Many years ago, my father left his tech job to become a beekeeper, eventually owning the largest local honey company in Northern California. When he makes up his mind, my dad goes all in: Getting into the car with him could mean sitting next to an errant bee, or handing out a jar of honey to a stranger just because “you have to try this!”
Since I come from a family of beekeepers, I thought I knew a fair amount about bees. But my conversations with three Whatcom County beekeepers — Marisa Papetti of Marie’s Bees; Les Scott of Les’s Bees; and Jon Moore, a local educator and pollinator gardener — reminded me that the world of bees requires us to keep learning.
For example, did you know that 90% of bees’ diet comes from trees? The ones in our area feast on evergreens, alder and maple. Bees’ favorite color is purple; they see red as black. The summer bee lives much shorter than the winter bee, as it works to death after only six weeks, while a winter bee lives for six months.
There are between 600–700 bees native to Washington state, including bumblebees, which can be found nesting in walls, underground holes and wood piles. Other local bees include mason (orchard) bees, which are seen in the springtime and are only slightly larger than a housefly. Leaf cutter bees are a honey-colored species closely related to mason bees, so named because of the circles they cut from leaves to line their nests with. Ground nesting bees dig burrows into sand and dirt in the springtime, then share these tunnels with others of the same species. And metallic green bees, also known as sweat bees, are among the most visually striking species.
Scott estimates there are roughly 700–800 beekeepers in Whatcom County. Beekeepers are naturally curious people, dedicated to learning their craft and ensuring the health of their hives. Papetti, Scott and Moore each recalled a moment with bees that irrevocably altered their sense of purpose — for them, beekeeping is no longer a hobby but a way of life.
Marisa Papetti, Marie’s Bees
Papetti, 48, began beekeeping when she was asked to babysit a hive for a friend over a decade ago. A queen landed on her, then more bees followed, until she was covered with them. She explains it as one of “the most magical, calming experiences I’ve ever had in my life. And ever since then … I do whatever the bees need me to do.”
Now Papetti owns Marie’s Bees, a gourmet honey company with eight varieties of creamed honey, as well as honey vinegar and honey candy— but she didn’t set out to start a business. Papetti was caring for her grandmother at the time, and at first, she was just trying to get her out of the house.
The duo tended to a backyard garden of vegetables, herbs, chickens and hives together. Soon Papetti began posting on Facebook asking if people wanted her to drop off anything from this garden. It started with Wednesday deliveries, then twice a week; suddenly, she was making enough money to buy lunch and gas.
One day, someone asked if they could sell Papetti’s products in their store. They got a license and a commercial kitchen, and the company has only continued to grow.
For Papetti, spending time with bees and honey is still “sacred and fascinating and wonderful.” She sees honey like wine: “It’s never the same. You can pull on the same day every year. It’ll be different every time.”
Papetti brings this perspective to her products, only selling them to companies she trusts, such as Avenue Bread Bakery, Lynden Dutch Bakery and Hela Provisions. She can also be found around town teaching cheese-making classes, offering honey tastings and vending at the Blaine Farmers Market.
Jon Moore, bee scholar
Moore’s foray into beekeeping began 13 years ago, when he retired from 20 years in the military and moved to Everson. One day, he was standing outside when a swarm of bees started buzzing down the road. His neighbor, sunbathing in her yard, fled into her house. But Moore just stood there, arms outstretched.
The bees flew all over him — not landing on him or stinging him, just swirling around his head. For him, that was the moment. He got “the bug.”
Moore, 64, did some beekeeping with his dad in the ’70s, but when he began beekeeping seriously 13 years ago, he entered a new world. His goal became to learn as much about bees and bee health as possible.
First Moore joined the board of the Mt. Baker Beekeepers Association (MBBA). Then, he got involved in queen rearing, took classes in microscope training, studied melittology (the study of collecting and specifying bees) and is involved in a local bumblebee relocation program. He also relocates swarms in the area and helps maintain the MBBA apiary.
At the heart of it, Moore is a scholar and an educator. He often hears public concern for honey bees, but they aren’t native to the U.S. or in the most danger: “It’s the bumbles and the native bees, you know. The bumblebees, especially, are a little more prone to trouble.” For example, the once-common Bombus Occidentalis bumblebee is forecasted to reach “endangered” status in less than 35 years. Thus, he considers all bees — not just honeybees — when putting together pollinator gardens.
For Moore, all this work is about “being able to offer good help to others and good advice.” Recently, he’s been working with Blaine Community Orchards, and you can catch him there 2 p.m. Thursday, June 27, with one of his observation hives.
Les Scott, Les’s Bees
Five years ago, Scott, 73, posted on Nextdoor offering to remove bee swarms from people’s yards. He had no plan or experience with bees — only a suit he bought online.
It just so happened that a beekeeper lived a couple of blocks away and reached out to Scott, who said, “They made sure that I knew what I was doing. I got my basic education from them … and then the addiction started.”
Now, Scott is a Bellingham-based supplier of bee families and bee equipment. He’s also a Master Beekeeper, with the highest national level of certification.
“I think the beekeeping experience is more valuable, but the Master Beekeeping program teaches you more about the bees than you can learn just by working with them,” Scott said. “So, between those two, they just help a person become a more knowledgeable and complete beekeeper.”
Scott is also the local source for bee equipment and “nucs.” A nuc, also known as nucleus colony, is a mature beehive and a starter colony for beginner beekeepers. Beekeeping usually begins in the early spring, when nectar is plentiful, and demand for hives often surpasses availability. Scott fills that demand by buying nucleus colonies wholesale and selling them retail, as well as selling hives he tends to and keeps. (In fact, while I was interviewing him, a woman came by to buy some queens for her colonies.)
In total, Scott spends 90% of his time doing bee-related work, and his business is well-supported by the interconnected nature of local beekeepers. But he doesn’t think his education or influence sets him apart from other beekeepers: “I’m just enjoying what I’m doing, and I always feel the responsibility to give people correct information.”
To learn more about or purchase from Les, visit leszbees.com.
If you want to become a beekeeper …
Scott, Moore and Papetti all emphasized the importance of taking a course before taking up beekeeping, and Scott believes people should only begin if they have a lot of time. Bees are not just insects but livestock, requiring much work as other animals. Papetti of Marie’s Bees echoed this sentiment, noting the required cost and time input is similar to owning a horse.
But there are many incredible beekeeping resources, from the library to the MBBA. The latter offers Washington State Beekeepers Association Master Beekeepers Program Beekeeping Courses several times a year, and you can be added to their waiting list by emailing secretary@mtbakerbeekeepers.org.
For a more hands-off way to help local bee populations, try planting pollinator-friendly gardens. Fireweed, goldenrod and phacelia are great options. Choose to have a yard of native plants instead of a well-mowed lawn. Care for our local trees and evergreens, as they are the area’s most prominent food source for bees.
Finally, instead of buying honey from commercial sources, buy from small beekeepers and support their business through classes, farm visits or workshops via resources like Whatcom Bee Help or Western’s Outback Teaching Apiary. And don’t forget our other bees — the bumblebee, the mason bee and the carpenter bee — deserve your attention, too.
