Jim Moorehead from the KCH Case Management Department recently assisted with retrieving a honey bee swarm from the KCH campus. Jim shared a little bit about how moving the bees can be achieved, and his journey with beekeeping.
“This time of year honey bee hives, or colonies, that are strong in number and have a good nectar flow are on the hunt for food. This process includes the splitting of the hive to become a ” swarm” in search of a new home. A new to be Queen and hive will be left behind.
When Honey bees are in ‘Swarm,’ they are full of honey from the hive so that they can start a new one. They are typically docile during this stage, and the Queen is in the middle of the bunch, making it easier to place them in a box and relocate them to a new home.”
Jim became a beekeeping apprentice approximately eight years ago with KCH Physician Assistant, Jon Benson, in the ER. He has been beekeeping on his own for three years and has retrieved his 1st hive swarm right on campus at the hospital.
Jim currently has approximately four generations, swarms at home. He has ten hives on two properties (Big D’s Blueberry farm on Kenny Rd here in Mt Vernon) and is pursuing a goal of reach 25 to 50 generations, or 1000 lbs. of honey a year.
Jim also has a sole proprietor company called Windy B Acres; his products can be found exclusively at Smithhisler Meats in Mount Vernon when honey is available.
Thank you for sharing this with us Jim!
