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Schluger started studying the world of bees around a decade ago and now maintains four different hives.
"They're very interesting," he told Daily Voice. "The way the whole colony dymanic works, like the queen at the center and what all the drones do. ... Plus as a hobby it's very calming because you have to be very smooth and calm."
Much of the work for keeping bees involves making sure no problems arise, since they otherwise run themselves. Schluger said he watches for mites and feeds them sugar sometimes.
"It's more [work] than a cat but less than a dog," he said.
Up to 60,000 bees can live in a hive. They fly around on a warm day but Schluger said he doesn't even use gloves when handling them.
The prize comes when he's able to harvest some honey in its purest form.
"Honey has one ingredient, honey," he said. "I know what's in my honey and it's raw, right from the hive into the bottle."
Aside from his home, Schlugar maintains a hive at Larkin House community center. Local Girl Scouts sometimes visit it to learn about the world of bees, he said.
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