“ They are really so busy they don ’ t care about us ,” Carl says . “ I always tell people if you don ’ t come out here and mess with these bees , you could come out here and have a cocktail with your wife and just sit here .”
Bees start out as nurse bees , and then become bees that clean the hive before guarding the hive and later foraging , which is what they continue to do for around the final 40 days of their lives , likely dying out in a field somewhere from the beating they take from all the climbing and bumping into weeds . It ’ s an aspect of the bee life many people don ’ t consider — weeds are sharp .
As a beekeeper , Carl says , his focus is on the queen . Colonies are built around those queens , which live for one to two years .
Carl , along with wife , Kiah , and son , Rowan , have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of beekeeping . From St . Onge to Orman Dam near Belle Fourche they have 600 hives spread out . Beekeeping is done in territories .
“ We have boundaries so we can ’ t crowd each other ,” Carl said . He gives a nod to the ranchers who make it possible , saying without land to put the boxes on none of what happens at his and Kiah ’ s business , Sunrise Hives , would be possible . The Crowleys reward the ranchers with free honey .
This year the ranchland has been particularly beneficial to the hives , as the constant rain has produced a tremendous amount of sweet clover and other weeds , which provides plenty of pollen for the bees and improves the quality of the honey they produce .
Rowan , 13 , has been helping his parents with the operation since he was old enough to spell B-E-E . He said he enjoys working with his parents , and could see himself taking over the family operation some day . “ It ’ s better than any office job or any of that stuff ,” he said . Carl is the production side of Sunrise Hives , while Kiah is the retail side . While Carl is in the field gathering frames from the boxes , Kiah is at their warehouse / office in Spearfish , bottling the honey and making a variety of products from the wax the bees also produce .
Carl ’ s days start early to beat the heat as he travels around his territory collecting frames full of honey and wax from the boxes . “ This is what I get to do every day ,” he said . “ I feel really lucky .”
In a strong colony there can be over 200,000 bees . As the colony grows , more boxes are added . The taller the stack of boxes , the better the colony is doing . Each colony has its own queen to give directions . If the queen fails , the hive fails .
“ She controls what they are doing today ,” Carl said . “ They bring her food . They carry her feces out .”
The boxes are also kept on pallets so they can be easily moved if the need arises . If a field loses the needed weeds for whatever reason — drought , cutting , etc .— they boxes can be moved to a more productive swath of land . They do best near water and with plenty of forage . In a way they are like cattle , Carl says , in that they can overgraze .
Carl never takes anything out of the bottom two boxes of a stack , known as the brood boxes . Those are the boxes full of babies where the honey is needed . Since bees produce 90 percent more honey than they need , the honey from the remaining boxes can be harvested .
Prior to
becoming an apiculturist , Carl was merely a fan of the local honey that was produced , particularly by Kiah ’ s parents , who still keep their own bees as ell .
Born and raised on a ranch in St . Onge , Carl met Kiah , and one night her parents needed help at their boxes . He volunteered to help . He was given the “ boyfriend ” suit by Kiah ’ s father . That meant there were plenty of holes for the bees to get into .
“ I got stung so much ,” Carl said with a laugh . “ But I had so much fun . I just kept going back .”
Eventually he went to work for Kiah ’ s parents — in a new suit purchased by Kiah — and he and Kiah eventually began to collect their own hives . That eventually led to their “ going all in ” and branching out on their own . Thirteen years later Sunrise Hives products are in 40 stores in the area .
After collecting the frames Carl brings the frames to the “ honey house ” that is manned by Ethan Edwards , a local employee of three years . It is Ethan who operates the Silver Queen Uncapper , the machine used to separate the wax from the honey on the frames and to cascade the honey through several bays before it ends up flowing — nearly clear — from a hose into a 55 gallon drum to be hauled to Spearfish for Kiah to bottle .
The Crowleys take great pride in the fact their honey is raw and unfiltered . The only filtering the honey receives happens naturally . As it flows through the uncapper the wax , byproduct , etc ., floats to the top of the bays while the honey continues its path to the barrel . “ It ’ s not pasteurized . We don ’ t take anything out of it ,” Kiah said . “ All the enzymes , pollen — all the beneficial ( things ) you hear about are in the honey . It ’ s the purest form coming out of the hive .”
After Ethan loads frames into the uncapper the magic starts , as hot knives fueled by a 137-degree mix of water and antifreeze cut the wax off the frames . The wax is put in a spinner that separates more honey and the wax is set aside for future use .
Meanwhile , the frames are spun and the honey flows into the bays at the bottom of the machine . As the honey flows from
Carl Crowley takes a look at one of the frames from a box just outside of St . Onge .
16