Vermont beekeeper’s 50 years of experience creates a buzz nationwide
Mike Palmer shares his knowledge with bee enthusiasts from across the country
SAINT ALBANS TOWN, Vt. (Aging Untold) — A 76-year-old Vermont man has turned his five-decade passion for beekeeping into a teaching opportunity for enthusiasts from around the country.
Mike Palmer leads fellow beekeepers to an apiary in Saint Albans Town. They come from across the nation to learn from Palmer’s expertise.
Steve Heffner traveled from Pennsylvania for his third year to work with Palmer.
“Mike is just a GOAT. He’s the greatest of all time,” Heffner said.
Catching and marking queen bees
On a humid 90-degree day, Palmer and his volunteers worked to catch queen bees in the hives. Palmer said he was concerned about the queens getting overheated in the sun.
The process involves Palmer grabbing the queen bee and marking her with a tiny drop of blue paint, the year’s color for tracing the dominant bee.
“Not only do I track what year they’re mated, I track which breed or queen they came from,” Palmer said.
The queen is placed in a small box with worker bees who feed and clean her while she is in the container. Palmer either keeps the queen or sells her.
He works without protective gear, though volunteers sometimes get stung.
Teaching others after 50 years
Palmer has been a beekeeper for 50 years.
“One of the reasons for them is I want to share that with people. I want them to know the success that I had,” Palmer said.
Palmer said he will continue learning until the day he is gone.
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