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Community Corner

Swarm Spotting with Sonoma's "Bee Charmer"

A local beekeeper is leading the charge against dwindling bee populations - starting with Sonoma.

The call came from a woman residing in Creekside Village, a residential development off Arnold Drive that's part of the area.  She spotted a group of bees in a swarm - a cluster away from the hive, which allows the colony to reproduce - across the street from her house.

Luckily Will Ackley, who calls himself "the bee charmer," responded.

He found the swarm in a Manzanita shrub near the sidewalk.  It was a good-sized swarm, just what he’d been looking for. He studied the swarm for a minute, spotted the queen, who’s always surrounded by her guards, put on his protective beekeeper jacket and placed a cardboard box over the queen.

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The box Ackley used was a sturdy Spanish wine box that’s roughly the same dimensions as a standard hive box. He put a hole in the box so that the bees remaining outside could eventually make their way into the box to be with their queen.

Before Will Ackley relocated to Sonoma 12-years ago, he didn’t know or even care much about bees. That was until he got involved with The Sonoma Garden Farm and the Sonoma Ecology Center, where in 2006 he took a class in beekeeping.  The class ignited a passion in Ackley: he now owns a business called Wild Will’s Honey and practices sustainable hive management in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.

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 “March through June is bee swarming time,” said Ackley, “and because of all the rain we’ve had and the resulting wildflowers, we’ve got some good bee action going on.”

In 2006 Ackley, a newbie beekeeper at the time, had only three calls for swarms. Last year he had nine, and this year he's already had several calls. So far, 2011 is shaping up to be a good year for bees in Sonoma.

The process of gathering a swarm of bees requires patience, sometimes taking an hour or two. “You have to wait for them to go into the box. But, if the queen’s in there, the bees will eventually follow,” said Ackley.

Once the bees are boxed up, Ackley loads them in his car (Yes, in his car,) and drives them to their new location.  He places them in a hive box he’s carefully prepared with sweet honeycomb and sugar-water to tantalize the bees into making it their new home.

Bees swarm when their hive becomes too crowded. They take the queen and fly off in search of a new home. About 40 percent of the bees may stay behind and re-queen the old hive. The swarming bees will go to a location and park themselves for about three days while they send out scouts to look for a new home. When the scouts return, they communicate the results of their search through a "waggle dance." The waggle dance is done in a precise pattern to communicate to the other bees the location of the possible new home and other information like the location of food sources. The intensity of the dance will determine whether or not the bees respond favorably to the idea.

So why disrupt the bees’ natural process of finding new digs? Why not just leave them alone instead of hauling them off to a hive box? Bees often end up in places that are inconvenient for humans, like attics or near swimming pools.

Collecting and relocating bee swarms can help create a sustainable hive - one of the major efforts to mitigate growing worldwide decline in honeybees, which experts worry will grossly hurt food production.

“While our bee population in Sonoma has been improving, we’ve experienced a 30 percent loss nationally and internationally,” said Ackley. "Pollination increases our food supply and there are some crops that would simply cease to exist without the bees’efforts. Bees are responsible for 1 out of every 3-tablespoons of food we put in our mouths.”

Despite the improvement in Sonoma County bee populations, Ackley said he still losses about 2 out of 6 hives every year. They just don’t make it.

Scientists still don’t understand exactly what’s causing bee colony collapse but several theories are being tested.

“We do know that certain pesticides and chemicals are hard on our honey bees,” said Ackley. “Monocultures, areas where a single type of crop is planted, are also hard on bees.” 

So what can you do to encourage a healthy honeybee population? “Plant more flowers that attract bees,” recommends Ackley. Bees need biodiversity, environments with lots of different plants, to thrive. Wisteria, wild mustard, pineapple guava, red hot pokers, crape myrtle and mimosa trees are just a few of the plants that attract honeybees.

Ackley also encourages people who are interested in backyard beekeeping but is quick to advise that they should get educated about keeping bees before setting up a hive. 

“Sonoma County has incredible resources to educate people about bees and beekeeping,” said Ackley. His recommendations include The Sonoma Ecology Center, The Melissa Garden, a honeybee, native pollinator and habitat garden sanctuary in Healdsburg and The Sonoma County Beekeeper’s Association that can pair wannabe beekeepers with a mentor.

After several hours, Ackley successfully relocated the swarm of bees to their new home. When he went out to check his bee barn, a new swarm had moved into some of his farm equipment and he had to set up another hive. "A two-hive day," he said gleefully. "Truly a good year for bees."

To report a swarm of bees, visit the Sonoma County Beekeeper’s website at http://www.sonomabees.org/swarm/. To find out more about Will Ackley’s sustainable hive management, contact him at 707-337-3008. 

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