Photos: Two Generations of Beekeepers

Dick Marron captured his first swarm when he was 14 years old. He's now nearly 77. He left the farm (and the bees) when he was 17, but he decided to come back to his bees about 10 years ago and now has about 20 colonies throughout Connecticut. He's teaching his 12-year-old grandson about beekeeping.

Here he's holding a "smoker." "A little smoke makes the bees easier to handle," Dick said.

Dick Marron and his grandson Ryan.

Dick and Ryan checking for colony strength –– presence of eggs or young larva shows that the queen and the hive are healthy.

On the left a "frame" of bees from the center of the colony. (Each stack of boxes is a hive or a colony). On the right Dick shows how gentle the bees can be.

The smoker "hasn't changed much in a hundred years. It masks the alarm pheromone that bees emit to mobilize a defense," said Dick.

Dick and Ryan opening a colony.

Dick holding an unhappy bee.