Keeping the Bees

Wally Nass

Wally Nass's beekeeping career began 40 years ago but the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association, which Nass presides over, has been around almost 150 years!

"I got started in the 60s when the natural movement was going on and at that time, we were purchasing quite a bit of honey, probably about three hundred pounds of honey every year. I went to school for two years and that's how I got into it."

The WHPA is open to anyone and offers honey, beeswax, candles, pollination, swarm/bee removal and bee services. They have an annual meeting the first weekend of November, in different places throughout the state. This past year's meeting was held in La Crosse in seven districts in Wisconsin. Lee Heine has been a speaker at past meetings and like him, Wally also conducts a beekeeping course.

The question Wally is often asked is how does a bee stay warm in the hive during the chilly winter months? "They're consuming honey. By consuming honey they use their metabolism to create heat," Wally explains. "A bee cannot survive under 40 degrees, but the cluster, the outside bee continually moves inside, so when a bee on the outside is clustered like a football or basketball, when the bee gets cold, it goes inside and gets warmed up. They move like that throughout the winter."

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Lee Heine:
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Honey Barbecue Sandwiches recipe

Wally Nass:
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Heidi's Healthy Honey Cookies recipe