BLACKSBURG, Va. – Richard Reid has a pretty “buzzworthy” hobby.
He’s raised hives of honeybees for decades, turning that into his business, Happy Hollow Honey.
“It’s complex and that’s what makes it fascinating,” Reid said.
It’s a hobby that takes some trial and error.
“At some point your bees are going to die and until you learn how to keep them alive, you usually lose quite a few hives,” he said.
The rollercoaster weather has some people concerned about the local bee population, but Reid says not to worry.
He says they’re about three weeks ahead of schedule, but it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“They are responding on a daily basis or an hourly basis to the temperature outside. At the same time, we’ve had pollen coming in and they’re starting to brood up, so that sets the pattern going into spring,” he said.
He says the biggest concern is getting them into spring with enough food.
“At this point in time I just want to make sure my hives are healthy, and they have enough food to get to the point probably in about a month when there’s going to be more nectar coming in,” Reid said.
The queen bee starts laying more eggs near spring, which means they are going through more food.
“The colony is starting to build up which means they’re eating more and more of those stores in there that they have from last fall. It’s pretty critical for beekeepers to make sure they have enough stores,” he said.
Reid says that even with this early spring weather, the bees will still be okay when the weather turns cold again.
“They go right back in the colony and their going to cluster around to keep their brood warm,” he said.
So, for Reid and his bees, every little sting’s gonna be alright.