{"id":127960,"date":"2026-05-07T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/four-corners-beekeepers-enter-spring-with-optimism-despite-challenges\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:00:00","slug":"four-corners-beekeepers-enter-spring-with-optimism-despite-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/four-corners-beekeepers-enter-spring-with-optimism-despite-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Corners beekeepers enter spring with optimism despite challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cortez
Cortez IFA Country Store office manager Jayne Hopkins estimates that a three pound package of bees, which they sell for $189.99, contains at least 10,000 bees. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Farmers and avid backyard gardeners alike arrived at IFA Country Store in Cortez early Tuesday morning, eager to pick up their bees from the back of a dusty white trailer.<\/p>\n

A few stragglers that had strayed from their wooden boxes buzzed about the store\u2019s office manager, Jayne Hopkins, as she confirmed with customers the variety of box they\u2019d come to pick up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring is bee time,\u201d Hopkins said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing. I\u2019m glad people are getting into these little guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cortez\u2019s
Cortez\u2019s IFA Country Store branch manager Tanner Young unloads nucs and packages of bees from his trailer for eager customers. He drove to Price, Utah, yesterday to pick them up. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hopkins has worked at IFA Country Store for more than two decades and overseen the bee operation since its inception in 2018. The bees come from Utah, staying at California\u2019s almond groves through the winter, then returning for distribution.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve accumulated a loyal customer base, with some coming from as far as Texas to expand their hives or replace ones lost over the winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys here are pretty much repeat offenders \u2014 repeat customers,\u201d Hopkins said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

But beekeeping in high elevations with variable climates can be challenging, and beekeepers work to combat forces beyond their control to sustain their hives.<\/p>\n

Beekeeping\u2019s \u2018repeat offenders\u2019 resurrect dead hives<\/div>\n

\u201cSeason\u2019s really short, especially where we\u2019re at,\u201d James Andersch, a Mancos farmer who came to collect his box of bees, said.<\/p>\n

His farm, which produces mushrooms, CBD, flowers and now honey, lies at 7,700 feet of elevation. It can be difficult for bees to acclimate to the high environment, Andersch said.<\/p>\n

He and his wife saw one of their two hives survive the winter, so Andersch ordered a nuc \u2014 a ready-to-go five-frame hive with a queen and worker bees \u2014 for $219.99, as a replacement.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just take those frames out, put them in your hive and you\u2019re off and running,\u201d Hopkins said.<\/p>\n

Kristine Curtis also experienced the death of one of her hives this winter \u2014 but she\u2019s back for more. Curtis traveled from Monticello for her bees, enjoying their presence in her garden along with the benefits they provide to her wildflowers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of fun just to watch them,\u201d Curtis said. \u201cHaving multiple hives, you see how each hive has its own personality.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Sessions, a Santa Fe resident and ornamental gardener, agrees.<\/p>\n

\"Sante
Sante Fe resident David Sessions loads his nuc of Italian honeybees into his truck for the four-hour drive back to Santa Fe. A former Colorado farmer turned New Mexico gardener, he likes their mellow nature and unique personality. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cThey\u2019re just very pleasant and really productive,\u201d Sessions, who endured the four-hour-long commute for his new batch of Italian honeybees, said. \u201cThey\u2019re like having chickens or ducks, you know? Very social.\u201d<\/p>\n

As customers stepped up to Hopkins\u2019 table to ask for their order, she handed them marshmallows and instructed them how to release their queens, which were contained in little mesh and wood boxes sealed with a small cork. The bees need time to acclimate and accept the queen, so the marshmallow can be very important.<\/p>\n

\"Jayne
Jayne Hopkins shows where beekeepers will pluck out cork in bee boxes to replace with candy. As bees chew through the candy to the queen, which is surrounded by drones \u2014 male honeybees \u2014 they\u2019ll acclimate to and accept her. (Ann Marie Vanderveen\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cYou have to take the cork out and put a piece of candy or nougat or I give them a marshmallow if they need it,\u201d Hopkins said. \u201cThey\u2019ll eat that candy and get her out of there, and then they\u2019ll be one big happy family.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than just a hobby, beekeeping is a challenging and variable enterprise<\/div>\n

Doug Laes, the media officer with the Western Colorado Beekeepers Association in Grand Junction, said bees provide an essential service, particularly to agricultural operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey basically are responsible for pollinating about one third of what we eat,\u201d Laes said.<\/p>\n

Our World in Data researchers estimate that 35% of crop production depends on pollinators.<\/p>\n

Laes added that the warm winter and temperature fluctuations afflicting Colorado this year can harm hives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can throw them off,\u201d Laes said. \u201cOnce it gets above 55 degrees, they think it\u2019s time to go out for food.\u201d<\/p>\n

The biggest colony loss in Laes\u2019 region happens in February and March, when bees get active too early and consume more of their hive\u2019s food supply before they can access pollen and nectar from still-dormant flowers.<\/p>\n

Another worry for beekeepers is a prolonged freeze. Cortez and surrounding areas are gearing up for a cold snap this week as late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning could see temperatures ranging from the 30s to the mid-20s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve got a big colony and the freeze lasts too long, they could burn through all of their stores and run out of food,\u201d Laes said.<\/p>\n

But, he assured beekeepers, a bee colony should make it through a short freeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as they\u2019ve got enough numbers and enough space to keep heat, to keep warm, they\u2019re good,\u201d Laes said.<\/p>\n

Beyond unpredictable weather patterns, honeybees also face a significant threat from the Varroa mite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt transmits viruses to adult bees,\u201d Emily Lockard, director of the Colorado State University Extension in Montezuma County, said.<\/p>\n

She added the mites can weaken a hive\u2019s immunity, making it more vulnerable to collapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen anything is stressed it\u2019s just susceptible,\u201d Lockard said.<\/p>\n

However, despite the challenges, there are resources. Lockard pointed to CSU\u2019s online course called Beekeeping in the Mountain West, which teaches beekeepers how to adequately nurture their honeybee colonies through high elevations and harsh climates.<\/p>\n

While many hives don\u2019t survive the winter, bees can be resilient and a source of hope for their caretakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if honeybees can struggle, that\u2019s an optimistic thing for folks to do in the springtime,\u201d Lockard said.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Springtime brings out beekeepers working to sustain their hives in a difficult climate<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[281,431,28,29,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-127960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-agriculture","tag-business-general","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127960"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=127960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}