Beekeeping not just a hobby in Grundy County

Beekeeping and honey harvesting is part of the agricultural make-up of Grundy County.

There are many backyard beekeepers in the area, some of whom have a hive or two for their own personal use and others who have so many hives that they are able to sell hundreds of pounds of honey each year at farmers markets, in stores and from their homes to those in the know.

Christine Frederick, of Morris, is a relative newcomer to beekeeping, but is a fast learner and a now a big honey-producer. She started with two hives in 2013 and quickly added two more the same season.

A recent partnership with seasoned beekeeper Jim Lindau, of Braidwood, combined their hives to more than 100 full-sized hives and a few dozen “duplexes.” They named their business “Hello Sweetie Honey, LLC.”

Frederick can’t say how much the two of them will produce this year, but before their partnership her 14 hives alone produced more than 1,500 pounds in a season.

“It’s something I’ve always been interested in,” Frederick said. “It can be a lot of work, but it’s something I love. Bees are so fascinating. You see something new and learn something new every time you’re at the hives.”

Frederick said she got her love of bees and other animals from her father, who would talk to her about wildlife. She began her beekeeping journey by learning everything she could from a Joliet Junior College course for beginner beekeepers.

She said it was “absolutely” well worth it, and after a few seasons under her belt, she now helps teach the class with Lindau.

The hands-on class begins each February and runs through the summer. There is also a JJC class for more experienced beekeepers.

Frederick and Lindau’s hives are scattered throughout Grundy and Will Counties, including on their own properties, at farms, in wilder areas and at some recreational clubs. Anywhere where there will be a lot of wildflowers.

“We want to see at least four different colors in the hive,” she said of the variety of flowers the bees pollinate.

They visit each hive every 10 days to two weeks to inspect them for health and take care of them. Frederick said they try to anticipate the needs of the bees and bring appropriate equipment.

“We assess if the queen is there and laying, if the brood looks healthy, if they have enough nutritional stores, if they need more room or less room. … It varies.”

She hasn’t seen any colony collapse disorder, or CCD, in her hives. Frederick said there hasn’t been a true case of CCD in the country since at least 2010.

University of Illinois Educator James Theuri, said Illinois honey bee hives have not been infected with the bacterium that causes CCD.

“We do lose hives in the winter,” he said, “but it is from other reasons that cause hives to die. . . There’s a whole lot of things that can make a colony not make it. The number one problem now for beekeepers here is the varroa mite.”

Mites are one of the things beekeepers check with each visit to the hive. Theuri said improperly winterizing the hives is also a cause for a colony to die.

“Bees can’t handle water in the hives,” he said.

Frederick said she has had a few hives die. It’s usually because of disease or the bees not accepting a new queen.

“I think I’ve had pretty good success,” she said. “I had more than a 90 percent survival rate for the winter.”

Frederick loves to show visitors the variation in honey color from spring to fall. The earliest honey, she said, is “water white.”

It tastes very good, she said. It gets darker and darker as the season progresses and bees get their pollen from different sources. By late fall, it’s a dark amber in color from an abundance of goldenrod pollen and has a stronger flavor.

Hello Sweetie Honey can be found at Ace Hardware stores in Morris and soon in Minooka, Kay’s Treasures in Dwight, at the Grundy County Corn Festival Craft and Flea Market, and at other shows. They are currently looking for more outlets.

Those interested can learn more about beekeeping through the Grundy County Beekeepers Association's Facebook page or through the Will County Beekeepers Association through www.willbees.org.