Community Corner

Weymouth Couple Keeps Thousands of Bees

The young Weymouth couple are proud owners of a colony of three pounds of bees which they keep in the backyard of their home in a wood brood box.

Weymouth resident Christopher Johnson and his wife Marjorie do not just have one pet; they have over 15,000 of them.

The young Weymouth couple proudly own a colony of three pounds of bees which they keep in the backyard of their home in a wood brood box.

The Johnson's bought the bees to enhance their plants and gardens and to use the more than 50 pounds of honey that the insects produce over the entire year.

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They purchased the bees after going through the Norfolk County Beekeepers Association where they attended scheduled informational meetings that the group holds every month in Norfolk Aggie, Walpole.

“They really do a good job of helping not only new beekeepers but veteran beekeepers with information and resources,” Johnson said.

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The Johnson's also took a nine week beekeeping training course through the association.

“They teach you everything from where to get your equipment, where to get your bees, how to take care of your bees, what’s important and what’s not…,” Johnson said.

Even with thousands of bees living in his backyard, Johnson said the masses of the flying creatures don’t harm neighbors.  Bees stay in the brood box and when they do venture out from their hive, they fly straight up and within a two mile radius.

“They’re very friendly, they don’t have a problem with people,” Johnson said. “If my neighbors were to complain about me having a bee hive here, there would be no reason why they wouldn’t be complaining about another bee hive a half mile away.

The Johnson's also believe many people have misconceptions about honey bees. Unlike a yellow jacket, wasp, or hornet, they rarely sting. 

“They only bite if the queen is in danger,” Marjorie  said.  “They are actually docile.”

Since purchasing bees back in April, Chris and Marjorie have been stung under 10 times.

The only time they are stung is when they conduct a hive inspection, which is done weekly to  assure that no disease is spreading in the colony.

One by one, Chris and Marjorie take out several removable frames from the hive to check if the bees have diseases.  They look for discoloring, fungus and abnormalities in the hives.  

To keep the bees calm while invading their home, they blow smoke on them, which distorts their sense of smell.  Bees communicate their sense of fear through smell and the smoke prevents their agitation from spreading.

Once they check the boxes, they sprinkle powdered sugar on the bees which will kill off any of the parasites and Varroa mites growing on them.  They also pour cinnamon around the hives to keep ants away.

Inside the boxes, the bees build honeycomb and gather. The queen lays 1,500 eggs a day.  Worker bees live for only 6 weeks and during the peek of the season, a hive will have 60,000 living bees.  In the winter, when the temperature dips below 4 degrees Celsius, they hibernate.

Johnson fills the brood box with sugar syrup and protein patties, which helps the bees live.

“They are just fascinating creatures,” Johnson said.  “The more I learn about them, the more I want to keep learning.”


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