The Accidental Beekeeper

Granville man gained fascination with bees roughly 25 years ago

By Meg Hagerty, Post Star, Glens Falls New York

Published: Monday, May 18, 2009

GRANVILLE — Although many people might have a fear of being stung by bees, Pat Imbimbo actually welcomes it.

As a former law enforcement officer who broke some bones in his left hand through “tussles” during his career, Imbimbo says the bee stings are therapeutic.

“It doesn’t bother me. In fact, the bee sting will relieve joint pain. When I get stung on the hands, that pain goes away for a few days,” said Imbimbo, owner of New England Farms in Granville.

The beekeeping business is a hive of activity this time of year as Imbimbo gears up for a new season. He already got a call from a strawberry farmer who wanted him to bring his bees to pollinate the fields because the fruit is blooming earlier than normal.

“Beekeeping is very popular and is one of the two oldest trades in the world. The other is prostitution,” he said wryly.

For seven years now, Imbimbo has been selling honey, nucleus colonies of bees and supplies to both commercial customers and hobbyists. He also teaches others about beekeeping.

Although bee populations are declining, business is buzzing for beekeeping as interest increases.

“Bees are the main pollinator in the world, so a large percentage of the crops we eat rely on pollination,” Imbimbo said. “Honey bees are the only insects that make people food.”

He also maintains others’ honeybees by bringing his equipment to the site, feeding, adding “supers” — wooden crates that allow the bees more space to produce honey — and testing and treating for mites, one of the biggest threats to the bees.

Imbimbo maintains 80 to 100 colonies and yields about 3,000 pounds a year of mostly wildflower honey that he sells at his store or at farmers’ markets. He said his honey production is cut in half because he sells his bees. Larger producers, in comparison, can garner 40,000 pounds per year, he said.

Imbimbo became intrigued with beekeeping in 1984 while, on duty as a deputy sheriff in Florida, he pulled over a speeding tractor trailer with no lights on at about 2 in the morning. He realized the semi was filled with bee hives as he approached.

He said the perpetrator was a former employee who was trying to steal a farmer’s bees.

After the case was resolved and the bees were returned to the rightful owner, the farmer gave Imbimbo two colonies of bees. “It was a hobby, and then I started going into it in a bigger way,” he said.

Imbimbo read as much as he could and learned from other beekeepers’ networks. Ten years ago, he retired from law enforcement and moved his family to Granville.

Walking through his crowded warehouse stacked from floor to near ceiling with wooden hives and frames, Imbimbo explained the intricacies of beekeeping.

“The more people we get involved in beekeeping, the better off our environment is going to be because there are countries in the world who have no bees (and they have to hand-pollinate),” he said.

Imbimbo is starting a blog called “Honeybee CSI” to investigate colony collapse disorder and other bee disorders.

He said commercial beekeepers lose large numbers of bees for no reason, and the blog will allow beekeepers to look up symptoms of common diseases.

After a very active career in law enforcement, Imbimbo likes the challenges of his business. And now, like his honey bees that need to have space to survive, Imbimbo is expanding New England Farms to his 101-acre property by midsummer.

“Beekeeping is a science that keeps your mind occupied. It takes work. I like that,” he said.