A Buzz-worthy Endeavor

Larry Sexton of Charleston Bees and Honey has been beekeeping for about a decade, but bees have been a subject of lifelong fascination. His grandfather, a retired railroad conductor outside of Boston was also a beekeeper. Sexton had a career in the US Navy, retired to Charleston, then worked in real estate appraisal for 20 years prior to pursing beekeeping.
Today, Sexton has about 30 hives all over Charleston County, and he runs a state-certified honey house in Avondale. He says, “if you’re even halfway good, you find you have much more honey than you can use. You have to sell it.” Charleston Bees and Honey products can be found at Charleston Hardware on Wappoo Road, The Farmers Market on Main Road, and the Downtown Charleston Farmers Market. Sexton also provides honey to the College of Charleston’s Jewish Youth group and Mrs. Hamby’s Catering. When he’s not beekeeping, jarring, or distributing honey, he’s mentoring and educating other beekeepers, and removing bees from homes and other undesirable locations.
Beekeeping, also called apiculture, dates back centuries; humans have been collecting honey from wild hives for even longer. Traces of honey have been found in Egyptian archealogical sites. Monasteries and abbeys have a history of beekeeping dating back to medieval times. Two of America’s founding fathers, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were also beekeepers.
Beekeeping is by no means a solo activity. Actually, it creates a human colony all its own. Getting involved in the craft involves peer guidance, mentorship, and comparing hive notes with other beekeepers: online, by phone, and in person. Sexton mentored a beekeepers group at Jenkins Orphanage, and last year, enjoyed CABA’s 2012 Junior Beekeeper project. Caroline Lowery, an alumni of of the program, won a statewide award for her skills. She also aided a beekeeping outreach program in India. Now she is now beekeeping while attending Duke University in North Carolina.
Sexton says the green and farm-to-table movements have created a lot of recent buzz for beekeeping. That’s great news, because the craft is passed on to new keepers of all ages. Frequently, children ask about the stings involved in being a beekeeper. Sexton advises them that it is really no worse than stubbing one’s toe. Any momentary discomfort fades pretty quickly. He adds that very few people have bee sting allergies. All the good that bees do far outweighs little stings that happen along the way.
Recent interest in beekeeping has helped spread awareness about the current plight of the honeybee. Insecticides, mites, small hive beetles, and colony collapse disorder are four of the biggest problems faced by today’s bees, and consequently, our food supply. A common catchphrase these days is, “no farms, no food”, but the truth runs deeper. Growers couldn’t thrive, much less survive, without the efforts of these tireless little pollinators. According to the American Beekeeping Federation website (abfnet.org), honeybee contribution to the US economy is over $14 billion dollars. All fruits and vegetables are flowering plants, humans nor machines could replicate the work honeybees do for free.
Does apiculture sound like a honey of a deal? Then check out Charleston Area Beekeepers Association, or CABA. Their beginner beekeeper classes start in January. They meet the second Saturday morning at Unitarian Church’s Gage Hall in Downtown Charleston. Local beekeepers regularly appear at Earth Day, Green Fairs, and Audubon Society meetings to share their message. The third annual Charleston Bee Expo will be next April at Cinebarre.
 
For more information on Charleston Bees and Honey, contact Larry Sexton at 573-0810.