The Buzz At The Obama Presidential Center

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Sasha-Ann Simons (0:27)

Hey, Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.

Be sure to listen all the way through the podcast for a breakdown of the day's top local stories. But first, I've got a special treat for you, and this one makes me buzz with pride. Did you know there's a carefully managed set of hives at the Obama Presidential Center, where beekeepers are helping lots of bees thrive? In this tradition, it stems way back to the Obama White House, when First Lady Michelle Obama installed the first documented bee hive on the South Lawn. Here's Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, Tina Tchen.

Tina Tchen (1:09)

We had like 70,000 bees. We generated enough honey to, we would have little gifts. Sometimes the gifts we would give to foreign dignitaries coming were beautifully packaged White House honey. And we had enough that we could make beeswax candles.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:23)

Now the buzz continues, and I wanted to get a closer look at what it takes to maintain a hive, from the right way to approach the bees to the importance of the queen bee. Let's listen now to my recent visit with the Obama Presidential Center's resident beekeepers.

Thad Smith (1:37)

Okay, zip your coat up.

Janelle Dunlap (1:39)

Wrong pants.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:40)

Wrong pants?

Tina Tchen (1:41)

Oh, they're going to go up?

Thad Smith (1:42)

So, do you have long socks on? Yes, I do. Okay, great. So, let me tuck your socks in.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:47)

Oh, sure. We met the Obama Presidential Center resident beekeepers Janelle Dunlap, Thad Smith, and ground supervisor Lisa Burgess, just behind the Center's museum.

Thad and Janelle arrive at 6:30 a.m. every 10 days to inspect the beehives. Janelle says the early start is a safety measure and just good beekeeping practice.

Thad Smith (2:07)

For many years, I was going in the late afternoon or the evenings, which is a huge mistake because a lot of the foragers are coming back in the afternoon and in the evening. Everybody's there. So, only times that I have really been stung are when I'm inspecting late.

In the morning, all the foragers have already left once the sun peaks on the horizon.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:32)

Run through the agenda this morning.

Thad Smith (2:34)

So, we always want to make sure that the queen is laying and that the colonies have resources. Resources would be pollen and honey.

So, right now, we're getting ready for fall, going into the winter. That's why we're going to feed them, just in case. We're going to feed them with the sugar water. It's a substitute for honey.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:53)

But before the hive can be opened for inspection, Janelle and Thad smoke the hives.

Thad Smith (2:57)

So, the smoke does two things. It makes the bees go inside because they think it's a forest fire, or it at least triggers that response to go inside.

And it helps dispel the alarm pheromones. It's basically the alarm that they share with each other to say, hey, it's time to attack. So, the smoke helps dispel that.

Janelle Dunlap (3:17)

However, people are very adamant and passionate about what they put in their smoke. And so, what I like to do is get some paper first, but then I use dry leaves and sticks.

But then during the summertime, I like to use the green grass so it cools down the smoke. We don't want fire going into the hive because that's going to irritate them.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:40)

With the bees subdued, it's time to open the hive and start the inspection.

Janelle Dunlap (3:45)

Ah, here we go.

Thad Smith (3:46)

There's a lot going on on this one.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:49)

The bees at the Obama Presidential Center are Italian honeybees. Dunlap says they're among the most popular bees in North America to harvest honey from or to use as pollinators.

They're typically kind of like in the middle of honey production and temperament, but not always.

Janelle Dunlap (4:05)

Earlier in the season, as soon as we popped this bad boy open, they were all over us. So for right now, these are some pretty chill bees. Like they're like being very nice today and we appreciate it.

Sasha-Ann Simons (4:16)

With the first hive open, the search begins for signs of the queen.

Janelle Dunlap (4:20)

Unless you walked right up on you when you first opened this bad boy up, you don't know if you have a queen or not. So what I like to do is start in the end, take one frame out. So then now I have an opportunity to just move the frames over. I want to have frames outside the hive.