Graeme Foers became a beekeeper after a quarter-life crisis. At the age of 21, he found himself living in Toronto, working for a large advertising agency and decided that he was enjoying neither. He headed home to the Egbert area, where he grew up, to figure out his next move. He’d always had an interest in beekeeping so when a friend in Mulmur called to report there was a swarm on their property, it felt like a sign.
“I was already thinking about it, and had started building some hives so when the call came I thought, “Let’s go for it,” said Foers.
Thirteen years later, Lost Meadows Apiaries and Meadery has 200 hives spread over 14 locations plus two queen mating yards. Last year he harvested about 20,000 pounds of honey.
In the wild, honey bees often build their hives in finite locations like a hole in a tree. When the space is filled, they will swarm with the queen, with about two-thirds of the population moving on to establish a new hive. Then the original hive starts to make a new queen.
Foers is president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association, and uses no antibiotics or synthetic chemicals, instead relying on protocols of the Ontario Resistant Honey Bee Selection Program to increase pest and disease resistance.
A major threat to honey bee populations is Varroa mites. It is the number one factor in hives dying over the winter. As he prepares his bees for the cold weather ahead, Foers is measuring the ability of nurse bees to detect the problem and remove diseased larvae. Hives are treated with formic acid, a natural defence against mites.
Foers likes to spread his hives out, no more than about 20 per location. Big commercial growers might have as many as 80 hives per bee yard but he feels that can negatively impact the ecosystem.
“Honey bees are very efficient at pollinating. Each hive has 30,000 to 40,000 foragers,” he said. “If you have too many, you are not leaving enough nectar for butterflies and bumble bees.”
Lost Meadows Apiaries separates honey based on location and month of origin. Foers says the recipe is constantly changing, “June honey tastes like raspberries and blackberries. July honey has the flavour of sweet clover. The honey that we harvest in August has notes of golden rod and aster.”
Foers uses a cold extraction process to remove honey from the hives. He feels that use of hot knives can sear the honey and affect the flavour. Once it comes out of the extractor, the honey is strained twice to remove impurities such as bits of honeycomb, then put in jars.
Foers explains that honey bees are the only bees that survive the winter. As colder weather approaches, the queen lays fewer eggs. At the height of summer about eight out of 10 frames in the hive will be full of baby bees. By early October, that’s down to about two out of 10, the balance filled with honey to provide nourishment over the winter.
Lost Meadows products are available on line at graemefoers. com, at the farm store near Egbert, and at the Creemore 100 Mile Store.
Bonnie MacPherson photo: Graeme Foers of Lost Meadows Apiaries and Meadery prepares his bees for oncoming winter weather.