It’s palpable how much Michele Skeele loves bees. After noticing a nest of wild honeybees in a neighbor’s oak tree several years ago, she would stop on her daily walks to watch them buzz in and around the hive. “I wanted bees for neighbors,” says Michele. She realized how vital wild bee populations are to the overall survival of these important pollinators, in light of the recent devastating effects of Colony Collapse Disorder.
After a storm brought down the oak, Michele panicked about what would happen to the hive. Unfortunately, the tree removal crew exterminated the wild bees. In her grief, Michele resolved to keep honeybees in her own yard, and enrolled two years ago at the 6-week “Bee School” at the local NC Cooperative Extension office.
Recently, Michele shared her knowledge of bees and backyard beekeeping at a Transition Hendersonville workshop. “Bees are fascinating,” she says. “They have the most unique culture set up—the hive is like one organism.” Her community of “girls,” as she affectionately calls the bees, keeps busy during the warm months gathering pollen and nectar in her and husband Skip’s neighborhood west of downtown.
Michele’s shared her advanced knowledge to enlighten workshop participants of everything Apine—from gender roles and reproduction to honey collection and basic beekeeping equipment recommendations.
Michele is especially keen to pass on her knowledge of beekeeping after suffering an allergic reaction to a bee sting this summer. For now, her “girls” still dance around in the backyard hive, trying to keep warm, waiting for spring to open the first blossoms on the neighborhood’s tulip poplars.
