LA Backwards Beekeeper Yvonne writes:
A bunch of my friend’s kids have been interested in my beekeeping. A couple Saturdays ago we suited a bunch of them up to inspect a hive. Unfortunately, the hive had just absconded but they had a great time suiting up and watching bees go in and out due to the smell of the honeycomb.
The following week, I replaced the absconded bees with the fuse box bees and James, 7, did a hive inspection with me.
—Yvonne
LA Backwards Beekeeper Laura writes:
Susan R. and I did the Lummis Home Event in Los Angeles on Feb. 4 and represented the Backwards Beekeepers.
Held at the former home of Charles Fletcher Lummis, this outdoor event featured workshops that included food crafting with master preservers, home remedies and botanicals, greywater systems, home brewing, urban livestock keeping, square foot gardening, fruit tree care and pruning, rainwater harvesting, small plant propogation, botany 101 for kids, and of course, backyard beekeeping.
Susan explains how a hive is set up.
There were also arts and crafts tables and more than 30 informational booths. The observation hive was particularly popular with kids and adults alike.
—Laura
LA Backwards Beekeeper Yvonne writes:
Liz lives in Culver City and was contacted by her neighbor who saw a swarm land and move into Liz’s fuse box. The neighbor was in complete awe and both women insisted the bees be relocated and not killed! I went over to collect the swarm.
Liz’s 19-month old daughter, Riley, was fascinated by the entire experience and watched from behind a glass door for the beginning. By the end though, realizing that the bees were not aggressive at all, everyone came outside to watch more closely. (Incidentally, Liz is now considering getting a bee hive of her own).
I got the bees safely removed and placed them in a box for transport to Venice, where they seem to enjoy their new digs!
LA Backwards Beekeeper Yvonne writes:
Linda-Marie and Sarah approached me about learning how to keep bees. Both of them have had a life-long desire to be beekeepers.
They came over and got suited up and had a blast going through the hive. Once we were finished, Linda-Marie got permission from her landlord to install a beehive in the yard! We are now in the process of getting everything ready for their bees!
California Buckwheat, a bee favorite.
Want to keep your bees happy while improving your yard by planting drought-tolerant California natives?
Check out:
Planting For Pollinators
California Native plants for Beekeepers
Saturday, March 3, 10AM at the Theodore Payne Foundation
Lisa Novick, Educational Director for the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, will be giving a two-hour presentation tailored to the needs of local beekeepers. She'll discuss plants suited to differing microclimates and soil conditions, how to plant to maintain bee-forage bloom year-round, and will give a tour of the nursery to see examples of bee-friendly plants, both potted and full-grown on the site.
And of course you can purchase plants/seeds afterward!
—We'll need a donation to TPF of around 3 or 4 dollars, depending on the number of attendees.
—Bring a hat, water, and a snack if you like.
—The Foundation asks you to not wear open-toed shoes.
—Since parking in the nursery is limited, we need to park along the street and walk in via the driveway…carpool if at all possible!
RSVP to markmotion(at)yahoo(dot)com to attend.
Theodore Payne Foundation
10459 Tuxford, Sun Valley
Google Map
Lost? Call Mark at (818) 321-7749.
Uri and Laura.
I just completed my first independent bee rescue on Monday. I should start by saying that I attended my first Backwards Beekeepers meeting about a year ago and have been keeping bees for almost a year now, and helped Roberta with a bee rescue in Long Beach last summer. So, it's been a lot of learning but I finally felt ready to do it on my own.
This particular colony had taken up residence under a Tuff Shed in Laura’s Costa Mesa backyard.
Laura’s yard was a wonderful place to work. She is a teacher at a Waldorf school and the yard reflected that. There was an array of fruit trees, an organic garden, and a tree house (Laura said her fruit production had increased dramatically since the bees took up residence). Also, she makes hand-crafted beeswax candles and she gave me one in appreciation for rescuing her bees! Thank you Laura.
The bees had to be removed because one of Laura’s sons got stung and found out he was very allergic. I was happy that she decided to have her bees rescued instead of destroyed.
The bees had dug an entrance through the dirt under the metal base of the shed. The only way to relocate them was to cut out part of the floor inside the shed and remove the bees from there.
I smoked the bees a bit while preparing my equipment. I then sawed a rectangle through the 1-inch wood flooring and removed that panel which had much comb (and bees!) hanging from it. They were quite a friendly colony and didn’t give any problems whatsoever.
LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:
I met Terry and Lee at the last Backwards Beekeepers meeting at the Atwater Connection. I found out that they live in Long Beach (as do I) and had a feral hive in their shed that needed rescuing. They had been contemplating this for a while, so when I said that I could come out with [fellow Backwards Beekeeper] Barbara that weekend they got ready right away. They bought their hive equipment, smoker and some gloves the next day. Lee made their outfits and with a few adjustments were bee-tight.
I knew right away which was the right house because they were the only house with flowers and fruit trees everywhere while everyone else had just lawn. Lee had fresh-squeezed juice for us, to make sure we all got off to a good start.
We moved the bees without much mess and excitement to their deep box and left them in the same area. I had spent alot of time explaining how upset bees can be when doing a cutout, yet none of them even tried to sting us. In a week or so we'll move them up to the roof at nighttime when they are all in the hive.
Success! Barbara, Lee and Terry
The second box has some honey-filled comb for the bees to redistribute and we'll take that off before moving them. We also positioned a ratchet strap so that there will be less hassle on the night of the big move to the roof. They had a fair amount of nectar collected and the comb looked beautiful. Lee and I spoke the next day and she said by nighttime all of the bees were in the box and seemed to be very content with their new location by the next morning.
Lee wouldn't let us leave without some fresh fruit smoothies to go which were super yummy. They are both so excited and can't wait to show other people how it's done. I'm very happy for their bees because they are going to have a great home.
—roberta
LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:
Steven (a Torrance Backwards Beekeeper) and I meet with the 4-H Bee Club once a month and we talk about bees, beekeeping and honey.
Last month we did our first inspection of the year. We've also started shooting videos, so that the 4-H members can practice teaching other people about bees by explaining what they've learned.
4-H isn't just about animal husbandry and farming; it also focuses on public speaking to build confidence and improve young people's ability to advocate within the community.
I'm very impressed with these young ladies. It's also interesting to hear their perspective on what we discuss. Wait till you hear what they have to say about bees!
—roberta
LA Backwards Beekeeper Andrew writes:
I brought these bees to Reed's place in Mt. Washington in the late Summer of last year from Santa Monica. Reed had a custom platform built on a grade in his yard to accommodate the hive.
Essentially, these bees came from two nucs. Both had been struggling for some time so they were combined into one hive.
Reed, a neighbor over here in Mt Washington, was eager to have bees in his yard so a mutual friend made the introduction.
I pretty much left the bess to do their thing over the past 6 months. Reed called me recently to say that there was an immense amount of activity during the day of recent and the bees seemed to be getting slightly aggressive when he got too close to the hive. I knew it was time to take a look inside the hive.
Super Bowl Sunday seemed like a perfect afternoon. When I opened the hive it was absolutely brimming with bees! Almost every frame was completely filled with stores or brood.
I added a shallow super and within minutes they were already migrating up there. They must have felt cramped down below. I will be adding another shallow super in the next couple of weeks.
Will keep you posted on progress...
—Andrew
