Beekeeping season begins on Cape Cod: How bees help us and how we can help the bees

Claire Desilets walks through the forest that is her backyard in East Sandwich, wearing her gloves, veil and mesh vest. It's a Friday afternoon, and although the sky was covered with rainy clouds earlier, the sun is finally out.

It's the perfect time for Desilets to check on her honey bees.

"I took the bee course in '87, and I was bitten by the bug," Desilets said on April 4 at her home, surrounded by her hives. "I used to say it's an addiction, my husband used to say 'it's a passion.'"

Desilets, an East Sandwich native, has been beekeeping for 38 years. At one point she was looking after more than 50 hives. She's had seasons where her bees made 175 pounds of honey. She's seen her bees dance, hatch and lay eggs, and she's watched as they drag the drone bees out of the hive.

The beginning of spring marks the start of beekeeping season. It is when beekeepers will check in with their hives and hope that their bees made it through the winter. Desilets said she checks on her bees during the winter too, although it's not required.

"I just take a quick peek and make sure that they have sugar in there," she said.

To keep from starvation during the winter, bees will feed off honey they've stored in the hive. They will also form a tight cluster, keeping each other warm.

"They huddle and cuddle like the rest of us," said Desilets.

Molly Karlson, from Sandwich, has three hives. In her teens, she dabbled in beekeeping, but it wasn’t until the pandemic when she decided to get back into it and signed up for a course at the Barnstable County Beekeepers Association.

For Karlson, beekeeping is just as much about getting offline and being with nature, as it is about pollination.

“Just put your head into the real reality. Forget the virtual reality,” said Karlson.

What does a beekeeper do?

It may seem straightforward, but aside from being the 'keeper of bees,' a beekeeper plays an important role in helping bees with the pollination process. Honey bees are busy workers, but just like the rest of us, they can use the support.

"We've sort of domesticated them to some extent, I think," said Desilets. Factors such as overpopulation and parasitic mites can kill off an entire hive. Beekeepers can help run interference.

Overpopulated hives: Save the queen

In early May, when many flowers and plants are blooming on the Cape, the bees are extremely busy and working hard to bring nectar into the hive. At times it can become so packed in the hive that the bees lose track of their queen.

"She gives off a scent, and because the hive is so jammed, crammed with bees, this scent doesn't make it through the hive, so they think they're without a queen." said Desilets.

The bees will then begin raising a new queen bee.

"Before those cells hatch into virgins, the old queen and about half of your hive will leave, just swarm out. Could be into your house, into your chimney, it could be just into a tree."

To stop this from happening, a beekeeper can split a hive in half, moving the queen and her bees to a new hive, to allow for the new queens to grow. At the same time, if a hive becomes full of nectar and capped off with wax, the bees will swarm out and abandon the hive, sometimes leaving it to die.

Varroa mites in beehives

Varroa destructors are parasitic mites that live on honey bees. The mites burrow into the young bees and multiply, which can infest a whole hive and lead to the death of a swarm, according to Desilets.

The Barnstable County Beekeepers Association, which Desilets has been part of for almost 40 years, is currently working on a special program that might help with the issue. Desilets has a few hives in this program, which has a special queen bee called a Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VHS).

"Supposedly they're supposed to open up the cells because they actually sense that there's this varroa, this parasitic mite in the cell, and pull it out."

The short season on the Cape also makes things difficult for bees because there is a lack of nectar and pollen.

Early May to June is the best time for a bee, according to Desilets. That's when the main nectar sources are in full bloom.

"July going into August, there's nothing out there. The bees can get an attitude, they're not happy with us because there's no nectar coming in," said Desilets.

Planting more sources of nectar and pollen for bees will help with this.

"It's more important right now, than having bees, to be planting for the bees we do have," said Desilets.

The importance of pollination on Cape Cod

Pollination is not just for the bees.

"The more pollination there is, the better the fruits, the larger the fruits are, and so forth," said Desilets.

While honey bees are not the only ones that help with pollination — there are also other insects and native pollinators such as mason bees and bumblebees — they are the largest in number. Also, flowering plants and fruit trees need some form of pollination.

"Here on the Cape, we do have places like Crow Farm in Sandwich which has a sizable apple orchard. Apples need to be pollinated in early spring so they can create the most beautiful, gorgeous juicy fruit," said Desilets.

Honey bees have what is called a pollen basket, located on their back. As the bees move from plant to plant, they will pick up pollen to take back to the hive, and in this process, pollen will drop and transfer onto a new plant.

"From there it creates seeds, or much better fruits," said Desilets.

Cranberry bogs are a big source of pollination on the Cape, according to Desilets. Although bumblebees are better pollinators of cranberry bogs — honey bees have shorter tongues making it difficult for them to access the nectar — honey bees play a large role in transferring pollen.

What plants and flowers help the honey bees?

"Shrubs like pepper bush, and a lot of the herbs like thyme and oregano are a really great source of nectar and pollen for the honey bees," said Desilets.

Not every plant is the best for pollination, but maple trees, goldenrod and crocus are also good, according to Desilets. Staff at local nurseries will be able to point out good pollinators.

Bees put community first, according to Karlson.

“Watching them do so many interesting things collectively, we could learn from that.”