Beekeeping has its sweet sides

CLYDE — A Clyde resident has a sweet hobby buzzing in his backyard.When Tom Rathbun was a child, he worked at Steinbauer Fruit Farm in Clyde and developed a fascination with pollination and honeybees."The honeybee is very important to the ecosystem," Rathbun said. "It is our main pollinator for all fruits, vegetables and flowers."His beekeeping hobby began with a Christmas present from his wife about 10 years ago. The present led Rathbun to become more involved in beekeeping.Beekeeper Tom Rathbun takes the lid off the hive to expose the bees moving around the fames on Sept. 8, 2017, at his residence in Clyde.Today, Rathbun is the trustee of the Sandusky River Valley Beekeepers Association, based out of Clyde, and he's also the director of the Ohio State Beekeepers Association's Erie Basin region, which covers 11 counties in northern Ohio.Rathbun said he enjoys keeping honeybees as a hobby and as a small sideline business. During the fall, he extracts about 600 pounds of honey from the 30 hives in his backyard.Raw honey runs out of the extractor so it can be filtered and put in bottles."It keeps me home and it keeps me busy doing something," Rathbun said.After Rathbun extracts all the honey from the hives, he must prepare the hives for the winter."By summer's end, there are as many as 80,000 bees in a well-established hive," Rathbun said. "It amazes me how the structure of the bees work together."In order to keep his hives healthy, Rathbun must treat the hives for mites. Rathbun said he doesn't want anything to happen to his hives during the winter because he'll extract more honey in the spring."Statistics show that most hives have Varroa Destructor in the hives during the fall months," Rathbun said. "If not treated, the added stress and diseases will kill your hive by spring."Honey bees move around the frames inside a beebox at Tom Rathbun's residence in Clyde on Sept. 8, 2017.Reach photographer Erin McLaughlin at erinmclaughlin@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @ErinMcL_photo.Clyde resident Tom Rathbun removes the wax coating from a frame to reveal the fresh honey on Sept. 8, 2017.Beekeeper Tom Rathbun uses a uncapping knife to remove the beeswax so he can expose the honey in the frame at his residence in Clyde on Sept. 8, 2017.Frames full of honey spin in the extractor. The frames spin for about five minutes so all the honey flies out of the frames and settles at the bottom of the extractor.