Before it became their all-consuming hobby, Tom and Melissa Sostman approached beekeeping with restraint. Inspired by YouTube videos, Melissa Sostman started small.
“I'm happy with three hives in our backyard — a nice little hobby,” she remembers thinking at the time. “And Tom's like: ‘Nope, I like it. We're doing more.’”
With her husband’s encouragement, what began with Melissa Sostman’s curiosity has expanded considerably. The couple founded VIA Honeybees and now effectively runs a small empire of insects.
“We took some classes over the course of a year … and that just kind of blew up on us,” Melissa Sostman said. “Because at the end of that first year, we had eight hives. And now, eight years later, in the middle of summer we had like 175.”
Meanwhile, Tom Sostman has fully embraced the craft — even when it involves putting his bare hand into a swarming hive of honeybees.
“Honeybee colonies — they all have a little bit different personality to them, and not one is each the same,” he said, explaining that not all hives are aggressive. “The timing of the year can dictate that too. When there is plenty of ‘groceries’ coming into the hive — nectar and pollen — they're busy, and they're less concerned about you.”
On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air, Tom and Melissa Sostman discussed their journey into beekeeping and shared insights into bee behavior. They also previewed the Feb. 8 Eastern Missouri Beekeeping Workshop & Honey Show.
Related Event:
What: Eastern Missouri Beekeeping Workshop & Honey Show.
When: Feb. 8
Where: Holiday Inn Sunset Hills (10709 Watson Road, Sunset Hills, MO 63127)
To hear the full conversation about beekeeping, honey-making and honey-judging, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
