From Appalachian history to modern importance, beekeeping is a timeless artform

SHADY SPRING, WV (WVNS) – The art of beekeeping is an old art form and one important to the history of West Virginia.

“Collectively our families switched from being farmers and bee keepers to coal miners. And a lot of people had family farms because that’s how they fed their own family and they also had hives of bees. So a lot of people are coming in their own heritage that their families kept bees.”

Johnathan Cox, Master Beekeeper with Appalachian Beekeeping Collective

Beekeeping first arrived to the new world during the 15th century. Since then, it’s become vitally important for locals and businesses.

And this year is turning into one of the best years for beekeeping in recent memory in West Virginia.

“We didn’t have the customary frost or late freezes or a lot of heavy thunderstorms. 2024 has been a banner year.”

Mark Lilly, President of the Raleigh County Beekeepers Cooperative Association

To learn more about the artform, I decided to venture out to see what the buzz was about. My first stop was a local apiary here in southern West Virginia.

These are where local honey bees call home and a single apiary can be home to tens of hundreds of hives. With that many bees, it’s no easy job.

“There’s a lot you have to do to keep the bees alive. You have to give them enough room to lay eggs and you have to take care of them because they have parasites.”

Jonathan Cox, Master Beekeeper with Appalachian Beekeeping Collective.

In order to keep myself safe, I had to wear my own beekeeping costume, decked out in gloves and a protective faceguard.

We gathered hundreds of pounds of honey by pulling combs from the hives. From there, the honey is transported to a honey extraction site to be separated.

Combined with the tens of hundreds of combs that can arrive to an extraction site, the work isn’t easy.

“One person might work 7-8 days at their house to do what we did in 2 and a half hours.”

Mark Lilly, President of the Raleigh County Beekeepers Cooperative Association

While indeed a fun activity, this job is still important for local farmers and businesses in today’s modern age.

Faced with a declining bee population here in the states, the need for new beekeepers stands as an important one.

Local bee keepers can only hope the next generation keeps this historical tradition around here in the mountain state.

“I think that’s crucial for our survival as a species for people to get involved and hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. Because bee keepers are aging at the age of 65 so it’s up to the next generation to take that torch up.”

Jonathan Cox, Master Beekeeper with Appalachian Beekeeping Collective.

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