Ursula Bauer’s fascination with bees began about two years ago after reading Sarah George’s novel The Beekeeper’s Daughter. In 2006, she became one of more than 60,000 beekeepers in New York after installing two hives in her backyard at 200 Winne Road in Delmar.
`I have two daughters, 10 and 14, and they enjoy the bees,` said Bauer, who had to replace the bees she lost last season because they did not survive the winter.
She has since moved her bees to fellow beekeeper Linda Jasinski’s Bender Road property while she awaits a decision by the Bethlehem Planning Board regarding whether she can keep them in her yard.
The move was prompted by the town’s new comprehensive plan, which states that beekeeping is an agricultural use that requires planning board approval.
The planning board said neighbors’ safety is their primary concern in deciding if Bauer’s hives should be allowed in her backyard. The board will make a decision regarding the beehives at a future meeting.
In its review of the proposal, the planning board scheduled a public hearing Tuesday, June 19, where several people spoke for and against the suburban beehives.
Some of Bauer’s neighbors are fighting the return of the hives, which house up to 60,000 bees.
`I would like you to decline this proposal and think about the safety of my immediate neighbors,` said Westchester Drive resident Judy Steiner, who said she is concerned about the hive’s potentially close proximity to her backyard, where her daughter and friends play.
`I think people in the neighborhood imagine that all the bees come rushing out,` said Bauer. `They go out at 9 or 10 a.m. when the sun is warm and one-third of the hive forages for nectar and pollen until they come back around 5 p.m.`
Some nights, Bauer said, she and her daughters take a seat in the yard where the hives are located and just watch the bees work and be productive.
`I have a ton of fun, I really enjoy it,` Bauer said.
Many local beekeepers attended the public hearing in support of Bauer’s proposal, including Roberta Glatz of Feura Bush, past president of the Empire State Honey Producers.
`Bees are good neighbors,` said Glatz. `They go about their business unnoticed, and they share your yard.`
The bee season usually begins in April or May and lasts until the fall when they begin to make honey. Last year, Bauer’s bees produced 75 jars of honey.
`I like having the honey around, and I gave most of it away,` Bauer said. `I have been cooking a lot with it.`
Bauer named four different beekeepers living in Bethlehem, one on Winne Road, who also produce honey in their backyards. Because those residents had beehives prior to the town’s new comprehensive plan, they are allowed to keep the hives on their property because they’re grandfathered in.
The application that sits with the town planning board calls for two beehives on Bauer’s property, with each hive having a queen bee. Currently Gwendolyn, Caroline, and Jane, Bauer’s three queen bees, are resting comfortably inside each of the three hives off Bender Road. Visitors to the hives can observe the drones outside looking for a virgin queen bee while the workers look for food and those inside the hive work to maintain the hive for the queen.
Disease is a constant concern for beekeepers, who keep enough food and sugar water around the hives so the bees will stay warm. Colony collapse or fall dwindle disease, which have received recent media attention, are threatening the bee population. In late 2006, many bee colonies died off to the point where only half of those colonies exist today. No one is quite yet sure of the reason.
`Some people feel it is pesticides disorienting bees, others think it is general stress from different infections the bees get,` Bauer said.
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