End of an era: Manitoba couple selling mobile apiary

There are four school buses on the Kostrabas’ property near Beausejour, Man. One, parked next to the house, stores a winter’s worth of firewood. Two more, down a narrow road leading further into the acreage, are filled to the ceiling with barrels, boxes and frames, with more piled in heaps on the ground nearby.

The fourth bus is for sale. Mike Kostraba, 77, pulls open the bus’s squeaky back door and climbs in, followed by his wife, Iryna, and their daughter, Iryna Ayano. They’ve cleaned it out, ready to pass on to a new beekeeper. Mike remembers when he first had the idea to transform a school bus into a travelling apiary.

He speaks in Ukrainian, translated by Ayano. “When we came here, we saw that it would be good to have bees in the bus, especially because of the bears,” he said. Story continues below advertisement “We saw there was a big parking lot full of school buses [near Steinbach], so we just stopped by and said, ‘Can you sell to us?'” That was 12 years ago.

Despite his family’s insistence that he was “too old” at 65 to build it, Mike got to work. He ripped out the seats and drilled through the walls. Each hole leads to a hand built box on the inside of the bus — beehives, with frames to hold precious honeycomb. The bus is insulated so the bees can survive in their homes over the winter, and up to three more boxes can be piled atop each of the 35 hives as they grow.

View image in full screen The Kostrabas are selling the last of their three beekeeping busses. The lifelong beekeepers converted the school bus into a mobile apiary that held 35 hives. Iris Dyck/ Global News “There is a huge potential here with beekeeping, because of the abundance of crops and honey producing things,” Mike said.

Story continues below advertisement He would know. He and Iryna were professional beekeepers in Ukraine until they left for Canada in 2005. Get the latest National news. Sent to your email, every day. The couple met when Iryna was visiting some family in Mike’s village near the Carpathian Mountains.

Soon after they got married, Mike was buzzing with excitement for a new hobby. “I was very young, and I just loved bees,” he said. “My wife did not. And I kept persuading her, ‘Let’s buy some bees, let’s start!'” “At first I was afraid of bees,” said Iryna, translated from Ukrainian by Ayano.

The couple bought seven hives, but shortly after, Mike’s job forced him to be away from home for days at a time. “I didn’t want to leave the bees without care and let them die,” Iryna said. “I started studying them and learning about them. I just fell in love.” View image in full screen Mike and Iryna Kostraba were beekeepers in Ukraine before moving to Canada in 2005.

They built mobile beehives and sold honey, propolis, royal jelly and other bee products. Courtesy Iryna and Mike Kostraba Iryna quickly grew their hobby into a business, breeding queen bees and collecting honey, propolis and royal jelly to sell. And there was no rest for Mike when he was back in town.

Story continues below advertisement “I would just tell him, ‘This is how many hives I need. This is how many boxes you have to make,'” Iryna said. The couple had four daughters, all of whom helped with the family business. They built hives on a trailer, driving their bees to flowering fields in the region.

But for the Kostrabas, the bees are more than just a source of income. “Bees are so organized, and just to observe that complexity of their lives, and of their order… that’s what I like about it.” Mike said. He’s even given Iryna a nickname in line with their occupation. “Queen,” he says.

They both smile. However, their love of bees failed to rub off on one of their daughters. “I’m afraid of being stung by bees,” laughed Ayano. “I was stung many times as a child. So maybe that’s why.” View image in full screen Iryna Ayano (right) shows where bees would enter the mobile beehive her parents Mike (left) and Iryna (not pictured) built roughly 12 years ago.

Iris Dyck/ Global News The couple moved to Winnipeg in 2005. Mike worked in construction, saving everything he could. After eight years, they bought their rural property with one of their three adult daughters who had also immigrated to Canada. Story continues below advertisement “We wanted to be away a little bit, not to be bothering anyone, to be doing the beekeeping business,” said Mike.

He bought the bus shortly after. Then he bought converted another. And another. Then they bought more to transport and store their equipment. They drove the buses around the area, much like they had in Ukraine, stopping so their bees had a fresh supply of pollen. The Kostrabas bought processing equipment and sold their honey to Bee Maid and to private customers.

After 10 years of beekeeping in Manitoba, they were forced to sell their bees after experiencing some health issues. It’s something that brings tears to their eyes. “Two years ago, we still had bees,” Mike said. “My other daughter came and wanted to buy [the bees] from us. I felt so connected, I didn’t want to let them go because there is just such a connection.” Iryna agrees.

View image in full screen Iryna (left) and Mike Kostraba (right) picked up beekeeping again in Canada at 65. Now both 77, they’re retiring, but say they feel “connected” to bees. Iris Dyck/ Global News “All of our lives, we work with bees,” she said. Story continues below advertisement Ayano has helped her parents list the last beekeeping bus and equipment on Facebook Marketplace.

Though they’ve still got enough honey from their last season for the foreseeable future, parting with what’s left of their lifelong passion is bittersweet. “I don’t really want to sell all this we have here, but it’s time,” said Mike. “Time came that we have to part with it.” Related News Manitoba beekeepers buzzing after new funding 5M bees fall off truck in Burlington, Ont.

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