Upcoming classes in Peoria teach ins and outs of beekeeping

By Elise Zwicky For Chronicle Media

Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association President Mark Kilty caught this swarm of bees on a fence last spring. In addition to offering a beginning beekeeper’s class on Jan. 28, HIBA mentors new members and offers bee removal when contacted by the public. (Photo courtesy of the Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association)

If you’re considering joining the swarm of hobbyist beekeepers in the United States, a beginning beekeepers class offered by the Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association on Jan. 28 is the place to be.

The class will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the United Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 2400 W. Northmoor Road, in Peoria. The $50 fee includes lunch, and participants may bring a guest for an additional $10.

“We had 65 people in the class last year,” said Dale Martin, treasurer for HIBA, which offers the class yearly.

According to the National Honey Board, there are between 115,000 and 125,000 beekeepers in the United States, with the vast majority being hobbyists with less than 25 hives.

Most of the 140 members who belong to the local beekeepers group fall into the hobbyist category, though a few keep 300 hives or more. Members come from as far away as Bloomington and Galesburg.

“It’s an interesting hobby,” said Martin, a retired farmer who became a beekeeper about six years ago and currently maintains four hives on his farm near Brimfield. “It can be a little costly, but many hobbies are, whether it’s raising pets or feeding the birds.”

HIBA  was established in 1982 with the renaming of the Tazewell Beekeepers Association, which dates back to the early 1900s. The group has members with many years of beekeeping experience who are willing to mentor new beekeepers.

Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association members (from left) Steve Manske, Scott Nessler and Danny Hart inspect a hive for the queen bee during a field day at the HIBA apiary at Wildlife Prairie Park. HIBA is offering a beginner’s beekeeping class on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of the Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association)

According to the group’s website at www.hoibees.org, the club hopes to help potential beekeepers be successful whether their goal is to have bees to pollinate their garden or to start a small side business.

“The days of putting bees into a wooden box and coming back in the fall to harvest honey are gone,” the website states. “You need to be actively involved with your new hobby and constantly learning and keeping track of your bees’ progress.”

Among the topics to be covered are choosing an apiary location, purchasing necessary equipment and tools, buying bees, feeding bees, inspecting hives,  and detecting diseases and pests.

Kathy Morton of Peoria has signed up for the beginner’s class in the wake of the Peoria City Council’s approval last spring of an ordinance that allows registered beekeepers to keep hives within city limits.

“I have several friends (in Elmwood, Edwards and Bartonville) who keep hives, and I enjoy listening to them discuss their experiences, but I never gave much thought to doing it, too, since it was (previously) illegal within the Peoria city limits,” said Morton, who teaches biology and chemistry at Richwoods High School.

Having observed a decline in the number of bees in her yard during the summer, Morton started considering the idea of raising bees after the beekeeping ordinance was passed.

Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association President Mark Kilty inspects one of the beehives he keeps at the HIBA apiary at Wildlife Prairie Park. People who don’t have a place to keep bees can join the  apiary, which was established about four years ago in a secluded portion of the park near a wildflower hill. (Photo courtesy of the Heart of Illinois Beekeepers Association)

“I hope to maintain one hive in my backyard starting this spring if I can manage it, but I may need this summer to get my yard set up and to get all the supplies, in which case I would start next spring,” she said.

People who are interested but don’t have a place to keep bees can join the HIBA apiary at Wildlife Prairie Park, which was established about four years ago in a secluded portion of the park near a wildflower hill.

The club also sponsors a few hives there and conducts a field day event in June in which members can inspect the hives. The club hosts additional inspections twice a month at which time members can learn techniques from each other or ask questions.

To participate in the club apiary, you must be a HIBA member and come to one of the February, March or April meetings. There’s a limit of three hives per member at the apiary. Martin said about eight or nine members currently keep bees at the Wildlife Prairie Park apiary.

HIBA meets regularly February through October in Peoria, Pekin, Eureka and elsewhere, bringing together hobbyist and commercial beekeepers for lectures, demonstrations and other activities. The meetings are open to the public and conclude with a sharing of desserts made with honey.

The next meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Tazewell County Extension office in Pekin. Danny Hart will discuss spring management/creating a pollinator habitat and where to buy bees.

The public can also contact HIBA members via the club’s website if they have a need for bee removal.

“There are a lot of beekeepers that will come and get the bees,” Martin said. “Three years ago we had over 50 calls for bee removal. I’m not sure why, except that the bees were good and healthy that year and getting overcrowded in the hive so they were taking off and swarming.”

Martin harvested 280 pounds of honey last year from his hives but said what he most enjoys about the hobby is how fascinating honeybees are.

“A honeybee can fly at speeds of up to 15 miles per hour, and a honeybee colony—that’s one hive—can contain 60,000 bees,” Martin said, reading from a publication called “Ten Fascinating Facts about Honey Bees.”

“The honey bee uses the most complex symbolic language of any animal on earth, outside of the primate family,” he added. “It’s a series of movements called the waggle dance.”

For more information or to register for the class on Jan. 28, visit the website at www.hoibees.org or call Dale Martin at (309) 446-9220 or HIBA President Mark Kilty at (309) 678-2831.

 

 

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