HOMES
& GARDENS
It’s March!
the beekeepers’ busy season by Rindy O’Brien
W
inter is finally waning. Crocus and early bloomers are starting to push up, and that can only mean one thing for our beekeepers—time to get busy. The honeybees have been enjoying a quiet winter in the hive. But come March, the queen bee begins producing large quantities of eggs and soon the bees realize that housing is getting tight. That sends them swarming in search of new locations and beekeepers have to get busy. It is the bee’s own March madness.
DC Beekeepers Alliance In 2012, local beekeepers, a tight knit group of hobbyists, came together and formed the DC Beekeepers Alliance. Jan Day, the current President, says it has been an incredibly active ten years, driven forward by passage of the Sustainable DC Act of 2012. The Act created a legal structure for beekeeping in DC and a program administered by the DC Department of the Environment (DDOE). Natasha Garcia Anderson is the Fish and Wildlife Biologist at DDOE who oversees the city’s bees. She reports that there are 34 apiaries (the correct term for a collection of beehives) in the 20002 and 20003 zip codes. Each location could have up to four hives. The 2012 Act requires beekeepers to register their colonies with DDOE. Jan says this is helpful to the beekeepers. If there are going to be pesticides sprayed or other activities that would harm the bees, the city is able to notify the impacted beekeepers so they can take proactive measures to protect the bees. No one is allowed to have more than four hives on land less than one-quarter acre. Beekeepers must set their hives more than 15 feet from a property line, provide a fly zone, and seek permission from neighbors. They must also provide a water source for the bees. Permits are also required for a beekeeper to transport the bees to a new location. The city can come and inspect a location at its discretion. And finally, the beekeeper is responsible for remediation if bees swarm and cause a nuisance. 26 ★ HILLRAG.COM
Del Voss and assistant gathering honey from the hives at Union Market. Photos: Del Voss – DC Beekeepers Alliance
