Imerys Provides Site For Honey Bee Hives Off Industrial Road

“All honey bees are important to the environment. Your gardens wouldn’t grow without them.”

So said Tim Newton, COO with Imerys, which set up a permanent enclosure with multiple bee hives, called an apiary, in a field near its warehouse on Industrial Road.

On Monday, employees of Imerys watched from a safe distance as members of the Davy Crockett Beekeepers Association carefully transferred honey bees from temporary hives to new permanent bee hives.

The purpose for housing the swarms of bees in an apiary on their property is two-fold, explained Newton.

First and foremost, he said, it will be a teaching location for students to learn more about honey bees and how they operate.

“It will allow students, with the help of the Beekeepers Association, to learn how to manage the bees,” stated Newton.

Second, he said, “It’s just our contribution to the environment.”

On Monday morning, the new apiary, a relatively small enclosure, was abuzz with activity as volunteers with the association, including small children, watched or assisted in the transfer of the honey bees from temporary boxes to more permanent ones.

Everyone in the enclosure wore special white protective gear with netting to keep from being stung by the bees.

Leigh Ann Brink of the Beekeepers Association directed the careful transfer of the bees.

The worker bees are all female, she explained.

“I haven’t found the drones yet,” she said early on, eyeing each frame laden with bees.

She explained that there are 10 frames in each box “unless it’s an eight-frame box.”

Interest was high among observers in spotting the queen bee, which they did – thanks to her being painted with a large green dot so she could be more easily found.

Said Brink as she took photos of children watching intently, and later participating in the transfer of the bees, “I love this more than anything.”

Anita Ford, treasurer of the Beekeepers Association, explained to a reporter the intricacies of the bees and their activities.

“The bees probably won’t make honey until next year. All the honey they make now is for their own consumption, to keep them alive during the winter” when there’s little or no nectar or pollen they can get from blooming flowers, stated Ford.

She said the Beekeepers Association will have a booth at the Greene County Fair in July – an observation hive enclosed in a glass case (for the safety of those looking on).

“It’ll show the inside of a hive. In that hive will be eggs one to three days old, larvae and capped brood,” which is the stage the bees are in before they become grown bees, Ford stated.

“The queen’s job is to lay eggs to produce more bees, to increase the hive size and have more bees. That’s her only job,” said Ford.

A queen bee can lay up to 2,000 eggs each day when in her prime, she stated.

“Drones are all males. Their (only) job is reproductive. They mate with the virgin queen,” said Ford.

The five hives brought to the enclosure off Industrial Road Monday morning will be added to so that “we will start an aviary with six hives,” stated Ford.

“They came from Leigh Ann (Brink’s) house on Whirlwind Road in Greeneville,” continued Ford.

“The maximum we’ll have (in the enclosure) for teaching and educational purposes is eight hives.”

There are over 100 members in the Davy Crockett Beekeepers Association, said Ford. It is one of five clubs in northeast Tennessee that are associates of the Tennessee Beekeepers Association.

“We’re working with the FFAs (Future Farmers of America) in Greene County. Our goal is to get the younger generation involved in beekeeping,” Ford stated.

“Our club is growing. Hopefully, they’ll pass on their knowledge” of bees to their children, she said of members who are parents.

The club sends speakers to schools, churches, civic groups and businesses.

The Davy Crockett Beekeepers Association can be contacted through email at DCBAbuzz@yahoo.com .

The organization will host a conference called TenneBEES Expo Aug. 9-10 at Towering Oaks Baptist Church with nationally known speakers, explained Ford.

To purchase tickets, go to clinchvalleybeekeepers.org/tennebees-expo/ .

There are a limited number of tickets for the event, which will include a meet-and-greet with the well-known speakers.

Tim Hopson, quality manager with Imerys, helped organize Monday’s event.

“We contacted the Davy Crockett Beekeepers Association, and they said what they’d like,” said Hopson.

Assisting Hopson with the event were Imerys employees Mike Freeman, Jessica Reeves and Sean Varner.

Tom Fultz and a maintenance crew built the apiary.