As the invasive spotted lanternfly has spread across Virginia in recent years, headlines have mostly focused on the potential negative impacts the species could have on local environments. However, one area beekeeper’s experience with the sap-sucking insect tells a different story.
Ryan Williamson has been around bees and beekeeping for most of his life, and has been a beekeeper himself since 2008. He, along with his wife, Laurel, own and operate Sourwood Farm in Earlysville, where one of their primary products is honey.
According to Williamson, it is typical in this area of Virginia for the largest yields of honey to come in late spring when the nectar-producing trees and flowers that local honey bees feed on are in bloom. Then, as summertime progresses and temperatures rise, honey yields in the area decrease as those blooms go away and the nectar dries up…