The Educational Apiary

Each year, we attract and observe local swarms to cultivate a self-sustaining apiary. We build custom hives to mimic the interior of a tree hollow. In this way, we center biomimicry and adaptation by (1) increasing the availability of nest hollows, (2) deepening the pool of self-sustaining bee genetics in our area, and (3) decentralizing the need to buy-treat-feed as apiary upkeep.

Because our primary focus remains the health and resilience of the hive, honey production isn’t directly incorporated into our mission. We readily provide education on the appropriate timing and methods for collecting overflow honeycomb, and will ourselves collect honeycomb under certain conditions but we don’t set goals for production.

The educational apiary at Backland features stationary and small-population hives that are widely spaced on biodiverse lands. We put our trust in the intelligence of natural selection by allowing swarming and dying off. This means that we embrace the fluctuation of hive counts from season to season, even when it means “losing” bees. Our mission is to support rewilded hives for future application and share this knowledge so that we may recenter reciprocity within the human-bee-land relationship.

Our work builds upon the study of rewilded hives near Ithaca, NY as published by Dr. Thomas Dyer Seeley (Horace White Professor Emeritus in Biology, Cornell University). We are inspired by the ingenuity of custom hives popularized by Sam Comfort (founder of Anarchy Apiaries and creator of the Comfort hive). Most importantly, we uphold reverence in relationship with Mama Nature, akin to our ancestors who treated the land as a living being.

Opposing the Standard

This work inevitably opposes the standard of mainstream beekeepers, which are defined and distributed by commercial apiaries. Commercial beekeepers have an important task of managing thousands of hives to pollinate the monocrops that stock year-round grocery stores. Therefore, their livelihood is tied up in a never-ending loop of intense management like frequent inspections, mite treatment, sugar feed, artificial selection and forced migration.

Seasoned beekeepers know that the “problems” of managed hives don’t go away with more management. Intense management increases pathogens and parasites and decreases the hives ability to survive on their own, thus perpetuating a cycle of management. The use of mite treatment, for example, only causes unintended consequences, like stronger mites and weaker bees. These consequences continue the need for more treatment as a short-term solution.

Additionally, the genetics of commercial honey bees are artificially selected over generations and inherently become dependent on these intense management practices to survive. Through homogenizing bee genetics and popularizing the mainstream standard, this, of course, mostly benefits the commercial beekeeper who leads introductory beekeeping courses and sells bees, box hives, mite treatment and sugar feed. Now, small-scale beekeepers are also stuck in a cycle of constantly needing more just to keep hives alive.

The mainstream standard best suits the pollination services required for industrial-sized monoculture and for maximizing honey production. Commercial practices disregard the needs of the honey bee and native pollinators, and are generally unnecessary for a community of small-scale beekeepers and organic land stewards. This point in time presents an ideal opportunity to reimagine the long-term effects of beekeeping and promote a positive loop that recycles nutrients, respects local relationships and supports greater biodiversity.

Sourcing Swarms

Swarms occur when a hive splits in two—half of the population leaves for a new nest location with the elder-fertilized Mother bee, and the remaining half stays with a young-unfertilized Mother bee. Swarming is the highest goal of natural reproduction for a hive. This act signifies vitality since as a hive only splits after abundantly storing food and successfully increasing the population size.

The first benefit of swarming is the temporary pause in the egg-laying, where parasites and pathogens breed. This pause allows weeks of hygienic time for both halves of the hive body and prevents the development of disease. Secondly, swarms find a new nest location within a few mile radius of the original hive. Therefore swarm-baiting for local honey bees uses biomimicry to encourage hive adaptation to relative environments and puts them in the best position to survive.

Our Community 

We have developed relationships with several local farmers and landowners across Otsego, Delaware and Schoharie counties who support our study by generously allowing access to organic agricultural, residential rural and forested lands. We also work with previous participants to provide peer-mentorship and apiary resources.

Community partnerships include placing temporary bait hives, permanent beehives and making frequent observations. We also address pollinator needs by ensuring seasonal flows of nectar and pollen, and when necessary, planting pollinator gardens and layering the habitat to better support biodiversity.