connecticut

Handcrafted beehives and accessories are just some of what’s offered at Mike’s Beehives

Connecticut

CT | Weather

The latest forecast details from News 12 Connecticut

News 12 Connecticut Weather Report

Weather

95CTMadeINCTBees_2023-09-05-05-48-26

Made in Connecticut: Mike's Beehives in Torrington

They've been called the Pollinators that power the Planet Bees. Yes. So today made in Connecticut, we head to Torrington where handcrafted beehives and accessories are just some of what's offered at Mike's beehives. Sometimes in life, a change is just meant to be. I turned 60 years old. I want to do something my life that I enjoy and I really enjoy the bees and when you get in here, you kind of forget about your problems and, and, and you're in their world. And it's fascinating. Ed Barr had worked in the automotive repair business for more than 40 years and then COVID hit just got to the point where it's so difficult now working on the cars, not so much the actual car itself, but getting parts availability. It's, it's just, it wasn't fun anymore. So that is a good healthy hive, the Queensland eggs. There's larva. So Ed turned to the business. His father had been in 55 years ago, he traded in his hydraulics for hives and together with his honey wife, Kim, they own Mike's beehives. We're gonna put this on the saw mill and we'll turn that into boards and lumber and then we can process that lumber into beehives. Uh It'll, it'll take a family of bees, uh, fully developed hive. You're talking 60 to 80,000 bees are gonna be living inside that when it's done. It's not only American made, it's made right here in Torrington, Connecticut, right at our site. You know, we have a master craftsman dave and he makes all this stuff after we know the lumber building hives with dovetail joints to ensure they'll last creating and carrying an entire line of products. Ok. This is going to protect your face, mostly handmade. We make them so these handles it's easier to lift. For beekeepers. All the bees have jobs inside there. Some are nurse bees, others are maintenance, janitor bees, they clean the hive. There's field bees that go out and collect resources and bring them in. Behave hard work by both the bees and the bars and that's capped over honey right there that has a fine layer of wax on it and it holds the honey into the cell yielding a golden honey and a healthier environment. The honey bee through pollination is the cause of every third bite of food you eat is because of a honey bee pollination powering our planet. And for Ed Bar, a better way of life at the end of the day, I don't have to wipe off grease. I just dust off some sawdust now and then and I'm OK. Did anyone get stung? Just I did not Frank Bruce, our chief photographer who was with me, he took a couple for the team. Let's just leave it at that. Thank you, Bruce Bruce. Thank you, Bruce. Thanks, Frank. That's right. You can't operate a camera with those big gloves. But anyway, yeah, it really nice to meet the bars up there and do the incredible work that they, we do building all those beehives every aspect of it from beginning to end and they have classes as well, which is nice. So, if you're considering getting into it and they have freshly made honey, hey, it doesn't get better than that. Right. So, if you'd like to learn more about Mike's beehives, head over to our website news 12 dot com.

https://vod.chdrstatic.com/transcode/99cedb31-5840-4c6a-97fd-825c6eaf34f4/99cedb31-5840-4c6a-97fd-825c6eaf34f4.transcribe