Melanie Fessides, of Lancaster Township, tends to one of her beehives which she uses to produce award-winning honey. Submitted photo

A Lancaster Township beekeeper saw her honey place in four categories at the Pennsylvania Farm Show this week, including first place wins in two categories.

Melanie Fessides, of Lancaster Township, has been a beekeeper for about eight years, and has been entering the honey series at the state farm show for the past four years. This year, she took home first place in the Honey Specialty Pack and Light Amber Extracted Honey categories; placed second in Dark Amber Extracted Honey; and fifth in Creamed Honey.

Over the years, Fessides has been able to improve her honey, and said the judges at the state farm show rate the honey based on a few criteria.

“Part of what they look for is there any air bubbles, if your jars are filled consistently,” Fessides said. “The smells have something to do with it too; you have to make sure moisture content is correct when you harvest it.”

Fessides said the flavor and color of the honey has everything to do with the bees and the time of year. Honey produced in the spring looks and tastes different from honey produced in the summer and fall.

“Typically the honey in the spring is more floral tasting, it's lighter in appearance,” Fessides said. “By the time you hit the fall, that honey is usually a lot darker and it tastes different as well.”

What started as a hobby in making honey has become a full-time job for Fessides, who tends to her beehives as much as she needs to maintain their health. She said that although the work is time-consuming, it is usually kept interesting by the variables a beekeeper must keep up with.

“There's always stuff to learn and always new pests or problems to learn about with the bees or pesticides,” Fessides said. “Just make sure you work with the bees. There's a lot that can go wrong.”