A day in the life: Lon the beekeeper

Published 8:30 pm Sunday, August 26, 2018

: Lon Nelson of Albert Lea has been keeping bees for about 35 years. At one point he took a break from the hobby, but came back to it. "I guess I got tired of buying my own honey," he said. - Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

Albert Lea man has been a beekeeper for over 3 decades

Editor’s note: ‘A day in the life’ is a reoccurring series from the Tribune, which will follow people in different occupations or hobbies to photograph what all goes into their job. If you have any suggestions for a future subject, email colleen.harrison@albertleatribune.com or call 507-379-3436.

: Nelson shows one of his bees to a beekeeping class earlier this month at The Evergreens Tree Farm, where he keeps two of his 10 hives. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: To calm the bees and drive them more inside the hive to avoid getting stung as much, Nelson uses a smoker that’s fueled with dry grass, pine needles or cardboard. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Nelson said taking honey off the hives and processing and bottling it takes many hours if the honey crop is good. On a good hive he can expect more than 100 pounds of honey. “Some of that coats my garage and kitchen floors,” he said. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Mites have been a significant thorn in Nelson’s side as a beekeeper. One mite in a hive can multiply to 1,000 within just three months. Mites feed off of bee larvae, either consuming them entirely or making for weak or deformed bees once they hatch. Nelson fogs his hives with a natural mineral oil once a week to try to combat the mites. If left unchecked, mites can cause an 80-percent loss in a hive over the winter. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Nelson uses a hive tool to carefully pull out frames from a hive to check on the queen bee in the hive. In addition to having 10 hives of his own, Nelson said he assists six local beekeepers with their hives. He said one of his “newbees” travels extensively, so he checks on her hives to avoid swarming; another mentee simply wants to have a hive to help the bee species pollinate and survive. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Nelson points out bees that are likely to hatch within days from a frame in one of his hives. He said each of his 10 hives have their own colony of about 80,000 bees. Those bees produce about 80 to 100 pounds of honey per hive. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: According to Nelson, bees can fly up to three miles from their hive to look for food sources. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: A substitute teacher in the Albert Lea district after retiring from full-time teaching and coaching, Nelson will give lessons on the life of honeybees and share honey crackers with students from time to time. He said in the school hallways he has been singled out by students as “the bee man.” – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: A class attendee cuts honey from a honey frame earlier this month in Clarks Grove. More beekeeping classes will be offered in September, and more information can be found on The Evergreens Facebook page. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Nelson teaches a beekeeping class at The Evergreens Tree Farm earlier this month. The class consists of a lecture and Q&A, with the rest of the presentation being more hands-on. One station lets children use a smoker, while other stations include cutting honey frames, observing live bees, spinning honey frames from a centrifuge, nailing a honey frame back together and bottling honey. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Nelson keeps his bees over the winter. He leaves honey along with sugar water for them to feed off of. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune

: Lon Nelson of Albert Lea has been keeping bees for about 35 years. At one point he took a break from the hobby, but came back to it. “I guess I got tired of buying my own honey,” he said. – Colleen Harrison/Albert Lea Tribune