees.
“He told us his bees not only help with propagation on their farm, but also surrounding gardens in their neighborhood,” said Heather, Bumpers College project specialist for scholarships, development and external relations. “He rescued four pounds of bees from our tree and transported them to their new home.”
Hutcherson said the typical weight of a package of bees that comes in the mail for beekeeping is 3 pounds, equivalent to 10,000 bees. The largest swarm he’s caught has been around 40,000 bees in Fayetteville.
Swarms are crucial to colony reproduction and expansion but they sometimes relocate to undesirable locations, like the side of a house or in a building.
“It is extremely important to save the world’s pollinators,” said Hutcherson. “One-third of all food you eat depends on pollinators and more than 100 types of crops are pollinated by bees in the U.S.”
Swarms usually happen between 10 a. m. and 1 p.m. Social distancing and self- quarantining may increase the chances of experiencing a swarm in person.
“What was really interesting is they would swarm and then just disappear,” said Kris, an IT project specialist with the U of A System Division of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station. “It took us a little while to find them. They were on a branch, balled up around the queen. I had never seen a swarm before, and it was interesting to watch Caleb.”
Hutcherson got into beekeeping through his mother, who had talked to someone about the process and then ordered all the equipment for beekeeping.
“I began to research and read all I could about beekeeping and became fascinated with the entire experience. I think the best part is watching a young colony grow and producing gallons of honey to make extra cash in a hobby you love. I currently have 21 hives at the farm.”
Hutcherson estimates he’s been stung 75 to 100 times. Bees release the chemical melittin, which signal pain receptors that burn a few minutes. He’s OK with the sacrifice.
“The taste of all-natural honey straight out of the hive is indescribably more nutritional than store-bought honey,” said Hutcherson. “Honey bought in stores is micro-filtered and pasteurized, which affects the taste. Purchasing honey from a local beekeeper is so much more beneficial to seasonal allergies as well.”
After graduating, Hutcherson plans to grow his honeybee business, C’s Bees, go into real estate and work on the family farm.
For more on beekeeping and apiculture, visit the U of A Cooperative Extension Service. Jon Zawislak, extension entomologist and apiary expert with the Cooperative Extension Service, also maintains a blog.