Mica Marder is a character in Springs. He’s an artist, he’s a landscaping expert of Marders landscaping local fame, he’s a naturalist, and he’s also a beekeeper. If you follow Mica on his Instagram he is generally doing one of the following things; fishing, cooking over an open fire, doing his artwork, hanging out with his two sons in nature, or doing some beekeeping. With the Covid epidemic affecting us all, many people are looking to alternative ways to boost their immune system and one of those ways is to get their hands on some local honey. I decided to reach out to Mica to find out what makes honeybees so special.
“My whole thing with honeybees is that basically they are a European hog. It’s the European honeybee that is being used to pollinate in the United States for a variety of agricultural industries and they are a big part of the agricultural process. But people forget that the honeybee is an invasive species and didn’t come here naturally. There are thousands of other pollinating bee species that are very important that are also being threatened, the honeybee is sort of the face of bees because it is so important in the agricultural process and because it is so important I do not feel there is any threat of extinction because they are monitored and cared for in so many ways. Other insects however are dying at an alarming rate. So it really shouldn’t be ‘save the honey bees’ it should be ‘save all the insects that are beneficial.’”
Mica went on to explain to me that he feels many of the agricultural chemicals are what’s causing a radical decline in bee and insect populations. “It’s like, it takes literally 1 gallon of water to create one almond, and then we are spraying the fields with chemicals to kill off all of the insects, and then we are bringing in bees literally on trucks to pollinate the fields, it just kind of makes you think.”
Mica got into beekeeping through his wife who was into it, and then he suggested to her that they get more hives and she agreed to it as long as he took care of the bees. In true comedic fashion, it got a little out of control. “Before I knew it, I was driving around the Hamptons like a madman trying to take care of all these bees,” Mica laughs.
He also gets hired by homeowners to remove bees from their houses if they have an infestation. Many times the homeowners are so conscientious of the value of honeybees that they do not want them exterminated.
After talking with Mica, you really come to realize that honey is this amazing substance. It has many health properties aside from it being deliciously sweet, including immune-boosting, antimicrobial, anti-allergy, and probiotic powerhouse. All from bees!
Mica takes the honey that his bees produce and gives it away to friends and family and sells it in small batches to others, but in the end, it’s a hobby. “It’s a hobby, a hobby that got out of control, but in a good way of course.”
