Honeybees on the Course

Honeybees on the Course

A SPECIES THREATENED BY MAJOR LOSS IN THE RECENT YEARS, THE HONEYBEE IS MAKING A COMEBACK BECAUSE OF A SURPRISINGLY SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH GOLF COURSES.

In the fall of 2016 we introduced our first beehive to the Urbana Country Club near the large oak tree overhanging the pond on the 10th hole. This was a new adventure for me as a superintendent and honestly, I was pretty nervous. This might have been because of the Hitchcockian killer African Bees vision in the back of my head, but mostly I was worried about the possible time commitment needed to be a good beekeeper. Despite my hesitancy, I have always considered myself an environmental steward and found beekeeping very interesting.

Through the years, several of my colleagues have been trying to get me into beekeeping, and I have researched it quite a bit through videos and seminars. After learning that no other golf courses in the area, or central Illinois for that matter, had a beehive, I decided to explore things a bit more. After finding out the time commitment was minimal, I placed an order for beekeeping materials right away.

To my luck, one of my good friends, Scott Witte, CGCS from Cantigny Golf in Wheaton, is the “Bee Whisperer” and the ambassador of the golf course beekeeping movement. Scott started the movement nearly a decade ago and currently has seven hives on the property. Both Scott and another friend in the golf industry, Grant Rundblade, have been my mentors as I have begun this journey. It’s been an adventure and a very rewarding and educational experience, not only to me, but to the UCC staff and the community as well.

Why Honeybees?

One of the comments I received most often after starting our efforts with the hive was, “Why do we need bees, it does nothing for the golf course.” In reality, there are many reasons to keep honeybees, everything from the simple desire for fresh honey to the more environmentally conscious reasons. For us here at UCC, there are two main reasons why we keep honeybees on the property: the benefit to the course and the benefit to the bees.

Of course we all love fresh honey, but what is the real importance of our pollinator friend? On a primary level, the benefit the bees bring to the flora found all around the course is paramount. The vast majority of plant species—almost 90%, in fact—rely on pollinators to reproduce. Pollination is the process by which pollinators help plants reproduce by transporting pollen from one flower to another, thereby enabling fertilization of the seeds to take place. There are approximately 200,000 different species of animals around the world that act as pollinators, providing services to over 180,000 different plant species. A small portion of these are vertebrates, such as birds, bats and small mammals. The rest are invertebrates, with the honeybee acting as one of the primary pollinating species. Farmers actually rent hives from beekeepers for days and weeks at a time to help pollinate their crops. Because of their integral role in the ecosystem, it’s not an exaggeration to say that, without honeybees, the shelves would be bare at your local supermarket and it would be difficult, if not impossible, for humans to survive without them.

The Honeybee in Decline

Now knowing how important honeybees are, not only to a golf course, but to our entire ecosystem, it’s alarming to know that, in the recent years, honeybees have had millions of colonies collapse and are considered endangered. In the U.S. alone, the number of colonies has dropped from 4.25 million to nearly two million in the most recent years. A huge reason golf course superintendents have decided to become beekeepers is their concern about the epidemic of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In the last eight to nine years, beekeepers have reported losses of 30 to 90 percent of their hives. While some losses aren’t unexpected, especially over the winter, the numbers have been unusually high. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), CCD “is a serious problem threatening the health of honeybees and the economic stability of commercial beekeeping and pollination operations in the United States.”

And so, one of our main reasons for keeping bees on the property is that we want to do our part to help restore the honeybee population. Beehives require a lot of assistance from humans because of environmental pressures and the threat of CCD. Honeybees are in a worldwide decline and need all the help they can get.

Factors in the Decline

As a beekeeper, especially on a golf course, it’s important to know all the factors that can possibly contribute to colony collapse. For instance, insecticides (specifically from the neonicotinoid class) have been blamed for honeybees’ demise in some environmental circles. Many golf courses use such insecticides to treat for grubs and other insects. So, as a superintendent, this is where being a good environmental steward and carrying those thoughts and practices onto the golf course is important for the future of our industry. Everyday, more pesticides are being looked into, scrutinized, with tighter restrictions being made. These restrictions impact the way we manage the turf and we want to do our part to make sure we have the best and most environmentally-sound products available to use.

Although it’s easy to try to find one reason, and one thing to blame, for the decline in bee populations, the reality is always more complex. Yes, insecticides can hurt honeybee populations if not used properly. But studies have revealed many other antagonistic pathogens that work against honeybees. One example is varroa mites, believed to be one of the main causes of CCD. According to the USDA, this virus-transmitting parasite has frequently been found in hives hit by CCD. In addition, changes in weather patterns and several other environmental factors are also impacting the populations. According to the USDA, despite claims from the general and scientific media, researchers haven’t been able to identify a 100 percent conclusive cause of CCD.

However, harsh winters are certainly known to destroy hives. One of my biggest concerns is keeping the bees alive through the winter, especially after losing our first hive in 2016. My friends to the north, who are seasoned beekeepers, lost a majority of their hives as well. Even a beekeeper with 20 years of experience will lose hives if encountering a harsh winter. But, every year we are learning new techniques and information. Beekeeping in Central Illinois is much different than even in Chicago, and so I’m very thankful and lucky to have the Central Eastern Illinois Beekeepers Association and the Pollinarium, located on the U of I campus, as resources for information and assistance.

In addition, despite all the negativity surrounding the pesticide industry, companies like Syngenta and Bayer have made a push to educate superintendents and have developed programs for supporting and helping grow bee populations while also educating communities. They view golf course superintendents as a valuable asset in educating the community and want to become aids in that education. For instance, Syngenta rolled out Operation Pollinator, a program that aims to assist the populations of honeybees and pollinating insects by creating valuable habitats in out-of-play areas on golf courses. And last spring, Bayer opened its North American Bee Center, located at the company’s Research Triangle Park campus in North Carolina, to serve as a focal point for existing and future bee health initiatives, including active promotion of “bee-responsible" use of its products. For our part, the more data we as superintendents can collect and report to the USDA and EPA will only aid in understanding what is truly happening to bees.

How Do the Honeybee and Golfing Membership Coexist?

I find that usually, once they learn a little about the project, most golfers are more fascinated by the bees than fearful of them. Personally, I love that it has allowed me to connect with members and the community on a whole different level. In fact, there have been several occasions where the idea of bees and fresh locally-produced honey end up dominating a conversation which originally began about the golf course. The look on their faces is always priceless when I tell them my story of driving from Seymour, Ill. with a couple dozen free-flying honeybees in the cab of my truck. It happened to be the first package of bees I received and a wild initiation into the world of beekeeping.

Some members might be concerned about bee sting allergies and the dangers surrounding that. Honeybees are less aggressive than other stinging insects, and the worker bees are too busy away from the hive to bother you. There is a greater chance of being stung by a yellow jacket flying around a trash can. Also, we have placed the hive away in an out-of-play area for this very reason, and as long as you do not go into the hive or stand directly in front of the hive, there is no reason for concern. I personally have only been stung twice now, both while working directly with the bees for an extended amount of time. Now, the process is actually very calming and one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I certainly didn’t go into beekeeping think I would enjoy as much as I do.

This season, we will introduce a second hive, this time in a new style called a “Flow Hive”. The “Flow Hive’s” revolutionary design allows for easier extraction of the honey, which in turn, makes it less stressful for the honeybees. It’s really quite innovative technology, and if you’re interested in learning more you can find several videos on YouTube explaining the process. Moving into the future, as we continue the restoration of the golf course, we will also start to incorporate native areas specifically planted for encouraging the proliferation of insects such as the honeybee and a variety of butterflies.

So I hope you’ve learned a little more about honey bees and why they are important to our golf course here at the Club. The honeybee is a fascinating creature with an extraordinary drive to work, produce honey and support our ecosystem. It doesn’t hurt, either, that honey might possibly be the healthiest thing you can eat while also tasting amazing. If you have any questions, or if you just want to learn more about the world of beekeeping, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Want to be a Beekeeper?

You don’t have to be living on a large property to have a hive. In fact, there is a lady in a subdivision in north Urbana with over 30 hives on her ½ acre lot at her home. If you’re interested in keeping bees, keep in mind the following:

• Study up. Read books, watch videos and talk to seasoned beekeepers before deciding if it’s your cup of tea. Consult your local beekeeping association (CEIBA). You need to learn the craft before diving into it.

• Make sure surrounding neighbors are on board with you keeping bees on your property.

• Educate others and let them know that honeybees are pollinating insects and will typically not bother humans unless provoked.

• It will cost about $800 to $1,000 to get started keeping bees, including equipment and two hives.