Beekeeping with Alysia Mazzella

Everyone has a subject they return to: a craft, a pastime, a passion. In this series, we step aside and let others share theirs, in their own words.

Alysia Mazzella is a candlemaker in upstate New York. Beginning with a dipped taper in 2017, her beeswax candles honor light as sacred and everyday. She co-founded Backland New York, an apiary and garden shaped by the rhythms of bees and land.

I became a beekeeper after becoming a beeswax candlemaker. I dipped my first candles and immersed myself in the world of the honey bee. Historically, the practice of beekeeping began as honey hunting. Humans would locate a foraging bee and follow their flight path back to the nest. Keeping bees in manmade cavities likely occurred on accident, after a swarm occupied an upside down basket or a box. It is believed that folks learned to mimic this accident, and over time, wild swarms became managed hives.

Last summer, I was given a bee tree: a tree trunk filled with a wild honey bee nest. A local logger discovered the bees only after cutting down the tree. We moved the log to our educational apiary. The bees absconded about a month later, likely due to the shock of the relocation process. I was sad that they chose to leave. But there was a new opportunity. To dissect the tree. To study the tree. To mimic this natural design for the managed hives on the land.

Rewilded honey bees live just fine in healthy forests. They feed themselves, protect themselves, mate by themselves, build immunity by themselves. So what is my role as a hobbyist beekeeper? I already source beeswax from local apiaries. My role comes from a different perspective: one that seeks to balance the scales. The honey bee creates the bounty that supports my livelihood. What can I give in return?

From a biomimicry perspective: I can blend into the natural world of the honey bee and support their wellness from here. I show up as a camouflaged witness. I move with the energy that is already flowing. Nature is self-sustaining. The interconnectedness of nature is deep, inconceivable. I create optimal hollows based on their known preferences and swarms choose to move in. From here, the brilliant honey bee does what is needed to survive. The best gift I can offer is the longevity provided by an optimal home. From here, my role as a biomimicry beekeeper is less keeping. More letting.

What about biomimicry inspires you?

It is important to educate on regenerative stewardship, specifically as an alternative to modern beekeeper practices.

What tradition makes you feel at home?

Candles, of course, make me feel at home. Taper candles are my favorite. Setting the table, gathering around, lighting a candle creates a bubble that holds the moment.