The domestication of animals goes back at least to prehistoric times. Supposedly, dogs drew close to man as a result of scavenging around for throwaways and scraps of fresh kills in much the same manner as hyenas congregate around lions. Cats followed several thousand years later and then came horses, sheep, pigs, and the other domesticated animals. Somewhere along the line man discovered how to attract and raise honeybees. The Egyptians mentioned their interest in bees in some of their hieroglyphics. Humans ate their honey and used them to pollinate plants for farming and cultivation.

In the Hudson Valley region there is a long history of beekeeping and beelining. I can personally recall several people who raised bees. An old friend and distant relative, Russell Charleston, had several hives. Once, a long time ago, Russell gave my family some fresh comb honey straight from the hive. The waxiness took some getting used to, but it definitely tasted much better than the average store bought honey. When Russell passed away Everett Miller received the hives as he raised bees at his home on Willow Grove Road in Stony Point, N.Y. My mother recalls that when she was growing up at St. John's in the Wilderness, my grandfather had bees behind the cottage. Somewhere we have a photograph of my mother alongside my grandfather who was wearing all of his beekeeping accouterments. The hives were in the background.

I have always been interested in being an apiarist, but my neighbors live too close by and I doubt if they'd appreciate it or even understand that bees are very docile. Besides that, in order for beekeeping to be successful there must be a flower garden, or a field of wildflowers, or a vegetable farm, or anything like that of substantial size to keep the hive busy pollinating and collecting nectar...and none of these are within a reasonable distance from my home.

In my years of running around the woods I have stumbled upon a few bee trees. Several years ago I found a blow-down oak at High Tor mountain which had had a colony in it at one time. There was once a hollowed-out hemlock tree on Reservoir Road in Stony Point, N.Y. which had a bee colony in it for years. Lower Cohasset Lake in Harriman State Park once had a hemlock bee-tree at one time too. More recently I noticed that bees were swarming around a large oak tree in Pine Meadow (also in Harriman State Park). I watched this tree for some time and the bees eventually took up residence in it.

When I worked for the Stony Point Parks Department there once was a swarm in a small cherry tree at the Veteran's Memorial Park. All work nearby had to cease until a beekeeper came to collect the swarm and take them away.

I also recall an incident in my back yard when I was just a small lad. One summer day my mother and I heard a swarm of bees overhead. Recalling what her father told her in her youth she began to try and attract them over in our direction. What she did, with my help, was to make a clatter with pots and pans. The purpose of this was to make a louder noise than the queen bee so they will be attracted to this louder source. It seemed to work as the bees swarmed on the bog Norway maple in the back yard. Then we drove to Haverstraw, N.Y. to pick up my grandfather and his beekeeping gear. He waited until the sun was low in the western sky as it was cooler then and this makes the bees more docile. He then used his smoker to immobilize them. He then collected them and brought them to a man he knew who was a beekeeper.

This encapsulates some of the history of bees and beekeepers in the area. As with the domestication of all animals it all comes down to understanding the nature of the animal and finding ways to exploit their habits to our advantage. The art of bee hunting, or more correctly said, beelining, is also a very basic task. It is based on an understanding of the nature of bees.

The first step is to find a way to attract honeybees. They key to this is smell. The bait is something syrupy and aromatic. This is usually a thick sugary paste with peppermint or anise. I'm told by avid beeliners that bees can smell anise from many miles away. You then go out into the woods to an open field or glen and place the bait, which is in a cup or similar container, in a bush. Within a few minutes bees will begin to arrive at the bait. Next, the beeliner watches for which direction the bees fly off to. this will be the direction in which the hive lies as the bees fly there to inform the hive that they've found a good source of nectar. Once this is established, you mark a bee by placing a small amount of flour or powder on the rump of one of the bees. You do this with the tip of the finger or with an eye dropper. Bees are docile so this is an easy task. Once you have marked the bee you wait for him to fly back to the hive. When he does you time with your watch how long it takes him to return. Each time he returns you cover up the bait and move it a few hundred feet closer in the direction which the bees are flying away to. Then the bait is uncovered again and you repeat the process. Eventually, you will get close enough to the hive so that you can see them flying in and out of their nest or hear them buzzing.

This technique is actually nothing more than a variation of the reward principle which man has used to train dogs, horses, birds, and every other type of domesticate animal. About the only other difference is that no one ever seems to think of bees as pets.

Recommended Reading

Bees and Beekeeping - Roger A. Morse
The Hive and the Honeybee - J.M. Graham
Bee Culture Magazine - 1-800-289-7668
Health and the Honeybee Magazine - 1-800-623-3577

Organizations and Societies

Cypress Beekeeping Supplies - 1-800-333-7677
A.I. Root Co. - 1-800-289-7668
Palmetto Apiaries - 1-800-458-8591
Miller Wood Products - 1-800-827-9266
Draper's Superbee Apiaries - 1-800-233-4273
B & B Honey Farm - 1-800-342-4811
Brushy Mountain Bee Farm - 1-800-233-7129
Best of Bee Talk - 1-800-289-7668
Apicom Inc. - 1-800-704 9273
Jerry Shulman's Apiaries - 1-800-368-7195
Royal Nutrients inc. - 1-800-983-7775
Rawleigh Products - 1-800-736-1126