The Sweet Science: Protecting Colorado's Honey Bee Colonies with the National Honey Bee Survey by Shelli Quattlebaum
- Shelli Quattlebaum
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
This is an extended version of this article from the Colorado Department of Agriculture:
I work seasonally as the Apiary Specialist for The Colorado Department of Agriculture:
My job is to survey Colorado apiaries for the National Honey Bee Pests and Disease Survey. I will also perform other scientific studies from various Universities and government departments from around the United States. Last summer (2025) I was talking with my supervisor about ways to create more volunteers for the National Honey Bee Survey and to start sharing more about Colorado Beekeepers on the state agriculture web page. She thought that was a great idea and gave me the go ahead. I was off to schedule with a few beekeepers that would be willing to talk about themselves and let me photography them in their natural environment.
BC was the first beekeeper that I asked to interview. He is an easy going mountain of a man, that has a big heart for his family and his bees. I had already surveyed his apiary in June and got to know him and his son well, and thought they would be a great story. He was also the first beekeeper to call me back when I sent out my mass email looking for volunteers in May, so I kind of assumed he would say "yes" :)
As a beekeeper myself, I have seen and heard of BC Honey Hives quite a bit. He has several apiaries around Northern Colorado. He also keeps hives at Colorado Youth Outdoors and offers his time to teach kids about bees and apiculture. BC is a former teacher and has never lost the passion to teach others about what he loves.
BC was a nickname given to Robert Bishop-Cotner while he was a young man serving his country. His sergeant got tired of calling him by his full name, so he trimmed it down to “BC.”
BC had previously volunteered for the National Honey Bee Pests and Disease Survey (NHBS), which has been offered at no cost to Colorado beekeepers since 2009.
BC understands the value of knowing your pest and disease load in your colonies and has volunteered his bees up for sampling for several years. He also volunteered for a longitudinal wax study for pesticides, which looks for traces of a long list of pesticides in the beehive’s wax.
He also willingly got up before the sun rose on my request so I could get the light that I wanted for pictures.
The National Honey Bee survey takes an epidemiological approach to honey bee health and looks for invasive species and diseases that could potentially implode the pollination industry.
In addition to volunteering for the National Honey Bee Survey, BC also donated two large quantities of honey to The American Honey Institute at Kansas State University.
They are establishing a robust database of authentic US honey samples that is critical for future regulatory efforts (e.g., the Honey Integrity Act) and for developing rapid, reliable testing protocols. Only a small fraction of imported honey is currently tested for authenticity by the federal government, and the industry is largely self-regulated.
I visited BC in mid-August, before the sun was up for the perfect pictures. As BC popped the first lid to his hive, the bees hummed good morning to him. A few heads with waggling antennae moved up to the top of the frames to see what was going on so early. I could see BC’s energy start charging up. A little smile here, a laugh there. He loves his bees.
BC begins inspecting each hive to make sure his bees are doing well and staying healthy. Moving on to the next hive he breaks apart what is called a "bridge comb” in between the lid and the tops of the frames.
The bees started moving to the freshly opened honey comb to clean up the mess. He commented about how light the color of the honey is. Usually the honey starts to turn more amber color as the season continues on. He pulled out a frame of solid capped honey and his smile grew from ear to ear.
“Now that’s what I like to see! HONEY!”
BC’s oldest child Rob arrived to help pull honey frames just as the sun was rising. Rob started working with his father full time this year in the apiary to take a break from the high stress job of being a professional chef. BC and Rob moved from hive to hive like a well oiled machine. They have a noticeable bond between them, few words needed to get the job done.
In 2011, BC started keeping bees after experiencing a challenging transitional period after his son left for college. BC needed something new to focus on, and as fate would have it, he saw a post on Facebook from a beekeeper named David Izaguirre (Izzy's Honey).
At that time David was the president of the Northern Colorado Beekeepers Association. He was inviting interested people out to see his beehives and learn about beekeeping.
BC spent one day each week for three weeks learning from David. He was mesmerized by him and how he cared for his bees.
“David is a soft spoken and honorable man, who knows a lot about bees. He would give you the shirt off of his back and he wouldn’t have to know you,” BC tells me. David has been a friend and mentor to BC ever since.
When I asked BC what a new beekeeper could do to enhance their success through their first year, he said “Find a mentor.”
There is a lot to learn in beekeeping and having someone who knows what they are looking at can give you a great head start in beekeeping. Rob echoes his dad’s statement, telling me that he has been a sponge trying to gather all of the droplets of knowledge that BC his dad and David are constantly sharing with him. He has a passion for the bees like his father does, and I am sure he will be well versed in all things apiculture in no time.
When he started beekeeping in the spring of 2011, BC began with only two 2 hives. This year they have 309 colonies of bees scattered around Northern Colorado in large apiaries.
This year, BC and Rob are aiming to build up to more than 600+ hives.
BC’s Honey Hives LLC runs “commercial beehives,” meaning there are 4 beehives on one pallet. The hive configuration has a solid bottom board, 2 deeps with 10 frames in each box, and a top migratory cover that is nailed shut for transportation. Each box is spray painted with his business information and loaded on to a semi trailer that can hold 408+ beehives. The semi will take them to California to start the pollination process in the beginning of 2026.
Did you know? Two million beehives are required annually to pollinate all of the almond orchards in California. Almond Pollination Math
Perseverance is a vital part of being a good beekeeper, and it is common to have a 30-50% hive loss annually.
BC told me there have been times when he thought about giving up beekeeping. He was ready to quit a few years ago after taking bees to California for pollination along with his friend and fellow commercial beekeeper David. Out of the 80 hives he took, 50 died.
“I looked at David and told him ‘I'm done!’” BC says.
The loss was too much. But his mentor David simply grinned at BC and told him, “ I have lost half of my bees 3 times, and came back from it. What are you complaining about? ” in a joking tone and a grin.
BC is a master of perseverance.
To join the National Honey Bee Survey 2026, please email Aja Bos, CDA's Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Program Manager.
More about BC
Who: Robert Bishop-Cotner of BC’s Honey LLC
What: Commercial Apiary Beekeepers with a focus on agritourism
Where: Windsor, CO
How long have you been a beekeeper: 11 years
How many hives do you currently have: 309
Favorite Flavor of Honey: Linden Tree
I asked BC how he stays up on his beekeeping knowledge. He told me “I am a big fan of Bob Binnie. I met him one time in person and he reminded me of David, humble and knowledgeable." Bob has been a commercial beekeeper since 1981, and has a YouTube channel with more than 75k subscribers.
A bit about your background: BC was born and raised in Colorado and taught high school for 23 years. He met his wife Sheri in 7th grade history class and started dating their Junior year. This September they will celebrate being married for 40 years. They have 2 kids together, Rob and Dahlia. They live close by and work with him in the apiary and honey house.
How do you stay calm around the bees? “Bees are THE calm, the Zen. When I am stressed, Sheri tells me to “go see my girls” and they calm me.” BC
What is one of your craziest beekeeping stories? “The smoker was still hot in the bed of the truck. In traveling, some things shifted causing embers to rattle loose and catch some cardboard in the truck on fire. We pulled over, I thought it was out, but it was not. We continued driving to the Windsor Fire Dept. on 7th St and they assisted in making sure it was out.” BC
What do you enjoy most about beekeeping? “Being able to work side-by-side with my family doing something we alI enjoy.” BC
What have you learned from the bees over your years? To be flexible and not expect the day to go as planned. Expect the unexpected.
How do you ensure the quality and purity of your honey?
We extract each apiary individually and use a refractometer to test the water % of our honey. We also have a certified commercial kitchen license that comes from the State of Colorado Health Dept.
What is your favorite tool to use: Smoker!
What do you use to keep your smoker going?
Bob Binnie taught me to roll paper and coffee sack burlap up into a roll and stuff it in the smoker and use a torch to light it effectively. "BC"
This interview was conducted and photographed mid August 2025 by Shelli Quattlebaum of Hops and Honey Colorado