What may at first glance seem like a dangerous endeavor is fast becoming a popular hobby for many urban farming enthusiasts, and a small-scale, part-time business for a willing few. With plenty of good reasons to host a hive, urban beekeeping has developed a strong buzz within Portland city limits. Even Mayor Sam Adams has a hive in his backyard.
Natural Benefits of Local Beekeeping
Bees are mellow by nature, believe it or not. They just want to be left alone to gather nectar, bring it back to the hive, to tend to their duties at the colony, and make that honey. These gentle creatures aren’t that interested in people, stinging only when threatened or provoked, as a last ditch effort defense mechanism. (Wouldn’t you?)
Beekeeping takes up far less space and energy than housing chickens or goats (with no funny odors!). Creating a safe space in your yard for these important insects that work so hard to collect nectar and pollen—the process that activates our thriving gardens—is a cool way to add positively to the local environment. Other benefits include, of course, “growing your own” honey, learning about the natural world in an intimate, fun way, and sharing information and resources with your neighbors to strengthen your sense of community.
Our Local Beekeepers
Glen Andresen is a master gardener turned beekeeper and bee educator in Northeast Portland. Seth Lee and Damian Magista, neighbors and partners in Southeast Portland-based Taborhood Honey, launched their hive hosting business earlier this year.
Most beekeepers offer swarm removal services, and many rely on neighbors to host colonies (and those who offer hive space are repaid with a deliciously sweet reward). Plenty of Portland neighbors are hosting hives in their yards, taking classes on beekeeping and generally showing a growing interest in apiary activity.
According to A Short History of the Honey Bee: Humans, Flowers, and Bees in the Eternal Chase for Honey, "In a good, productive area, it takes over 50,000 miles of flying and the bees visiting more than two million flowers to make a single pound of honey."
Embracing the Buzz
It seems that neighbors might be upset about beekeeping operations near their backyards and playgrounds, but most everyone who sees hives in action quickly becomes a fan, with many more wanting to get in on the hosting action.
When Andresen went out on a swarm call about a mile away from his house in early July, he asked the couple if they would ever want to host a colony. “They called me about an hour later and we set up two colonies in their yard.”
All his neighbors love the bees, and are the best supporters of what he’s doing. When families are walking to the nearby park, he can hear parents tell their children “the bees are flying today!”
It’s gratifying to see nature in action in our neighborhoods.
The Swarm
Most urban beekeepers start out by going on swarm calls to assist (sometimes terrified) neighbors. Swarming is a natural part of what honeybees do when a queen is on her way out and the parent colony lands in your yard in search of another home. The swarm could end up 30 or 40 feet up a tree or on the ground while a scout searches for a dark cavity for the hive’s permanent location.
When the swarm perches on a tree, it’s easy to remove. Bee experts just clip the branch and shake the bees into a box. (Kids, don’t try this at home. It truly calls for expert handling.) When the swarm is positioned on the ground, however, it’s more difficult and dangerous to scoop the bees into the box.
Placing the queen bee (upper right corner of metal strip) in the hive first will cause all the other bees in the swarm to follow. Photo: Heather Zinger
Almost all beekeepers make swarm calls—it’s how they collect bees for hives to host themselves or farm out to willing neighbors. For enthusiasts like Andresen, this is the most enjoyable part of his life as a beekeeper. “Getting swarms is…major problem solving, putting into action what I learned about bee behavior, and seeing them do what they do." And what the bees do is really quite cool.
Hive Hosting and Education
In 1992, Andresen changed his life by choosing to take over a few honeybee colonies from a friend who had been overseeing some colonies since the 70s but curiously developed a serious sensitivity to bee stings (which typically doesn’t happen). Andresen “contemplated this for about five minutes” and dove right in. An avid gardener and enjoyer of both insects and honey, Andresen “thought it would be interesting.”
Today, Andresen tends to 50 to 60 colonies, each ranging in size (anywhere from 2,000 to 60,000 bees per colony), in and around Portland. “I love the relationship that plays out in gardens…the dependence between gardens and honeybees.”
From his apiary in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood, Andresen teaches beekeeping workshops—some on his own and some through the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability with classes like “First-time Beekeeping for the Organic City Gardener” and “Advanced Beekeeping”. There’s not a day that goes by, especially near and during harvest (mid to late summer) that former students aren’t calling Andresen for advice. It’s a tight community, and sharing information and techniques helps everyone learn to be better beekeepers.
Beekeeping itself isn’t too strenuous, but it’s all about time sensitive activity. It’s also not super difficult or hazardous work, but if a swarm is not managed correctly, given the environmental sensitivities that abound, things can quickly go awry.
“Education is key,” notes Taborhood Honey’s Magista.
Threats to Survival
Aside from the danger many people associate with bees (stings + allergic reaction = uh oh), there are more environmental hazards that threaten success than overall health risks to raising bees. Colony collapse disorder, severe and changing weather, pesticides, mites and viruses all threaten bee colonies.
Because of the environmental sensitivities (such as those mentioned), beekeeping for honey production is merely a novelty, a hobby to share with family and friends. There are, however, a few ambitious Portlanders making a go of the beekeeping business (like Taborhood) with hive-host models that enable honey production possibilities.
Unfortunately, last winter many beekeepers in the Pacific Northwest lost more than 60% of their colonies; the year prior, for many the loss was closer to 40%. This year’s cruelly late, wet spring weather has put the current honey harvest off by weeks this summer, and the Taborhood Honey boys have been worried about the yield amounts they’ll actually see in their Southeast neighbor host hives. "Our bees couldn't get out in June" (because of the weather), laments Magista.
Already late in the game at the end of July, Taborhood hasn't pulled any honey yet, but Magista hopes to be able to begin extracting by mid August. "We're lucky to be in our unique urban environment" with so many pollen and nectar outlets nearby for bees to frequent. (Some of Taborhood's hives are near nurseries.)
Show Me the Honey: The Harvesting Process
Honey producing and harvesting are really interesting processes—and labor intensive for both bees and humans. Field bees collect nectar from flowers and blossoming trees, and that nectar goes through a slight enzymatic change in the stomach of that bee. The gathering bee regurgitates up what has been collected to a house bee in the colony who ingests it, and again, the nectar goes through a slight enzymatic change. The house bee deposits this "stuff" into a wax cell (the honeycomb) where it will sit until its water content has evaporated down to 18%. To start, the mixture is about 85% water and 15% nectar (sugar); when the water content decreases, then you’ve got honey to harvest.
Beekeepers like Andresen and Magista pull frames from their colonies (called "supers"—hive boxes used to store surplus honey) when the honey is ready. A thin wax cap found on each cell—which protects the honey and can last for decades or even centuries—must be removed. (No bacteria can survive in the cell’s unique conditions, which is how intact honey could be found in an Egyptian tomb.) Honeycombs or frames are placed in an extractor, often many at a time, so the honey can slide down the walls of the device, and honey can make its way to a main valve.
Some, like Andresen, don’t strain their honey. It merely sits for about a week and wax, pollen, bee parts and other particles float to the surface. Then clear, pure, raw honey is ready to be poured out and consumed.
Different operations use different types of equipment, of course, with some outfits producing unbelievable amounts of liquid gold. Andresen has already harvested about 300lbs this season and has about 70lbs more to go, which he happily notes will occur in the next few weeks. Even though Taborhood won't harvest until mid to late August, Magista is still focused on the success of their 10 or 11 neighborhood hives.
There’s Honey, Honey!
Americans purportedly consume 400 million pounds of honey a year, according to A Short History of the Honey Bee: Humans, Flowers, and Bees in the Eternal Chase for Honey.
Portlanders consume a lot of honey, too, and, it’s all different—honey varieties vary by location, of course, because what bees consume in our gardens, from our trees, and in and around town affects flavor, color and aroma.
Aside from local honeys and other products (like beeswax candles) that are found in Portland’s cooperative groceries and other stores, restaurants and bars are choosing hyperlocal honey sources to spruce up their recipes. Artisan Spirits and Matchbox Lounge purchase Taborhood Honey for its delicious offerings. Nectar is nature’s way of baiting insects, and fresh, local honey used in culinary treats delights our senses, too.
Get Busy with the Bees
Interested in getting in on the bee action? Why not take an intro class or a tour of one of the local beehives? You’ll probably spark your interest to learn more or even venture to host a hive. The advantage to hive hosting is, of course, the honey you’ll receive from your beekeeper’s (and the bees’) efforts.
Before you dive into a hive, however, do your research and consult with the experts like Andresen and Taborhood Honey. There’s not only a lot of basic information you need to be equipped with to host bees, but you’ll need to follow some City of Portland rules to be sure you’re a good neighbor with your new found hobby, too.
BEEsources
Oregon State Beekeepers Association
Swarm Call List
Bureau of Planning & Sustainability
Wow! That is quite the buzz. Glad to see its growing in popularity. Great article, and great pics.
Great article -- very informative and inspiring!!
Thanks!
Thanks for the positive buzzzz here, folks. This is such an interesting hobby, passion, activity, it's nearly impossible to not catch bee fever.