LOCALadk Magazine

Summer 2017 LOCALadk Magazine 19 LOCALadk The Adirondacks are also characterized by the long, harsh winters. Winter survival is difficult for honeybees as they do not go dormant, but rather slow down and live off their honey stores while maintaining a constant 92 degrees at the center of the hive. Many people believe that, due to our winters, honeybees cannot survive in the wild in this region – but this is not true. There are many stories of honey hunters collecting wild honey back in the era before the extensive logging of the mountains and the considerable damage to the natural resources. (Tourism led to the increased transmission of diseases and pests, such as varroa mites, which hitchhiked to the Adirondacks in soil, plants, and other materials.) One such story is told in Sunset on Adirondack Trails, by Charles Wardner. In this memoir of his father, James Wardner, who grew up in Keeseville in the late 1800s and early 1900s, honey hunters would venture out and mark trees that contained wild honeybees, returning later to harvest the honey. The wild bees were most likely better acclimated to the cold Adirondack climate than the bees we introduce today. However, there are no honeybees native to this area – or the United States, for that matter. Bees were first introduced to this continent in the 1600s. The bees found in the Adirondacks in that time, however, had had time to adapt to the climate. Surviving winters may be hard, but storing honey is a sinch. Honeybees are perfect little architects when it comes to designing a way to store nectar and honey. Hexagons – that six-sided shape so often used to advertise honey products – are one of the few shapes that can be repeated over a plane without wasting space or precious construction materials (in this case beeswax). The sensory treats, the fascinating complex structures, and the overall reward of harvesting honey are all great, but there is one negative to beekeeping. Story and Photos By Jake Sporn

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