This September is extra sweet … not only is it National Honey Month, but we’re also celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hasselman’s Honey!
Initiated by the National Honey Board in the U.S. in 1989, National Honey Month is a time to celebrate bees, honey, and beekeepers – just in time for harvest. People throughout the world depend on honey bees and their role in pollinating the ecosystem. Did you know about one-third of the average person’s diet in the United States is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and honey bees are responsible for about 80 percent of that process? It’s true! Without honey bees, we wouldn’t have apples, cabbage, lemons, onions, or watermelon, and other fresh crops.
Because of beekeepers, honey production continues to thrive. Rounding out the harvest season this September, there’s plenty for beekeepers to pay attention to in their hives, and some might start thinking ahead to the winter months.
If you’re harvesting honey, we recommend extracting your supers as soon as possible to avoid wax moth and small hive beetle larva, which can damage your hives. Beekeepers should also monitor for extra space in your supers, as any that are light with nectar will create more space for wax moths and small hive beetles to invade. Getting your supers extracted also lets you set them up back outside as a community feeder to both let bees build their stores, and get your combs cleaned out for winter storage. You should put these far away from the hives, or freeze them to reintroduce to the hives when needed.
Enjoy the last few weeks of summer with your bees! Thanks to you and your bees, beekeepers help make the world a sweeter place. Join us during Fremont’s Harvest Festival Parade on Sept. 26 as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Hasselman’s Honey and Fremont’s OG Beekeeper, Larry Hasselman!