THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994 TAG: 9406160161
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEONA C. LILLEY, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: 940617 LENGTH: Medium
Farmers, orchard owners and vegetable growers throughout the area rely on honey bees to help pollinate their crops and to make them more productive come harvest time.
{REST} But some, like Leilanti Ozment, aren't content to sit back and hope that nature runs its course when it comes to providing workers. Instead they beat the bushes, so to speak, and recruit the help they need.
Ozment, a certified gardener who lives in Little Neck, is one of about 75 beekeepers in South Hampton Roads.
She joined the ranks of homeowners with hives more out of necessity than interest.
``Several years ago my garden was not being pollinated sufficiently,'' said Ozment, a middle-aged homemaker. ``I talked to the extension service about it and they said it was because there was a shortage of pollinating bees in the area. So I decided to get a hive, which I purchased from another beekeeper.
``The bees and everything came with the first one. Then I started collecting swarms to start new hives. I didn't expect to find the bees so interesting when I got involved with them. They're rather addictive.''
Ozment is a member of the Tidewater Bee Keepers Association, which meets the second Monday of every month.
``I'm a hobby beekeeper. I keep them for my own use,'' she said. ``Normally, I keep only three or four hives. My bees do visit my neighbors as well, so they get free pollination.''
Ozment also is listed with The Bee Keepers Guild, a private company in Virginia Beach that voluntarily puts beekeepers together with residents who are bothered with swarms on their property in the spring and summer.
``I do go out and get swarms,'' she said. ``They call the name on the list who is nearest to the location of the swarm. There is no charge. We do this as a public service to save the bees. Otherwise they might get killed or exterminated. We benefit from the service as well, because we get to keep the bees.
``When they call me and I agree to go and get the swarm, I `dress out' in my bee gear. Carrying one of my empty hives that has the frames in it, I go to the location. The swarm is usually in a ball shape. I take it off the tree limb or whatever it is on and shake it on top of my frame. If the queen bee goes in, the others will follow. They're attracted to the container because it already has the odor of bees and honey.''
Some beekeepers rent their hives out to farmers, to pollinate crops and orchards. Ozment does not provide this service.
``There's too much work involved in it,'' she said. ``You have to have a truck and special equipment to lift the hives. They weigh in excess of 100 pounds when they're filled with bees and honey.''
Ozment extracts the honey from her hives and sells it. It is unprocessed, not pasteurized and sold by word of mouth.
``I sell it to my neighbors and their friends and the word gets around,'' she said. ``People want local honey. They think it's healthy. It seems to help those with allergy problems and it tastes better than the store bought.''
Although Ozment takes the precaution of dressing out in her bee gear when she takes the honey, she's not afraid of the bees.
``They're never aggressive unless you're harming their home,'' Ozment said. ``Honey bees take care of the major part of our pollination. We Americans wouldn't have the vast production of food that we do without the honey bees. People need to appreciate them.''
by CNB