All Abuzz

What started as a hobby quickly became a business and then a way of life for Wilmington resident SUSAN WARWICK. Since her start in beekeeping fifteen years ago when she took a class from the New Hanover County Beekeepers’ Association, her venture has grown from two to forty hives. Now, instead of measuring her year with spring, summer, fall and winter, she thinks of the passing months in terms of events in the bee cycle.

Establishing and managing the hives of Pine Grove Bee Works is a vastly different pursuit from Warwick’s previous career as a dental hygienist. But members of her family piqued her interest.

“My Dad had bees when I was in middle school,” she says. “At that time, you could go to Sears and Roebuck and pick out your beekeeping equipment.”

Unfortunately, an infestation of tracheal mites caused the demise of her father’s colony. But Warwick’s sister later caught the bee bug and took a beekeeping class. Family demands, however, made it impossible for her to continue.

“She told me, ‘You have the place for it; you’ve got to do it,’” Warwick recalls. “We live on eight acres off Pine Grove Drive that was my husband’s grandfather’s. Just adjacent is the Talley brothers’ farm and they have 25 acres, so there’s lots of area for my bees to forage.”

The Talleys, according to Warwick, grow crops that complement the pollinator-friendly plants grown on the Warwick property, cultivated by Warwick and her husband Steve. Their list includes various types of flowers, plus blackberry bushes and flowering trees.

“With this many bees, I feel I should be responsible to provide a food source that’s close by,” she says, noting that single-crop feeding is not good for bees.

Warwick says that, at peak season, a hive’s population can reach 60,000. They live a very structured existence, and their hierarchy comprises the queen, workers, and drones. 

As part of her bees’ society, Warwick has learned much over the years. “To see the inner workings of a hive is amazing,” she says. “I believe that something larger than humanity worked this out.

“There are different things a hands-on beekeeper does, but mostly it’s just being part of this social structure. Human management is needed, otherwise viruses develop,” she continues, saying that, without humans to eliminate mites, the tiny pests can transmit an array of viruses to bees.

She says the little buzzers’ ethos pretty much comes down to: “No whining, no complaining: we have a job to do, and we need to do it.”

Warwick has also learned a lot from fellow beekeepers and bee experts. She first become a Certified Beekeeper through the N.C. State Beekeepers Association. Next, she became a Journeyman, which involves extra study and performing public service. She gave presentations to garden clubs and hosted honeybee experiences for school groups.

To earn the next level of Master Beekeeper, Warwick visited the N.C. State University Honeybee Lab and participated in research on honeybee diseases. She’s currently working toward the designation of Master Craftsman.

In addition to all the honey she harvests and sells about four times a year at a pop-up at the end of Talley Drive, Warwick makes beeswax candles, cream honey, and beeswax lotion bars. She has recently added bee tallow and beeswax body butter. Pine Grove Bee Works products have earned accolades: her Beeswax Lotion Bars garnered first place at the N.C. State Beekeepers Association conference; her honey won second place.

In addition to the efforts of Warwick and her husband, other members of the family have helped Pine Grove Bee Works thrive. Daughter Laura designed its logo and website, son Rob sells Warwick’s products at his workplace, and sister Denise helps out at market sales.

There is much that individuals can do to support a growing and healthy local bee population, Warwick says. Her suggestions: 

1. Plant a variety of things in your yard, including vegetables and native plants that are friendly to pollinators. Don’t manicure your entire yard: leave some natural spaces that will encourage bumblebees, moths, birds and bats.
2. Use organic methods in your lawn maintenance and gardening. Look for other methods besides pesticides to manage your weeds. “One really bad pesticide is neonicotinoid,” she says. “It’s banned in Europe. It does not dissipate; it’s systemic. Bees collecting nectar get disoriented and can’t find their way home.”
3. Don’t have mosquito control companies spray in your yard because that spray can kill everything. Warwick recommends contacting New Hanover County Vector Control, which helps you opt out of the spray and visits your yard to spot potential mosquito-attracting problems, like standing water.
4. Buy local honey from a reputable beekeeper. 

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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