This month's Program, held today at Union Congregational Church, was led by Eileen Hyland, a passionate beekeeper and Montclair resident. With the help of her family, she has built up a thriving business — Stately Hyland Apiaries — selling all kinds of honey products as well as gentle queen bees and hives for starter beekeepers,
It was one amazing fact after another. Did you know that:
Dark colored clothes freak out the bees.
Lemongrass oil in a box on a known swarm route will help lure them in.
Don't put your nose in a hive.
Bees do not make the classic hexagonal shapes you see in a honeycomb: They create soft round cells that squish down into the hexagonal cells we are used to.
The Spotted Lanternfly produces honeydew that allows honey production through the late summer. (Nectar is from plants; honeydew from aphids and other sap-sucking insects.)
On a warm winter day, the huddled up. shivering, but very sanitary bees will leave the hive to do their business before returning.
Japanese knotweed produces sweet flowers loved by bees.
Putting "site:edu" after a Google search will bring up academic entries rather than shopping items.
Leftover honey can be mixed with bourbon for a delicious cocktail.
See also the winners of the equally amazing exhibits this month, from gorgeous masks in the newly announced Botanical Arts section, to our, as always, incredibly beautiful flower arrangements.
Below: Eileen Hyland captures her audience with her tales of the apian world.
