Ag & Range

Courtesy Photo Josee Hotz, senior of Gothenburg, holds up a honeycomb produced by her Buckfast bees, this summer, north of Rushville.

Josee and the bees

u By Kamryn Kozisek Ag and Range editor

Most college students enjoy the buzz of things like social media. But one student thrives on a different kind of buzz - one from a black and yellow insect.

Last September, Josee Hotz, senior of Gothenburg, purchased bees and equipment from a retiring beekeeper in Hay Springs. Despite having a growing interest in bees since her freshman year, Hotz had no plans in becoming a beekeeper until the opportunity arose.

“It was just an idea that came to mind,” said Hotz. “I knew someone that knew a gentleman that was selling his bees, so I took a chance.”

During the winter months bees are not active outside their hives, Hotz took this as an opportunity to research and move equipment to prepare for the summer months. In May, Hotz moved her hives to a farm north of Rushville where there was more water available.

Hotz purchased two queens from Texas during the winter before moving her bees to the farm. This created three separate hives. During the spring she got a call from a friend asking her to come capture a swarm of bees in his backyard, Hotz responded by getting a new hive box and moving the swarm to her hives. The queen of the swarm died and Hotz worked the remaining worker bees into her other colonies.

Studying the bees is as much of a hobby to Hotz as beekeeping. She has found this to be one of the best ways for her to learn about the complexity of the colonies and how honey is produced.

As a major in rangeland management concentrating in ecology, Hotz knows the importance of bees in the ecosystem, but has found an appreciation for bees and the honey they produce.

“Honey seems expensive in the store, but it is worth it,” said Hotz. “It takes bees a long time to make all of that and people don’t always realize that. I didn’t always realize that until I started doing this.”

Hotz has found that her colonies of Buckfast bees are gentle and does not worry about smoking them before she works with them. She still wears her bee suit when working with her hives but thinks that one day she won’t need to.

“Bees are a lot nicer than you think,” Said Hotz. “They aren’t always out to harm you.”

The use of pesticides and herbicides near her hives is a constant worry for Hotz, who is still working on establishing her colonies. Herbicides and pesticides are a cause of colony collapse disorder, a disorder that kills off the worker bees in a colony, causing the hive to be unable to support itself.

“This has made me a lot more aware of people using chemicals,” said Hotz. “Scientists believe that pesticides and herbicides cause colony collapse.”

Hotz finished her first honey harvest this summer and was able to sell all of it. Her recent success did not come easy and Hotz says she still has a lot more to learn, but plans on continuing beekeeping.

“Right now, it’s just a hobby, but its good for the plants and just getting honey to sell to my friends,” Hotz said. “That’s good enough for me for right now.”

Courtesy Photo Josee Hotz, wearing her bee suit with her hive logo, prepares to work with her bees.