Beekeeper Emily Mueller
As you drive up to Mueller Honey Bee’s home-based operation in New Franklin, be on the lookout for striped insects — there’s about 12 hives in the area and one in the tree right above where you’ll likely park.
You may know Emily Mueller from local headlines as the “bee whisperer” for rescuing honey beehives in public spaces like Summa Health System’s main hospital and for a maternity photo shoot where she had bees swarm on her pregnant belly. She runs a family beekeeping operation, in which her husband and children help her care for hives and spin honey. You can buy her honey, elderberry syrup or bee bread through her online store or at farmers markets. She gets local schoolkids on the bee bandwagon by teaching about bees with enclosed hives and honey sticks they can taste. “[I’m] using my positivity to show these children that honeybees are different. They’re not the bees to be afraid of,” Mueller says. We talk to her about surviving stings, having bees swarm her and taking her kids to work.
Why did you go into the bee-keeping and rescuing business?
EM: I wanted to stay at home with my children and still do my passion, which is honeybees. I’m saving the world. Saving bees is saving your food pollination sources. I’m also making an impact and changing our environment.
How do hive rescues work?
EM: [If] someone were to call the police station, say they have a big ball of bees hanging from a tree, they’ll call us. We remove the bees and take them home and then put them in a hive, allowing them to build up and produce honey and live how they’re supposed to. We also do cutouts, which is bees living in someone’s wall. We open it and cut them out. It prevents the bees from being killed off because they are endangered. We are losing them rapidly.
How many times have you been stung?
EM: The most at one time is about 75 times in about an eight-hour period. It was through a cutout. It got to the point that I almost ended up closing down. But that has only ever happened one time in the last six years. They kept stinging our hands because you’re pulling the colony out. They were defending their home. My husband probably got stung about 40 times in the hands. We questioned what we were doing at that point.
What did getting stung close to 75 times feel like?
EM: You get really mad at the bees because you’re covered in honey when you’re cutting bees out and you’re hot and you’re in one or two bee suits. I was very irritated. Being stung is just part of the job.
How do you manage family life with the bees?
EM: They go around with me when I do the bee stuff. It also allows me to show clients that honeybees aren’t dangerous. I’m making a statement about honeybees and how docile and safe they are.
How else are you helping to change the image of bees?
EM: Last year I did my maternity shoot with the bees on my stomach and that was kind of my, “Look at this people; honeybees are safe.”
What does it feel like being covered with bees?
EM: It’s an adrenaline rush. Bees have a lot of power to them — if something did go bad, which doesn’t typically happen — so it’s a thrill. I love the bees, so it just feels like me being normal.
Do you have any fun non-bee-related hobbies?
EM: We are probably going to start growing microgreens. Is that fun?
What else is important to you?
EM: My secondary hobby is being a health nut. I am very obsessed with proper diet and health and gut health. I am very anti dairy and gluten, although we cheat. We’ve changed our entire lifestyle and our health by being aware. We eat a lot of leafy fresh vegetables.
Are you drinking coffee or tea?
EM: Coffee with my coconut oil. I have a blood clotting issue, and the coconut oil helps lubricate the arteries and veins.
Do you think any of your kids will be beekeepers?
EM: We are currently redoing our second garage to have a commercial kitchen, so [my oldest] can make bee teas and honey lemonade to sell. Then our daughter is obsessed with bugs. It’s not going to be bees, but she does like bees. But our youngest, Westyn, always wants to put his bee suit on. He wants to hold the queen or hold a drone.