COMMUNITY
LABOR DAY SPECIALS ★★★ Come S Our
mesquite, many bees came out to defend their hive, and a low humming buzz filled the air. Once the lid was removed, Bill Johnson took out a frame at a time to inspect the combs, pointing out what each frame contained: brood comb for raising bees, super comb for storing honey, and what he was looking for — the swarm cell. “A swarm cell is when the hive says ‘hey, we got too many bees in here, it’s time to split off’,” Bill Johnson said, his voice competing with the drone of the bees. In a controlled environment, like a beekeeper’s hive, that swarm can be moved to another bee box to house the new bees, but in the wild, “those are the swarms you see in the neighborhoods, on the trees, on the side of buildings,” he explained. At that stage, bees are loaded down with honey and pollen — the food they need to survive until they build their new hive. For situations like those, Bill Johnson is comfortable without a suit and just scoops up the bees by hand. He and wife Monica describe the feeling as “holding electricity.” The bees will either die off or find a suitable home. “They move into eaves of your house, underneath your storage shed, your doghouse, your barbeque, your composter,” Bill Johnson said. “Once they move in and start making comb, that becomes their home.” After Johnson moved the swarm cell to a new box, he placed it on top and left the bees to calm down. The bees would eventually begin filling the frames of that new box with more comb. Sweet rewards One thing most Maricopa beekeepers love just as much as saving the bees is the product they produce. It’s a sought-after ware many residents who know the beekeepers say they prefer over the store-bought stuff. Monica Johnson harvests the honey from beehives across the Valley. Each location produces honey with a different taste, color and consistency, as bees fly up to 3 miles to pollinate crops. Near the Hart farm, the bees tend to pollinate crops like cotton, alfalfa, mesquite and sunflowers, if the season is right. “Mesquite is darker honey,” Monica Johnson said. Motioning to a more golden nectar, she said: “That sunflower honey is my ticket. That stuff is sticky.” One of her favorites, however, came from a hive in Casa Grande. She’s not quite sure what contributed to it, a batch that stood out for her because of its unique flavor profile.
HOW DOES A BEE BECOME A QUEEN?
Sometimes workers choose the queen by feeding a young larva only royal jelly, but in beekeeping the beekeeper may select her instead. Either way, she only becomes queen if the workers affirm the choice by continuing her royal jelly diet.
MATTRESS & FURNITURE
DON’T SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT ON A HOT MATTRESS THIS SUMMER. COME AND SEE US FOR OUR COOLING GLACIER MATTRESSES.
COOL GLACIER COPPER
Handcrafted with 15-yr warranty
Deal of a lifetime!
FOR MORE ON ROLES AROUND THE HIVE, SCAN THE QR CODE.
$1,599
Queen $4,999
two, so they could borrow resources from each one if the other was struggling. That snowballed, and after finding a mentor of his own, Bill Johnson became a full-time beekeeper who does removals throughout the Valley. In the small groves around farmer Larry Hart’s properties in Hidden Valley sit dozens of stacks of the Johnsons’ boxed beehives, where he brings many of the rescued bees. Hart, who grew up in a beekeeping family, provided Bill Johnson access to his land for one small price. “When he found out that I was keeping bees, he says, ‘You know, I’ve got a thousand acres out here. You can put your bees anywhere you want to keep them,’” the “bee guy” recalled. “The only thing he asked in return for being able to use his property like that is his wife, Gwen, likes to put honey in her coffee every morning. All I have to do is keep him in honey, which is pretty easy to do.” The Johnsons frequently buzz about, performing constant maintenance on their many hives to help keep the bees healthy, prevent swarming and, of course, to collect the sweet fruits of their (and the bees’) labor. One such example occurred one early morning in late July, when Bill Johnson went with reporters to split a bee box into another because it was filled. He chooses early mornings because of the cool temperatures. Bill Johnson pulled up to a gathering of his beehives in an oasis under mesquite trees on the Hart farm and suited up before popping open the lid of one of his bee boxes. Before he had the opportunity to use his smoker filled with mulch
While Supplies Last
$1,799
King $5,999
We offer 24-MONTHS
0% Interest O.A.C
Bill Johnson puts mulch mesquite in his smoker before headed to his beehives.
SPECIAL DISCOUNTS ON BEAUTY REST BLACKS
QUEEN SET
HE DID HIS PART
end of the garden.”
Using the bees for pollination and collecting their honey for his company, Gatten’s Honey Farm, Gatten started removing bees for locals for free. His hive collection peaked at a total of 60. Unfortunately, in 2021 Gatten gave up his bees due to his age. “I couldn’t lift those smokers anymore ... I hated to give it up.”
Eugene Gatten, 85, is a former beekeeper and a Thunderbird Farms resident who first got into his hobby after struggling
to get his Maricopa garden producing.
$1,499
“I had a vegetable garden, and I wasn’t getting anything,” Gatten
Follow us on Facebook
said. “I got two hives and put them at the
Maricopa, AZ 602-366-0447
44360 W. Edison Road, Suite 100
InMaricopa.com | September 2025
September 2025 | InMaricopa.com
20
21
Powered by FlippingBook