Chris Kutyla is a man who is as devoted to his honeybees as some people are to their domestic pets.
What began as a pandemic hobby in 2020, beekeeping quickly became a passion and Kutyla began creating a habitat in which bees thrive.
Kutyla and wife, Maria, reside on the Eastern Shore, in a small oceanside cluster of waterfront homes, with spectacular sunrises over Metompkin Bay and the barrier island of the same name.
Across the years, the couple purchased adjacent lots, now totaling around 5 acres.
Early on, Kutyla planted an enclosed vegetable garden surrounded by roses and other perennials near his hives, forming an aesthetically pleasing area close to his residence. Small pastures of cover crops create colorful, sweet-smelling blankets on the ground, attractive to bees and other pollinators.
It was fortuitous that Kutyla had bee-friendly neighbors in Lynn and Sands Gayle, a father-son farming duo who use fertilizers and pesticides that don’t harm his bees.
Currently, Kutyla has five large hives, each containing around 50,000 bees. He has observed and learned their habits, their likes and dislikes, tweaking his plantings to suit them.
Bees emerge hungry after a winter of eating what honey they stored the previous fall. As trees and plants first bloom in the spring, bees find plenty of food.
“It’s like a smorgasbord," he said, "there are so many options."
However, he wanted to stretch the seasons and started cultivating early and late-blooming plants to extend pollen availability, such as spring-blooming prairie clover and muscari, also called grape hyacinth, a tiny perennial in the asparagus family.
Kutyla said bees appear erratic and frazzled before hibernation when food options dwindle. His research into late bloomers keeps his bees happy as long as possible, before cold weather drives them into their hives.
His goal is to create an optimal habitat not just for insects and birds, but also for deer, foxes and squirrels.
“It’s important for me to choose plants with multiple benefits for them to enjoy,” he said. “But, I also want to find the best place for them to grow.”
He recently sowed a crop of turnips with blossoms already loved by his bees, with hopes the deer will eat the bulbs in the fall and winter. He also chose a spot sheltered by pines that provide a windbreak, allowing his bees to safely harvest pollen on brisk days.
Kutyla is also enthusiastic about sainfoin, a drought-resistant, perennial legume grain producing deep roots that help stabilize the soil. As a legume, it also fixes nitrogen back into the soil. Its non-bloating characteristics make it an excellent food source for deer. For bees, the flowers contain high-quality pollen, which produces a tasty honey.
One of Kutyla’s favorite additions to the habitat is a spring-fed pond. Kutyla has traveled worldwide to photograph birds and other wildlife, but enjoys the simplicity of watching swallows swoop over his pond. It is also frequented by large raptors such as great horned owls and juvenile bald eagles.
With plans to expand his vision, he sought the expertise of Robert “Robbie” Lewis, a forester with the Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF). Lewis consulted on tree and shrub choices that would maximize what was already there, but also provide more food and shelter options.
Kutyla traveled to a DOF tree farm and nursery in Augusta County to purchase plants he and Lewis selected. Another DOF farm is located closer to Hampton Roads, in Sussex County.
These nurseries stock more than 40 bare-root species, suited to soils and climates in Virginia. Foresters advise on plants for various purposes, including pulpwood crops, Christmas tree farms, riparian buffers, and urban forest settings.
Lewis said it’s easy for homeowners to create wildlife habitats on a smaller scale.
“Choosing trees or shrubs of a size compatible with the property’s residence is a good place to begin,” he said. “You don’t want to plant a huge tree up against a house, which could cause foundation issues."
It’s also important to select native or non-invasive plants, he said.
Kutyla recently assembled a group of 12 friends, along with Lewis, and planted 700 tree saplings and shrubs.
He hopes the trees he planted for their nuts and fruit, along with evergreens for year-round shelter, will support pollinators and wildlife long after he’s gone.
“In about 20 years, when I come to the end of my days, this place will be humming — literally,” he said. “I want to leave it better than I found it.”
Visit the Department of Forestry’s website for more information at dof.virginia.gov.