Beekeeper Finds Grandfather’s Long-Lost Hives Thriving in Quarry–and Turns Them into a Colony of Millions

September 11, 2024 journo

Beekeeper Ross Main and grandfather William – SWNS

A tad late for Grandparent’s Day, a man in Scotland recently found the hives tended by his grandfather that were presumed sold or lost for over 14 years.

Locating them in a quarry, he took up beekeeping in order to assume responsibility for his inheritance and his business now sells honey to farmers markets across Scotland.

Ross Main grew up with very close to his grandfather William, a beekeeper and gamekeeper, who regularly took him to check up on his bees.

William passed away from cancer in 2007, and Mr. Main assumed his hives had been sold. After the birth of his own son in 2015, Main was inspired to try and find them.

He traveled from his home in Fife in Scotland to the East Lothian quarry where his granddad kept his hives and was stunned to discover an original colony that had taken care of itself for years.

The hive was hundreds of meters down an overgrown track, dilapidated and falling apart.

“Seven years on, out of nostalgia, I went to the quarry and there was still a hive there,” said Main. “In that moment, I knew I wanted to look after the hive and rehome the bees, and I started learning from there.”

Main then began to teach himself beekeeping using videos on YouTube, collecting the bees from his grandfather’s original hive, donning a beekeeping suit, and transferring the colony to their new home.

He then grew them into a population of five million bees split into around 100 colonies all descended from William’s remnant.

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Ross’ business Main’s Apiaries now sells honey to farm shops from three harvests a year.

Beekeeper Ross Main in front of his hives – SWNS

“Being around the bees could be quite scary because there were big swarms and I was quite young, but it really captured my imagination,” Main remembers. “I started with one hive, and they naturally multiply every year. Over the years, they’ve gradually built up and we’ve split them into new hives.”

As he gradually learned the trade, Ross began expanding his colonies, gifting the honey made to friends and family, and eagerly sharing his experience with anyone interested.

In 2021, he took the next step and started his business, Main’s Apiaries.

In addition to selling honey, Ross offers beekeeping experiences to prospective hobbyists, and even sells colonies to businesses interested in keeping honeybees on site, maintaining the hives himself weekly.

“We also offer corporate companies the opportunity to have hives on their land. They own the hives and the bees, and we do the maintenance throughout the year,” said Main, adding it’s important to diversify to maintain a viable business. “They support the local biodiversity within the area, and it promotes a healthy ecosystem.”

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“The idea of showing other people the bees came from the first time my granddad took me to see the bees. He opened the hives, and it was quite a magical thing to be around all these swarms of bees,” he said.

“It was an experience I never forgot, and I wanted to offer it to other people.”

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