Becoming a Beekeeper

Worker bee in flight loaded with pollen

Photo: Maine State Beekeepers Association

By Lawrence Furbish

Have you ever thought you might want to keep bees? Do you want to know more about how bees pollinate, navigate, propagate and produce honey? The first step would be to come to a meeting of the York County Beekeepers Association (YCBA).

The YCBA meets in-person four times a year for business meetings and educational talks and workshops. They meet at the Little Theater in Springvale at 6:30 pm. They also meet via zoom several times a year for Q&A and presentations from experts who don’t live in the area. In the summer, they hold “open hive” sessions where members get together at someone’s apiary for hands-on inspections and demonstrations. Membership is $8 for an individual and $16 for a household. More information is available on their website.

There are usually 130-150 YCBA members per year, but as they are in the middle of membership renewal, there are currently 92 members. There are four beekeepers in Sanford and five in Springvale. There are probably more beekeepers than that in our area because not every beekeeper is necessarily a registered YCBA member. Statewide there are 1,300 registered beekeepers and 12,000 to 13,000 beehives.

At their meeting this past Tuesday evening, the speaker was Jennifer Lund, the Maine State apiarist, who is a terrific source of information, and helps beekeepers around the state. Her job is to travel the state inspecting hives for disease, advising beekeepers and helping to educate the public about the importance of bees as pollinators necessary for healthy flowers, fruits, and vegetables. She spoke about biosecurity in the bee yard. One of the challenges beekeepers face is protecting their hives from a number of diseases and pests.

Frame from a beehive

Photo: Barbara Sutcliffe

All bees are important in many ways. Bees pollinate one-third of the food we eat. Native bees pollinate many crops, including apples, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. Squash and berry farmers in Maine depend heavily on native bees.  It takes more than 45,000 honeybee hives to pollinate Maine’s wild blueberry crop each year.

And bees produce honey!

Spring, summer and fall honey (right to left)

Photo: Barbara Sutcliffe