The Honeybees of Rock Point

By Lorna Dielentheis, local naturalist and contributing writer

The honeybees of Rock Point are thriving. They seem to dance in the late fall sunshine, the nearby gardens alive with them. I hear them before I see them– as I step near their unassuming hives, their droning chorus envelopes me.

One of the hives at Rock Point

The bees, tended by beekeeping educator Deborah Rubin, have remained active longer than usual this year. Rubin points out a few bees that have full pollen baskets (the structures on their hind legs that they use to carry pollen) as they enter the hive. The warm weather and sunny days have prolonged their food sources, and thus their desire to collect pollen and nectar, late into the fall. 

Rubin has been keeping bees for eight years, two of those at Rock Point. Her passion for bees radiates from her. She moves around the hives carefully yet confidently, with the strength and gentleness of a cat carrying her young. In addition to tending the bees at Rock Point, Rubin leads Rock Point Center’s beekeeping program, engaging folks of all ages in the art and science of beekeeping. 

Rubin prepares to treat the hives

The honeybees at Rock Point offer students an opportunity to explore the role of pollinators in our ecosystems and food systems. Future land stewards, educators, conservation advocates, and children are just a few examples of people who benefit from this living classroom. Workshops for the public ran throughout the summer, and each week Rock Point School & Eagle Bay Academy students come to learn about and help tend the hives. YMCA summer campers, too, were introduced to beekeeping by Rubin.

The entrance to one of the hives at Rock Point

From hive ecology to bee biology, Rubin teaches the many facets of beekeeping, and that’s one of the things she loves most about it– that “there are endless things to learn, and so many related areas of study.” And the more she explains the tasks involved in beekeeping, the more I understand what she means by this. Tending bees requires knowledge of carpentry, chemistry, phenology, and botany. It’s also highly adaptive, requiring Rubin to constantly monitor and react to hive conditions. 

This week, Rubin surveys the hive droppings for mites, replenishes their supplemental food, and treats them with a variety of natural substances that help maintain hive health. Soon, she’ll wrap the hives to help insulate them for the winter. During the colder months, the bees will cluster tightly together around the queen and vibrate their wings, generating heat. The inside of this honeybee mass can reach 85 degrees– a startling contrast to the freezing temperatures just outside the hive.

Throughout the winter, Rubin will continue tending the bees. She will feed and monitor them, hoping the colony survives to fly again come spring. And then– another year of watching them collect pollen and nectar, harvesting their honey, and teaching the curious among us what it means to care for the honeybees.

Deborah Rubin, Beekeepering Educator & Rock Point Beekeeper

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