Seeking Bees in Los Angeles

Set up a profile here if you want a swarm. Paul

Bee Allies Swarm Hotline: (424) 353-BEES [2337]
Are you a professional live-bee remover? Join the hive!
Visit beeallies.com/register/?ally=honeylove to register!

HI, Anne—I’ll just place notes within your answers–

If your housemate kept the bees, did you have instruction in beekeeping?
No, I just moved in about a year ago and there were no bees. I’m delighted to learn about bees, just as I’ve learned how to keep our backyard chickens.

Yes, I have chickens, too. But wild, stinging insects are another sort of beast, and you are living in a city that currently does not allow beekeeping.

What happened to the previous bees?
I do not know. My understanding is that they “just left”

Whoever was keeping them should be trying to discern why they are no longer there. If they swarmed, it creates a image problem (and potentially a legal problem) for beekeepers in the city. If they died out from disease or pests that the beek was unaware of, it does not bode well for future colonies without reflection on the causes.

Have you a suit or protective clothing and basic beekeeping tools?
Lisabeth does, yes

If YOU are going to be working in the hive, protective clothing is a must.

Have you gone to the HoneyLove meetings or MoorPark teaching site?
Lisabeth has been a member of a local bee group; again, this is new to me and I have not yet done so. I found a group but they meet on Monday evenings, which is already booked for me.

HoneyLove is a group that advocates keeping bees with no artificial inputs—chemical treatments, foundations, artificial feeds. We are using feral, not package, bees. It is quite different from the mainstream, conventional approach. I mention this so that the many confusing contradictions in techniques and practices are put into context—conventional and treatment-free beekeeping are philosophically quite different.

Do you have someone more advanced to mentor you?
Only Liz and the internet. Would love to have a mentor!

HL tries to help new beeks get hooked up with mentors. Our next meeting is Sunday June 28 and listed on the website

Have you done some self-education on beekeeping technique?
Via internet and reading http://WWW.IDIOTSGUIDES.COM/HOME-AND-GARDEN/SUSTAINABLE-LIVING/BEEKEEPING-101-CHOOSING-BEST-PLACE-FOR-YOUR-HIVES/

The Idiot’s Guide is excellent for natural beekeeping

HI, Anne—regarding this last part–
if it is illegal to keep bees in LA County, then we should not proceed to do so, right? I’m not interested in being ticketed or fined. What’s up with people keeping bees in LA if it’s illegal? I should know the answer to this question prior to moving any further with this idea.

Most of the people keeping bees in greater LA are doing it “under the radar” There are only a few cities with allowances for bees—Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Rancho Palos Verdes—my city, Manhattan Beach has no code either for or against and I work with the city departments to respond to bee calls for colonies and swarms. One of the BIG projects HoneyLove has been working on the last five years is to change the City of LA restrictive codes against beekeeping. We are very close. Please read this site for updates and history of this effort. Feasibility studies were done, public outreach and data sampling were done, etc. to present the case to the LA City Council for changing the code.
If bees cause a issue with neighbors— in other words, become a “nuisance” —they become a target for law enforcement. This does happen, which is why we are trying to be so careful on this information site to make sure new beeks are adequately educated and prepared for the responsibility of keeping bees in tight urban quarters.