Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Jasper Municipal Library has a honey of a free presentation for all the bee lovers out there.
Think of the Beeloved Bee Talk as a basic Bees 101 course that Lucas Habib and Layla Neufeld are bringing to the reading room starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 1.
鈥淚t'll be more of just a general interest talk 鈥� a year in the life of a bee colony 鈥� and more of an educational talk in that sense of how we go through the year and the different activities you and the bees are conducting at different times of the year,鈥� Habib said.
The two work for Wildflower Waggle Dance Honey (a Jasper Farmers鈥� Market favourite) on their family farm northeast of Edson. They鈥檝e been involved with taking care of the 25 hives and all the denizens therein for the past 15 years. You could say that they are seasoned experts who have learned their trade on the job.
鈥淲here we've been fully responsible for the yards, it's our third season,鈥� Habib said.
鈥淏efore that, we helped out with the rest of the family. We're not experts. We're amateurs. I mean, I guess most beekeepers are.鈥�
Springtime, he explained, is a time for helping the population in each colony build itself up to maximum efficiency for when the flowers are out and the honey flow is on. That way, they could bring in as much honey for their own purposes and for yours as well.
鈥淭he spring is all about population management and trying to keep the hive running along smoothly,鈥� Habib said.
鈥淏eekeeping . . . I like to say it's a real weird mix of science and art and gut feeling and luck. The bees . . . they know what to do. They can manage themselves pretty well most of the time, unless they run into strange situations where a queen dies and they're unable to make another for whatever reason. For the most part, they can handle themselves well, but there's protocols you want to abide by to try to reach that maximum efficiency.鈥�
The summer is when you put in long, hard hours over a short time period dealing with the honey.
Beekeeping is a combination of savvy and skill, and understanding and dealing with many variables quickly.
鈥淎 lot of it at the end of the day comes down to luck as well,鈥� Habib said.
鈥淚f you have three hives that all seem exactly the same, and you treat each of them exactly the same, they鈥檒l end up being wildly different based on genetics or just randomness. You do the best you can; you have to trust the bees to take care of things themselves. You're giving them a helping hand and giving them a boost in certain aspects.鈥�
Habib added that the talk will be a free-flowing overview for which he hasn鈥檛 formally prepared.
鈥淚'm going to be winging it, for sure.鈥�
There will be plenty of visuals and time for Q&A as well.
Editor's note: The photo caption has been updated to include the correct names.
