< Previous70 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE KEEPER OF THE BEES Coastal residents work to protect thousands of honey bees and their hives story by BARBARA CANETTI | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS P am Christiansen has more than 360,000 pets. She hasn’t named them all, but she cares for them, protects them and provides them with food and shelter. Christiansen raises honey bees and for the past four years has rescued hives and created a safe place for their inhabitants to pollinate, pro- duce honey and live out their 40-day life cycle unharmed. Christiansen and Linda Lahaug have spent the past few years educating themselves about raising honey bees. Christiansen, a retired pediatric occupational therapist at the University of Texas Medical Branch, found a hive buried in her Galveston County home’s water meter and became interested with the behavior of the honey bees and their impact on society, she said. When she moved the hive, she realized she knew nothing about bees, so she took a class through a Friendswood Independent School (Above) Linda Lahaug, left, and Pam Christiansen think of themselves as bee protectors. The two care for almost a dozen hives, all of which are “rescues” removed from houses or were a swarming bee colony in search of a new home. (Opposite) Honey bees come and go from one of the hives. COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 7172 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 Linda Lahaug checks on one of the bee hives she and Pam Christiansen have in their Galveston County bee yard. COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 73 FEATURE District Community Education program to learn enough to get her started. “All I am doing is trying to provide a safe habitat for the bees,” Christiansen said. “I became fascinated with honey bees, their behavior and how they work as a society.” She now has nine hives — each housing from 40,000 to 50,000 bees that buzz around her rural property, searching for nectar and pollen to take back to the hives. Bees like the heat. Temperatures inside hives stay between 95 degrees and 100 de- grees at all times, which is easy to accom- plish along the Texas Gulf Coast. During infrequent winter freezes, Christiansen and Lahaug, a retired elementary school teacher, protect the hives by insulating them during the low temperatures. But because of all the constant activity inside the hive, it usually stays warm, Christiansen said. Nearby ponds provide the foraging bees with water. Wildflowers, milkweed, tallow trees, sunflowers, palms and other native plants provide the bees with ample amounts of pollen during the spring and summer, which they take into the hives. During the barren winter months, Christiansen and La- haug prepare sugared water on the property for food and energy. Bees also feed at hum- mingbird stations and seem to like chlorinat- ed water; they’re frequently found feeding in local swimming pools. Beach houses are perfect hiding places for swarming bees. The wooden rafters under the raised houses provide a perfect covering because they’re protected from the wind, se- cluded and not usually disturbed. Swarming bees are colonies in search of a new home. Beekeepers frequently are called upon to rescue a hive hidden under a house or deck. All of Christiansen’s hives are “rescues.” Each bee has a job. The male bees, or drones, don’t produce honey; their sole purpose is to mate with the queen. All of the other tasks are performed by the female bees: the cleaners, which clean up the cells so the queen can lay eggs in an unsoiled environment; the foragers, which search for pollen and nectar on nearby plants and flow- ers; the nurses, which care for the eggs and young bees; the undertakers, which remove corpses of dead bees from hives; the guards, which protect the entrance of the hive and surround the queen; and the queen, which 74 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE rules the hive, lays thousands of eggs every day and produces a chemical scent that helps regulate the unity of the colony and gives worker bees their distinct colony scent. The queen can live for about four years. The foraging bees return to the hive with pollen stored in their pollen basket, a structure on the hind legs, while the nectar is carried through honey sacs on the front part of the digestive system. Pollen is cleaned by the sister bees from the forager and stored in the cells found in the combs in the hive. Worker bees feed the queen, drones and larvae. Bees will travel no more than 3 miles from their hive looking for pollen and nectar. When she knows the county mosquito con- trol department plans to spray chemicals for mosquitoes, Christiansen covers the hives’ tiny entrances to keep the bees safely inside until the airborne chemicals settle and it’s safe to venture out again. Known predators for the hive — rac- coons and opossums only want the honey — can infiltrate the hive and kill off the bees. To stop the wax moth — the major threat to the hive — from entering and laying her eggs inside, which ultimately will destroy the hive, strong guard bees block it from entering. “The only defense against the wax moth is a strong hive, with strong guards,” she said. Besides honey bees, locally there are oth- er varieties of native bees, including mason bees, bumblebees and carpenter bees. There are more than 800 species of bees native to Texas. The honey bees are more social and allow Christiansen and Lahaug to get close, although they’re on guard for bee stings. Lahaug is more susceptible to bee bites. But once a bee stings a person, it dies. Sometimes, a bee follows Christiansen into her vehicle unnoticed. But when she realizes the bee is with her, she drives back to the hives to let the bee out of her car. “If the bee gets more than 3 miles from the hive, it will be lost and probably die,” Christiansen said. “I couldn’t stand that, so I bring it back here. And if I see one walking around, too tired to fly, I give it something to eat so they will have energy to fly back home. “I just want to see them safe and produc- ing in this little natural preserve.” (From top) Mint grows in flower boxes in front of each bee hive. The mint plants are used as a natural deterrent to invasive moths; a female honey bee, left, with her pollen baskets on her back legs full of orange pollen, returns to one of the hives. “All I am doing is trying to provide a safe habitat for the bees.” PAM CHRISTIANSEN COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 75 Fresh Gulf Seafood & Prime Steaks with a Latin American Sabor! For 24 years, Rudy & Paco's has delighted guests with its innovative, yet classic cuisine. Conveniently located next to the 1894 Grand Opera House, Rudy & Paco’s is perfect for your pre-show dinner or any occasion. LunchHours: Monday -Friday 11amto2pm DinnerHours: Monday - Thursday5pm to 9pm; Friday & Saturday5pmto 10pm ForReservationspleasecall 409.762.3696 orvisitrudyandpaco.com Properattire required. Vargas Cut and Catch features Prime Steaks, Texas Wagyu and the Freshest Seafood available. Set in a beautiful mid- century setting, Vargas Cut and Catch transports you to the golden era of fine dining. 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We also offer Long-Term Care. At The Meridian, we are not just community... we are Family. Call us today or Book a Tour here! We can’t wait to meet you! www.themeridian-galveston.com Call today 409.763.6437 2228 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77550 The Meridian is a Senior Living Community76 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE PEACE, LOVE AND BIRDSHOT Dove hunting is all about communing in the great outdoors story and photos by CAPT. NATE SKINNER F all hunting begins this month with dove seasons across the state. Cooler weather is on the wind, and there’s no better time to get outside and make memo- ries with friends and family. Dove hunting is just plain fun. The sport promotes a relaxing atmosphere that almost anyone, from kids to hardcore hunters, can enjoy, and dove hunts create a common ground for all to gather and participate in the traditions of pursuing wild game. Many folks get geared up for the opening and might not hunt doves again the rest of the fall. There’s just some- thing about the season opening that gets hunters and outdoor en- thusiasts excited. Some will enjoy stellar hunts with plenty of fast action, while others might harvest only a few birds. Regardless, most hunters will tell you it’s the camarade- rie in the field that makes dove hunting special. That’s the nice thing about dove hunt- ing. You don’t have to sit as still as a stat- ue or be ultra quiet to achieve success. This makes for a memorable, pleasant experience swapping stories and telling jokes while watching a field or a cattle tank. Some of the best times of my life have been hunting doves with buddies. The social aspect of the sport is probably what I love the most. Dove hunting also provides opportunity to spend quality outdoor time with my son Waylon Gene. Although he’s not quite old enough to shoul- der a shotgun, he won’t turn down the chance to join me on a dove hunt. He loves to sit next to me, dressed in camouflage, with his BB gun or toy shotgun, and pre- tend to shoot the birds that fly into our set up. He’ll give me a hard time when I miss, and cheer for every great shot. Waylon enjoys watching our Labrador, Kahle, retrieve the birds. But his favorite part of dove hunting, by far, is counting a full limit on the tailgate of my truck. Pursuing doves with a shotgun is one of the most affordable hunting oppor- tunities available to Texans. Other than COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 77 Dove hunts promote a relaxing atmosphere that is just downright fun. (Opposite) Every harvested dove is icing on the cake.78 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE a shotgun and shells, you don’t need a ton of gear to get started. A bird vest or belt with pockets for storing shotgun shells and downed birds, along with a comfortable, lightweight chair, are about all you need. A couple spinning wing dove decoys, like the ones made by MOJO, also come in handy to bring doves flying by into shoot- ing range. A portable cooler or ice chest that can easily be transported also is a good idea. This will allow you to bring snacks and drinks along, plus there’s nothing quite like enjoying a cold beverage at the end of an exciting dove shoot. One of the best things about dove hunting is you can do it almost anywhere it’s legal to fire a shotgun. The birds are plentiful in many areas across the state. Farmed fields, pastures with native, seed-bearing crops or weeds and ponds or tanks all can offer excellent wing shooting opportunities. The birds typically flock to fields with food sources early in the mornings to feed, and they will do the same during the af- (Clockwise from left) Dove hunting is a social outdoor experience you don’t want to miss; good retrievers make each hunt that much better; dove hunts offer wing shooters fun challenges as fall hunting seasons commence. COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 79 ternoon. On hot afternoons and during the late evening hours before sunset, doves usually concentrate around tanks and ponds to get a drink of water before the day ends. If you don’t have access to private land, public land is available to dove hunters in different regions of the state through the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Nu- merous outfitters across Texas offer both single-day and multiple-day hunting options. And dove hunting can be exceptional through the entire season. The key is finding areas the birds want to be in, and then not over-pressuring those areas. Gather your friends or family and make plans to hit the field this month. You’ll quickly discover that no matter how exciting it is to pursue doves with a shotgun, dove hunting really isn’t about the birds at all. It’s about spending meaningful time in the outdoors with those you care about. Each harvested dove is simply icing on the cake. Next >