Ryan Pendley enjoys beekeeping.

The Butler County man likes it so much that he’s the president of the Green River Swarm Catchers, which has existed for more than 10 years.

“It’s a mixed bunch of men and women out of Butler County of all ages and all types of income,” he said. “We’ve had lawyers, dentists and accountants. There are a wide variety of people.”

The club meets at 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month from January to October, skipping November and December because of the holidays, at the Butler County Extension Office at 113 E. G.L. Smith St., Pendley said.

“We have reports on whatever the bees are doing and what to do to get ready for winter,” he said. “We have several experienced beekeepers, some of them for over 30 years. We usually pick their brains on what to do at every meeting.”

Potential beekeepers could also learn from workshops like the one the extension office will have from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 14 through mid-April. The classes will not be the same days of the week. All the sessions will be in Butler County. Registration costs $50 and ends Nov. 7. For more information, call the Butler County Extension Office at 270-526-3767 or the Warren County Extension Office at 270-842-1681.

Greg Drake, Butler County agriculture extension agent, will teach the class.

“When someone is finished with the workshop, they will be ready to own and manage their own honey bee hives. A lot of these classes are going to be hands-on activities,” he said. “They get to try on equipment and build the beekeeping hives and honeycombs.”

The hands-on aspect makes the class popular, Drake said.

“It’s not just sitting in a classroom,” he said. “The majority of the students who have participated in this are still keeping bees either as a hobby or as part of their farm enterprise. All the students who have ever started the program always finish it because they enjoy the program.”

The workshop will have no more than 20 people and no less than 12. If less than 12 people sign up, the class will be canceled, Drake said.

“We only offer it every other year because there’s not a lot of people who want to start keeping bees,” he said. “If we do it every other year, we can get them.”

Just as the workshop has field days, so do the Green River Swarm Catchers, Pendley said.

“Once a year we try to have a field day at somebody’s farm and look at their operation,” he said. “Sometimes it’s an experienced person who shows us what we should be doing and sometimes it’s a new beekeeper who wants us to show him what he should be doing.”

Pendley was growing a big garden and was looking for something to add to his farm to make a little extra money, so he decided to get honey bees to sell honey.

“I started my first year with five hives,” he said. “Some years we do good and some years we have nothing. We generally try to sell if we have extra.”

Starting a bee hive is not an exact science, Pendley said.

“You can ask 100 beekeepers the same question and you’d get 100 different answers,” he said.

The weather plays a big part as far as cold and rain,” Pendley said.

“Sometimes when you think it’s good for some things it may not be as good for bees,” he said.

The main thing Pendley does is have several hives and not feed his bees.

“I have several in hopes that if another one doesn’t do well another one will make up for it,” he said. “I try not to feed. You can feed different things to produce honey. You can plant things to help them produce more honey.”

If you decide to keep a hive, it’s best to go through a local club or the extension office, Pendley said.

“You can read and talk to people and try to do everything you want them to do, but if they decide to do something different they’re going to do it,” he said. “There’s several books and videos, and there’s YouTube and online forums. It’s always good to have somebody close so they can see what they’re doing.”

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.