BOTETOURT CO, Va. – Now is the time to get local honey. Beekeepers have processed it, and it’s ready for you to enjoy.
There’s a lot of work that goes into that honey, and for some beekeepers, that includes catching swarming bees.
We went along with Vasilia McCrady as she captured thousands of bees.
Standing on top of her car in a bee suit, she shook a tree branch, holding a box below.
Some bees fell into the box while thousands more flew around McCrady, her SUV and 10 News crews.
“Swarm is a good thing,” said McCrady, as she estimates this one is about 20-30,000 bees.
It’s the largest swarm she’s ever been called for.
“It means that the hive that they came from is naturally reproducing. What they do is create a secondary queen cell, sometimes multiple, and the original queen will leave with half the bees to create a new home, to create a new natural hive somewhere. The bees will congregate wherever the queen lands to be with her. Now she’s a little bit bigger than the other bees, so she needs to rest more often,” said McCrady.
The beekeeper says bee swarms are docile.
“They have no reason to be defensive and are not looking to protect anything. They’re just looking for their next forever home. When you see a swarm, we get a call. What we want to do is get out there as soon as possible because they could be resting on that branch anywhere from two minutes to two days. We have no idea; it’s just the luck of the timing. Unfortunately, wild swarms only have a 20% chance of survival, so we really try to encourage people to call beekeepers so that we can give them that home,” said McCrady.
For her, it’s not just a job. This is about protecting the pollinators.
“Right now, they are hurting. We’re losing our pollinators rapidly, and I really enjoy going into the bees because it’s my personal thing. I get to go in, listen to the bees, hear the bees, even smell the bees and be able to tell what they’re trying to say or do or sending me signals and it’s just very one-on-one. It’s almost like a therapy in a way, where I just get to be one with the bees,” said McCrady.
She owns Heritage Apiary and is the president of the Roanoke Valley Beekeepers Association.
There’s a swarm list, so when people see one, they can activate beekeepers and give them a new home.
“Beekeepers deserve a lot of respect when it comes to it because not many people can do bees, and I get that all the time,” said McCrady, who brought that swarm to her apiary, where the bees are thriving.
Swarm season is over, but when it starts back up next year, there are lots of ways to get ahold of the beekeepers association if you see a swarm.
- The club has a Facebook page where you can post what they see or message in with concerns.
- You can also email or call McCrady: Vasilia.mccrady@gmail.com or 262-903-5375
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