Tyler Bauer has the buzz on all things bees.
He began working with bees back in 2018, when he realized just how much the small insects impact the world around us.
“The purpose was that the bees are extremely important to the environment. And I think that once everybody got on this kick to save the environment, that's the direction I realized I wanted to go in because everything that we do as people, animals, and everything in nature revolves around bees,” Bauer said.
Bauer saw there was a collapse of bee colonies in the early 90s and 2000s, and knew if the trend continued, there would be a price for everyone to pay later on. He then took it upon himself to learn as much as he could about bees and what he could do to help fix the declining amount of colonies.
“I wanted to see if I could keep my colonies alive throughout the year, and then I wanted to learn as much about them and their personality traits and their habits as I could. I set a goal to expand every year and then that's what I plan on continuing to do,” he said.
Bauer currently has 30 colonies. He hopes to one day reach 200.
Working with bees has allowed Bauer to look at life from new perspectives. He’s begun to appreciate the different seasons, bloom cycles, and plants growing in the area. Bauer said winter is especially a big season since he has to stay ahead of nature to keep the bees alive.
“It sounds very corny, but it's really changed my life, and it really has affected me in a very positive way. I see the world very differently. Now we're surrounded by a lot of resources, and it's an amazing thing that these natural things all go together so perfectly,” Bauer said.
Each spring brings a new wave of excitement when Bauer watches the little critters emerge after a cold, rough winter.
“When we go through a whole winter, these bees won't stay in their hive,” he said. “They don't hibernate. So on warm days in the winter, they will fly out and they'll go back into the hive, but they cluster up into this ball during the winter to keep themselves warm. When you come out of winter and you're heading into spring and these bees are still alive, I think that that is the best feeling that you can have as a beekeeper.”
The honey that bees make is also something Bauer finds quite interesting.
“Raw honey is a super food and that's amazing to me. I mean, just the benefits of these little insects is amazing,” Bauer said.
His love for bees led him to start his own business, Lake Effect Honeybees, where he currently serves as the sole employee. However, he is hoping that changes in the future as his business continues to expand and grow.
Bauer also has two potential worker bees of his own, two sons ages seven and one, that he hopes will keep his passion for beekeeping buzzing in years to come.
“Eventually this is something that I would like to leave behind for them and they can do whatever they want with it. If they want to sell it, then they can sell it. If they want to continue to grow the business and do that, then I think it would be great. My end game here is to have something that I enjoy that’s beneficial that I can leave behind for my kids as an option,” he said.
In the meantime, Bauer has no plans to stop working on his beekeeping business.
“People always ask me if I ever get bored with it, or if I ever get sick of it and I never do, because it changes every day,” Bauer said.
Bauer also sells honey through Lake Effect Honeybees. Anyone interested in purchasing honey can contact him directly through his company’s Facebook page under the same name.