University of Louisville anthropology student Shelby Robinson has made her impact on campus through a unique practice – beekeeping. Robinson is听UofL鈥檚听dedicated beekeeping intern and cares for the听university鈥檚听beehives managed through .听
Honeybees have always been a part of听Robinson鈥檚听life听as she听first learned about beekeeping from family members who鈥檝e cared for beehives through generations, starting with her听grandfather,听and听then her father.听Beehives bring nostalgic scents and sounds to听Robinson, whose earliest memories include following her grandfather around their family hives in Meade County, Ky., harvesting honey for their听鈥淏ee Happy Farms鈥澨齢oney jars.
鈥淢y grandfather had this big garden and orchard with apple trees, so he had the bees to pollinate them,鈥澨齊obinson said. 鈥淚听just听remember playing around the garden and being close to the bees. They听weren’t听ever interested in me because I听wasn’t听bothering them, so that fear听kind of听got eliminated when I was pretty young.鈥
After the death of Robinson鈥檚听grandfather, her family kept a hive on his property to support the orchard. She and her father now tend to the inherited bees. 鈥淚t鈥檚听crazy that听it’s听a family tradition that can carry听on,听beyond someone like that,鈥澨齊obinson reflected.
The UofL鈥檚 beekeeping internship, too, has brought Robinson closer to her听father who she听now asks for advice when dealing with new obstacles facing听UofL鈥檚听beehives. His insights keep a heritage of beekeeping knowledge from disappearing.
Everything about beekeeping can be done听in听a variety of听ways, from how the hive is听built and how to handle the bees to the protective clothing worn by beekeepers.听
鈥淚t’s听like听a dance to specifically move with the bees and see which frame听they’re听mostly on and which one I should touch and which one I听shouldn’t,鈥澨齊obinson said.
As a beekeeper, Robinson has developed her own style under the guidance of her father and the UofL Sustainability mentorship.听
鈥淚听read somewhere that bees can remember their听beekeeper’s听face, so I always try听to听talk to them when I get in the hive and just see how听they’re听doing,鈥澨齊obinson said.听鈥淭here are old folktales about the听鈥榯elling of the听bees,鈥 so听there’s听a strong connection between beekeepers and their bees.鈥
A Spring Sting
Beekeeping听isn鈥檛听always comfortable,听even听for a legacy beekeeper.
鈥淚听have gotten stung a few times, but after听the second听time听it’s听no big deal,鈥澨齊obinson said.听鈥淎nd听every time I do听get stung, I never blame the bees.听It’s听not their fault that听they’re听stinging, they听just听think听I’m听like a bear trying to get their honey.鈥
Bees often face a fear from people, much like snakes or bats, and many believe that their presence always means potential danger. However, bees are defensive, not aggressive, so their sting is a last resort. Like other animals, bees fear humans more than people fear them and prefer keeping to themselves.听
According to Robinson, even with wasps and hive beetles, honeybees defend the hive by surrounding the pests to block them from an area or to overheat them with their wing movements.听
But keeping bees also听comes with its rewards and pleasures. To extract honey from the hive, Robinson first determines how much honey needs to听be left behind听for the bees. The frames are then removed,听and听the bees听are brushed听into an empty super box/hive box. Finally, the beeswax on the frames is uncapped with a blade to release the honey and the frames are placed in a spinner to remove, filter and jar the honey. Beeswax is often collected during the filtering process and can also听be used for various products like lip balm.
鈥淥ne of my favorite things about beekeeping is just the smell of the听beehives,听it’s听this听really sweet听aroma. I think听it’s听really special听and really cool to introduce new people to that, and the sound of the buzzing from the hives,鈥澨齊obinson said.听鈥淚t can听definitely听be intimidating, but听I鈥檝e听found it to be a听little听bit more soothing because I know bees are in there and that听they’re听happy.鈥
As听UofL鈥檚听beekeeping intern, Robinson cares for the beehives year-round. Before the winter, Robinson adds entrance reducers and hay bales around the hive to reduce wind-chill. Throughout the early spring, she visits the hives a couple of times a month to monitor the bees鈥 behavior, add pollen patties, remove any pests and add more hive frames听which听are听used听by the bees to build honeycombs.
After the bees become more active in the spring, honey can听start to听be harvested听through the summer.听Robinson dresses in a beekeeping suit that covers her legs, arms and face in one sealed garment to protect her from her buzzing friends.听She also burns natural wood shavings to calm the bees down if听she鈥檚听in the hives听for a听longer听amount of time听than听normal.听Robinson uses a brush to gently guide the bees out from any tight spots or crevices to keep听the bees听safe听as she听carefully removes frames and places them on a rack to check the听honeycomb鈥檚听structure and听honey听production.听
鈥淵ou really count on every bee to help your hive survive,鈥澨齊obinson said. 鈥淪o,听it’s听a very gentle process.鈥
Last year, one UofL hive produced about 12-pint jars of honey and grew enough to create a second hive.听
Robinson says there鈥檚听no negative aspect in harvesting the bees鈥 honey when done听properly.
Tending to the hives functions like a symbiotic relationship where the keeper protects the hives from pests, cold, moisture and hunger while harvesting honey for consumption. Seeing the hive thrive and overcome obstacles is as rewarding for Robinson as collecting honey.
鈥淪eeing how much everybody likes the honey is really cool. Not that I made it, but it feels like I helped at least jar it,鈥澨齊obinson said.听鈥淚t’s听cool to see the different tastes of what this honey is like compared to a different听hive’s听honey.鈥
Supporting the Hive
Caring for bees听not only听ties Robinson to her community and family, but it also听fulfills a called duty to the environment and sustainability.听
鈥淭he responsibility as UofL鈥檚 beekeeping intern to me is to show kindness and consideration toward ecology, urban agriculture and every little pollinator that comes my way,鈥 Robinson said. 鈥淭o help our bees is an honor because I’m also helping our local and community gardens, wildlife and student outreach on sustainable, eco-friendly practices.鈥
Honeybees are听an important听keystone species as pollinators听and听their success could听be directly tied听to the success of future generations. Keeping beehives helps secure a sustainable future and protects听an important听species from eradication. In trade, beekeepers can harvest honey and beeswax from hives听to use听for various purposes.
鈥淚t’s听just important for everybody to know that you can absolutely be a beekeeper wherever as long as you have a yard and some plants nearby,鈥澨齊obinson said.听鈥淵ou just have to know some pretty basic things about bees听and听how to use the equipment.鈥
Justin Mog, assistant to the provost for sustainability听initiatives,听created the beekeeping internship to help connect student learning with sustainable agriculture and nature stewardship.听Mog works closely with Robinson to manage听the听hives and honey harvesting听at UofL.听The two also participate in programming on-and-off campus to better connect the Louisville community with honeybee conservation.
鈥淎nyone who cares about sustainability needs an intimate understanding of how nature works, and I find听there鈥檚听no better way to do that than to crack open a beehive and observe听what鈥檚听going on,鈥澨齅og said.听鈥淚 learn so much from my bees!鈥
After graduation, Robinson hopes to continue beekeeping听either through听volunteering or keeping her own hives.听鈥淚 would love to have some beehives of my own one day as听kind of听a family tradition, help my dad still take care of his bees and hopefully get more involved with the听听
KSBA offers resources, workshops and programs to help create new beekeepers and share knowledge.
Interested in becoming听UofL鈥檚听next beekeeping intern? Contact听.
