Dorothy grabs two swarms

LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:

Kathy called us from Brentwood to let us know that there were two swarms in a sidewalk lemon tree. This was my 5th call of the day to try and find some bees. All the others had left so I wanted to get these before they flew off. Dorothy wanted the bees and came down from Topanga to get them. Kathy posed with one of her neighbors, Ellie, who was out walking her dog Oliver.

Dorothy had already been on a swarm rescue where she scooped out a small swarm from a compost bin with Maurice. That one was a softball-sized swarm, but with a wonderful temperament. But she wanted to start up a second hive, always a good idea.

The smaller swarm was the size of a football and lower in the tree so we did that one first. We cut the branch and then Dorothy put it into a box. Super easy!

Then the we looked at the bigger swarm (probably two footballs) which was in an awkward position. Hmmm....Dorothy took parts of the swarm off of the mass of bees and they dropped into the box with a plop. But with all the little branches we had to shake them into the box. Dorothy was holding the box and she got a good layer of bees on her suit but she stayed sting-free.

The bees were packed up and ready to go home to Topanga. Lucky bees.

—roberta

4-H club learns about honey harvesting

LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:

This weekend the Palos Verdes 4H group, their leader Dee, Backwards Beekeeper Steve and I met up to learn how to do crush-and-strain honey extraction. Before we got started the group discussed their fair project which will include an observation hive set-up and a display of beekeeping equipment.

It was rainy but I took a quick peek in Dee's hive and took out some uncapped nectar cells to practice with. We passed it around and everyone took a close look at the glistening nectar. It wasn't capped yet so not ready for honey extraction but we planned on eating it right away.

Moving a hive the easy way

Rob getting suited up.

Kirk writes:

If you take your time to move your hive, have a helper (or two), and go late in the day, that makes it pretty easy.

Rob and Rick have the entrance screen on and some of the 1x4's.

We put a piece of window screen in the entrance, screwed four pieces of 1x4 on each side of the hive. Then we screwed the top and bottom boards on.

Rolling to the truck.

I have a hand truck with 1x4 screwed on the tongue so the hive is supported. I have rope attached to the hand truck also to secure the boxes. Wheel it to the truck. Pick up the whole thing, put it in the truck. Transport.

In the truck.

Now if it were summer, we would have put a screened top on also.

—kirkobeeo

Your Bee Rescue Hotline at work: Pico-Robertson

LA Backwards Beekeeper Ruth writes:

On Friday I answered a call on the Bee Rescue Hotline to pick up a swarm near my house in Mid-City LA. Newbee Rob met me there to pick up the bees, and Ceebs took the pictures and offered words of wisdom.

The swarm was barely visible - the homeowner had to point it out to me.

From close up it was easier to see (it's on the right in the photo above).

While I put the nuc box together, and put some honey comb in it, Anne, the caller, watched and her girls danced around.

It turned out to be a bigger swarm than it looked. They just kept falling into that nuc.

Rescuing a hive using masonry skills

LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:

Every once and awhile I check Craiglist for bees. Recently I found one listed by Georgiy in Bellflower. He said that he would like to keep them but felt like he didn't have enough time. Warren, another Backwards Beekeeper, had a mentee in Bellflower, making this a perfect opportunity. So we went to cut out the hive which had set-up in a post of a fence.

At first I looked at the cement-covered post and wasn't sure what I was going to do. I also thought, "Why do I do this? It's crazy!" I took a hammer and hit it but nothing happened. Luckily, Georgiy had a diamond cutting blade on his handsaw. The bees didn't like the hammering and sawing and were very defensive but then they settled down.

We exposed the hive and saw that the combs were long and beautiful. Here is a video of what it looked like:

Max stars in a Kashi commercial

LA Backwards Beekeeper Max recently spent a day showing off her beekeeping skills in a Kashi commercial. From her blog:

Before the filming started, I met with the commercial beekeepers who had dropped off 10 frames of bees that had been split between two separate hives, so I could meet my buzzy co-stars in advance. Once they left, it was going to be up to me to wrangle the bugs. One of the beekeepers asked how I was treating for Varroa mites. When I told him that I don’t deal with mites, because I use small-cell feral bees that are naturally disease resistant, he looked at me gravely and said in his best ooga booga voice, “Oh, you’re using AFRICANIZED BEES.” Like I should be afraid. “Yeah, they’re so dangerous,” I said, without bothering to mention that my meanest hive are not as spazzy as the allegedly gentle bees he’d brought for the shoot.

The first shot of the day took place in the middle of a group of beehives that had been meticulously positioned by the art department in the center of a peach orchard in Ojai. The trees hadn’t flowered yet, but the wild mustard was in full bloom. It was gorgeous.

I’m A Beekeeper, And I Play One On T.V. (myromanapartment.com)

Roberta rescues a swarm and makes a family of beekeepers

LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:

We got a Bee Rescue Hotline call from Lisa and her parents with a swarm in their kumquat tree. Three days ago they noticed a swarm in their trash can. When the bees first swarmed to the trash can, the family moved it to the street but the bees were determined to make Lisa's house their home.

Lisa saw the bees in the process of swarming and she described it as pretty impressive. She called the city and was referred to an exterminator. When her father found out, he was firm that they should be rescued. Lisa found us and when I arrived at about 6:45am everyone was up and ready to watch the swarm capture.

We started talking and they seemed to be very concerned about the bees so I asked if they had considered keeping them. Lisa and her father were immediately interested and she called her brothers to come over and help out.

Backwards Beekeepers story coming to CNN

Today Amy and I shot with John Torigoe from CNN, who is producing a segment featuring the Backwards Beekeepers. We harvested a frame of comb honey and then brought it to our friends at Bar Covell, with John shooting the whole process.

The story will also include Kirk, Roberta, and maybe other beekeepers I'm failing to mention. It should hit the web next week, and when it does we'll post it here.

Pictorial: How to make wax starter strips

LA Backwards Beekeepers Kacy and Bethan made this great pictorial series about how to make wax starter strips for your frames.

# I: First Kacy wets down a piece of 1 x 2 pine that's cut or marked to the length of the frame.

#2: The melted beeswax is painted onto the wet board with a chip brush. 2 or 3 coats will do it.

#3: Bethan cuts the strip down the center of the board with a razor blade, so two strips, about one inch wide apiece, are made.

Kirk does the splits with a booming hive

Kirk went to LA Backwards Beekeeper Kathyn's house to check the progress of the Arrowhead Water cut-out.

Here's Kirk's story: