11/20/11

Bee Meeting recap


We had a great turnout at today's meeting of the Backwards Beekeepers—cold & blustery weather is no match for bee fever!

Kirk answered lots of questions from newbees, then talked about top bar beekeeping; also, Steve from BuBees in Malibu showed off some of his beautiful top bar hives.

A top bar hive from BuBees.


There's no meeting in December, so we'll see you all again in the New Year!

(By the way, keep watching the blog for your opportunity to order the Backwards Beekeepers hoodie!)

11/16/11

Roberta takes the show on the road.


LA Backwards Beekeeper Robera writes:
A few weeks ago I went to an insect fair in Culver City. I wanted to set up an observation hive for the event, because there were going to be hundreds of children and I knew that they would be attracted to the busy bees. Unfortunately this was the same weekend as another event so the club's observation hive was already taken.

I mentioned this to Richard in Long Beach and he said, "Let me see what I can do." In an hour he sent me a picture of what he whipped up and it was pretty incredible. Lots of ventilation and the viewing area allowed a view of the entire frame. I was amazed. I came over and we took a frame of bees and I was set.

Richard's observation hive was a big hit and the kids made a bee line for the hive when they saw the bees in action. I would have had a pretty boring display otherwise.





Pretty soon I took the observation hive to an event at the Whittier public library where LA Metro was hosting a talk. LA Metro sponsored a young new artist, Jane Gillespie Pryor, who created a bee-inspired work displayed in trains and buses earlier this year (read more about the event here).

In the end Richard generously offered the observation hive to me and I love it. I owe him enormously for it. This time of year there aren't many rescues so it'’s all about generating interest in bees and spreading knowledge.

—roberta