Need Bees–Keep me on your swarm list

[Eric Young]

I am looking for bees. I live in North Hollywood. I have a box and frames and I feel it is well placed and ready for a hive. You can reach me or leave a message at 818-391-6447.

Thanks,
Eric

[susan rudnicki]

HI, Eric—can you please list the educational efforts you have made to get ready for keeping a hive? It is getting to be a topic of more focused attention at our meetings as a result of the impending LA City ordinance effort. A educated beek is less likely to have a situation happen that endangers neighbors and the public.
What books have you read? What mentoring or workshops in beekeeping have you done? The folks posting swarms and gathering of swarms are often overwhelmed by the work, so it is more advantageous for you to check the WordPress digest or the Forum everyday rather than expect us to call you.
Susan

[Eric Young]

Susan;

You are so right, and I probably should not have posted like that. I have to look up the names, but I did read several books on beekeeping, and I attended as many of the beekeeping meetings I could since last spring. Last year I bought two hive boxes and read alot and hoped to get a swarm and it did not happen. I even tried to attract local bees as best I could and cultivate my vegetable gardens with bees included in my planning.

What I can do is try to get this posting down and take your advice about following the digest–rather than post like I did. Thanks for knocking some sense in me:)

[Reuben Valles]

Hi Eric, you have every right to post on the forum and ask for a swarm. The forum belongs to everyone. Sometimes you might get lucky. Susan brings up a good idea, but dont apologize for using the forum in the very manner its inteded to be used. Also, maybe this season you will get lucky and catch a swarm too! Everyone on this forum was a beginner at one time! 🙂

Good Luck!

[susan rudnicki]

Hi, Eric—of course, Ruben is not incorrect, I just used you as the most ready example. You can use the forum however you want, but as a group we are trying to foster a more educated model for the continuation of our efforts to legalize beekeeping in the City. This is a difference from the former BBK club model, which did not emphasize the need to be strongly educated in the craft.
So, when folks post asking for bees, it just helps the people re-homing bees to know the foundation each newbee possesses for being ready. HL has mentoring workshops regularly, Kirk has them, and the various mentors helping offer this knowledge. We urge newbees to read the Idiot’s Guide to Beekeeping as a foundational book. So, I ask all people who call me directly these questions so I know how far they have gone to gain understanding.

[Eric Young]

I totally appreciate the concern. I would have removed this post–given the concerns you expressed, but I do not seem to have that ability.

[Reuben Valles]

Eric, you dont have to remove your post….thats the point! There are no degrees in beekeeping, nor are there any professors in this city qualified to hand out those degrees. I believe Susan makes great points, and in the urban enviornment where others live in close proximity to your hives you need to have some good mentoring and some go to people to help you should any issues arise…….and they will. We have all made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes and have issues come up. I just didnt want you feeling like you had to get beekeeper approvals to be involved with Honeylove and the site.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Reuben Valles.

[susan rudnicki]

Hi, Ruben—thanks for granting me your opinion that I make good points. However, neither HL nor myself said there was a “professor handing out degrees” or “degrees in beekeeping” There is a level of competence and knowledge that we are trying to emphasize, because there have been too many mistakes that were very serious. “We have all made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes” as you say, can encompass a lot of issues, but there have been times when animals have been killed (one of my mentees in Venice, whose bees killed the old dog next-door after prolonged hive neglect ignoring my efforts to contact him) and when the rescue of bees caused attention from lawyers. The latter was the precipitating incident that shut down the BBK rescue line.
Sometimes the problem is “the issues that come up” are not seen by the newbee for what they represent, in terms of seriousness.

[Eric Young]

A special Thanks to Susan for keeping me in mind. I am so happy to have a swarm and hope I can keep them happy so they stay. And I am looking forward to ensuring I maintain the level of competence you have described throughout this thread. I am pretty certain everyone in my neighborhood will be happy to have a hive of bees around. But no one will be happy if I neglect to care for them. And I appreciate your efforts to explain the importance of this on my forum post.

Thanks again,
Eric

• This reply was modified 10 years, 1 month ago by Eric Young.

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