Long Beach Beekeepers News

Packaged Bees and Preparing for Spring

Bee Administrator — Sun, 03 Feb 2019 01:45:00 GMT

Bill Lewis addressed our January meeting, discussing packaged bees and preparations for spring--which for all practical purposes, in our part of the country, is underway.

Bill's a local, commercial beekeeper who is getting out of the business. He's now "down to 40 hives." When he spoke to us a little more than a year ago, he had about 600. (To put this in perspective, he mentioned commercial beekeepers with around 15,000 hives.)

Bill prefers bees with known genetics. While he believes that feral bees are becoming more docile (as mentioned by Cal Poly Pomona's Mark Haag during Q&A after Melody Wallace's November presentation), "you never know when the temperament will turn." Rather than exploit feral populations, Bill likes to establish new hives using both splits from existing hives, and packaged bees. His favorite supplier is Pendell Apiaries, a Northern California outfit which supplies Cordovan Italian bees, with marked queens for the beekeeper's convenience. (Cal Poly Pomona Beekeeping Workshop attendees will recall that the golden Italian bees are the favorite in that apiary, as well.)

"Not that I'd recommend it"--kids, don't try this at home!--"but I've worked Italian bees without a suit."

Practical details followed. This is not a complete account, but emphasizes some helpful tips.

Installing Packaged Bees

When you open a package of bees, look for the queen cage. You'll see a
cluster of bees on it. It will be sealed with a cork, or not at all. If it's sealed with a cork, leave that in place.

One side of the queen cage will be wire screen. Sandwich the queen cage between two frames in the hive you are moving the bees into, so that this screen does not face either frame. Other bees must have access to the queen. Now you can shake the rest of the bees into the hive.

The easiest way to do all this hive manipulation is at dusk, wearing a red headlamp. The bees will tend to stay put, rather than flying around.

Come back and open the hive again on day two or three after adding the bees. If the queen cage was sealed with a cork, remove it, sliding a finger over the hole to prevent the queen's escape. Then plug the hole with a small marshmallow. This will hold for two to three hours.

Newly introduced bees will need supplemental feeding. Bill prefers feeder frames to entrance feeders, feeling that "entrance feeders attract too many other things."

A 2:1 sugar/water syrup (by weight) has better shelf life, but newly introduced packaged bees won't need to find water to dilute a 1:1 sugar syrup mixture. New bees haven't mapped out local resources yet, and may not know where to find the water they need. Bill likes this thinner syrup in spring, too; but the thicker 2:1 mix is good for winter. If there are no problems, a new hive can go through a gallon of syrup in a week.

In 10-14 days, inspect to verify that the queen has been released from her cage and is laying eggs.

Testing for Varroa mites is a critical part of follow-through when establishing a new hive. There won't be many at first. If you install your packaged bees in April, test no later than June; and treat by the end of June.

Splits

Because some hives have gotten ungainly--Bill mentioned a five-box hive in our Sanctuary--and there's a lot of eucalyptus in the neighborhood, in bloom right now. Hives can be getting crowded!

Basic preparation is to have empty frames ready to replace the ones you will remove from parent hives: that is, the hives providing the brood and worker bees you'll use to get your new hive started.

You may take your brood frames from a single parent hive, or from more than one. In any case, you'll want six frames in a 10-frame box: one or two frames of eggs, and the rest with capped brood, with the worker bees shaken off. Arrange these in the middle of the box, flanked by four frames of honey. Replace all the vacancies with empty frames.

Next, put a queen excluder on top of the open parent hive. Put your newly assembled box on top of the queen excluder, so that workers are free to come and go. Put on a lid, and do something else for a few hours.

When you come back , there will be plenty of worker bees in the top box. Remove it from the parent hive, and give it its own lid and bottom board.

Presto! You have your new hive, be it ever so humble.

If you keep both hives in the same apiary, and put the child hive in the parent hive's location, many field bees will come to it. Keep an eye on it, because it may need another box in one to three weeks. "You might get a super of honey before you get any new [packaged] bees."

Back to Known Genetics

You've got to give Bill credit for consistency on this point, which an explanation of splits brought him back to! If you allow the bees in the new hive to raise their own queen--which they're happy to do, left to their own devices--plan to replace her with a commercially raised queen in April.

Why? To maintain known genetics!

And why wait for April? Because commercial raised queens are not available to the likes of you and me until then. Demand created by almond pollination comes first; but this has died down by April.

There is some fine print: Queens are available from Hawaii all year. However, they cost more to ship, and most of them are already spoken for.

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Bee Administrator — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:14:00 GMT

My radio played "She's Kerosene" by The Interrupters as I got in my car to travel to the club's bee sanctuary.

It started out like any other morning
The sky was read, he took it as a warning
She hit the hive, now the bees are swarming
Then played the victim 'til the crowd starts forming

I decided not to take the lyrics too seriously. Hearing a song on the radio that mentions bees while you're on your way to work with bees is a good thing even if the sentiment is not too bee friendly, right?

Long Beach Beekeepers has the good fortune to have the support of EDCO, the local family-owned waste collection and recycling company. EDCO opens their doors to us to give us a home for our monthly meetings. A club tradition thanks each of EDCO's 25 employees with a gift of honey for the holidays. In the past, club members contributed honey from their personal hives. I was on my way to meet Ray Teurman, sanctuary co-manager, to harvest some liquid gold from club hives for EDCO.

Sanctuary hives include a colony from the South 40 Community Garden that was overly defensive when the hive was transferred into replacement equipment in July. For safety concerns, we moved the bees to the sanctuary and split into two hives. On this trip, we found one hive did not survive the split. Robber bees took any honey stores long gone and all that was left was some old comb. I will process the wax for the club.

The other hive was thriving. We harvested some honey, being careful to leave enough for the bees to get through the holidays and the beginning of the year. We don't have much of a winter in Southern California, but floral sources are definitely few and far between right now. We also corrected some cross comb, using rubber bands to keep the remaining wax in place. Feral bees like a tidy hive, so they will get rid of the rubber bands once they have a chance to attach the comb to the frames. We also consolidated this hive, removing the top box so that the bees won't have so much real estate to heat.

The goal is to move the thriving colony back to the South 40 Community Garden so that we have a second teaching hive. If anyone would like to donate a hive stand for our teaching hives, it would be much appreciated. Ray estimates the bees will be ready to return to the South 40 in about a month. Home for the holidays.

November Beekeeping 101: Spring in the Fall

Bee Administrator — Mon, 05 Nov 2018 02:26:00 GMT

Honey update: In mid-October, hive managers Di, Rene and Cordelia harvested seven frames of honey from the South 40 Community Garden hive. Sweet!

Side note to my experienced beekeepers: What’s your favorite smoker fuel?We were a small but mighty group at the November Beekeeping 101 class at the South 40 Community Garden. The cooler temperature was a bit of a concern, but it 'felt' warm. The sun was shining and the forecast called for a high of 80 degrees. After dawdling a bit to let the sun inch a bit higher in the sky – I mean, after discussing hive safety and reviewing some beekeeping fundamentals – we felt confident opening the hive. The smoker followed the ‘if at first you don’t succeed' adage. We tried again (and again) until that smoker was lit!

We handed the reins and the hive tool to Jeffrey, a fearless soul and aspiring beekeeper without a hive of his own but plenty of trial and error experience with a feral hive living in a wall. He used his raw talent and moxie to maneuver those frames like a pro. The bees were calm and welcoming. But we had one bit of business before saying goodbye to the bees.

After extracting as much honey as was humanly possible from the October harvest, the crushed wax was still wet with honey so we turned it over to the bees to finish the job. No need to waste any of the good stuff! We left the honey-coated crushed wax inside the hive so that it was not an open invitation to the neighborhood. Before replacing the top cover we put a box without frames on top of the other bee boxes. We (gently!) placed a few containers of the crushed honeycomb on top of the frames. We used disposable containers because the bees will likely adhere the containers to the frames with propolis. Di will return in a few days to swap out the clean wax with more crushed wax then again a few days later to remove the was and the extra box so the bees don't have empty space to keep warm when the night turns cool.

Stay tuned regarding the December class. As always, we operate weather permitting. And it’s like rooting against the home team to hope for good weather for class when our gardens need the rain and the bees need our gardens.

Cooking with Honey: Pumpkin Muffins

Bee Administrator — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 17:32:00 GMT

the taste of fall

Beginning November 2018 the baked goods at our monthly meetings will feature honey.

First up: Honey Pumpkin Muffins from the website Food, Folks and Fun.

The recipe includes pecans. If you are concerned with nut allergies, they could easily be omitted. If you still want the crunch, try substituting pepitas (available at Trader Joe's).

Here's a link to the recipe: https://foodfolksandfun.net/pumpkin-honey-muffins/

Dick Barnes provided the honey from his Bixby Knolls hive for the pumpkin muffins, but any honey will do. A light honey will infuse less honey flavor than a more robust honey.

October Beekeeping 101: Show Me the Honey!

Bee Administrator — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 15:05:00 GMT

The October Beekeeping 101 class at the South 40 Community Garden was standing room only. Actually, the large number of attendees did not quite fit in the apiary. Newcomers included some folks who inherited a barrel of bees – that’s a barrel in the literal sense – who were there to gain knowledge about managing their hive.

Pro tip: Talk to an experienced club member and get some help moving hives living in an unconventional space to a proper aviary to be able to better manage the colony. Pest management, honey extraction and other facets of maintaining a hive is no easy feat if the bees are not easily visible and reachable.

The theme of the day was HONEY! The South 40 hive has quite a bit of the liquid gold in both the top and middle boxes. It made for a less interesting inspection, but a promise of good things to come in the very near future.

Geof Spehar Presents Beehive Innovations at October Meeting

Bee Administrator — Sun, 04 Nov 2018 09:04:00 GMT

Geof Spehar discusses his injection-molded hive part designs at the October 2018 meeting.
Photo by Jacob Dickinson.

During our October 2018 meeting, beekeeper and inventor Geof Spehar presented beehive parts he designed and manufactured.

Beekeepers are notorious for refining the equipment they use. Several members of our club show the symptoms. (You know who I mean!) However, there are differences between us and Geof. Most of us aren't experienced designers of plastic injection molds, or machinists with the chops to make those molds. Finally, most of us don't have access to an injection molding factory.

Geof combines these attributes with beekeeping experience, and a beekeeper's powers of observation.

Injection molding is the process of forcing molten material--in this case, plastic--into a mold. As the material cools, it solidifies in the shape of the mold cavity. Injection-molded products surround us: The Lego block is an example.

The molds and necessary machinery make injection molding very expensive. On the other hand, making the millionth copy of something is very inexpensive.

Compare this to making something by nailing a couple of pieces of wood together. The tools are cheap, and you can only go so fast. The millionth copy costs about as much as the first one did.

Because Geof can design and make his own molds, and has access to existing equipment, his barriers to entry are low.

It's said that to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. In the same way, Geof looks at a mechanical problem and sees an injection-molded solution. He must have shown us about a dozen such solutions, some of them variations on a theme. There are more where those came from.

There's a consensus that bees don't like plastic. For example, plastic foundation is typically sold with a coating of wax, which helps the bees accept it more quickly. Geof tends to agree with this. However, he's removed swarms from plastic compost bins, and worse places. So do they really care that much?

In summary, Geof argued with the saying "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." Not exactly! "When you build a better mousetrap, you beat a path to the world's door; because people don't like change."

When I first approached Geof, as Program Chair, and asked if he'd consider speaking to the Long Beach Beekeepers, I asked about his experience speaking to groups. I had to do some due diligence, after all! And maybe he'd have questions about us, our expectations, any unique hazards, and so on.

Geof told me he had approximately zero experience doing this. By then, though, it was obvious that I was dealing with a natural-born storyteller. A raconteur. And that's what his seamless talk showed us.

New Class: Make Cosmetics and Candles with Beeswax

Bee Administrator — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 22:25:00 GMT

Learn to Make Cosmetics and Candles with Beeswax

Did you know you can make your own cosmetics using all-natural ingredients, including beeswax? Or your own candles?

Maybe you did! But do you know how? Because that's the part Long Beach Beekeeper Jennifer Duke is ready to show you. You can learn to make cosmetics and candles with beeswax on Saturday, November 17, 2-4pm at our new class, Beyond Honey: Gifts from the Hive.

During this class, you'll make - and take home! - these items made with beeswax:

One 4-ounce lotion scented with essential oils
One 2-ounce lotion scented with essential oils
Two tubes of lip balm
Six birthday candles

Jennifer will provide refreshments--with honey!

The class will be held in the Rose Park neighborhood of Long Beach. Address will be emailed to registrants. Your registration fee ($20 for Long Beach Beekeepers members, $25 for non-members) will cover beeswax and other necessary materials. This will be a very hands-on experience, so there's only room for six students. Don't delay! To register, email secretary@longbeachbeekeepers.org.

Dr. Melody Wallace on Managing Varroa Mites in Honey Bees

Bee Administrator — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 23:50:00 GMT

Some Long Beach Beekeepers may remember that way, way back, Dr. Melody Wallace visited from Cal Poly Pomona and had just gotten to the slide everyone was waiting for--the creepy, scary stuff, like pests, pathogens, and parasites--when we cut her off.

Or maybe she brought her presentation to an abrupt halt after foreshadowing the hair-raising material we'd get if we invited her back.

Let's just say that's what happened.

In any event, Dr. Wallace did come back, for our November 4 meeting, to thrill and chill with Management of Varroa Mites in Honey Bees.

The modern beekeeper's nemesis: Varroa destructor.

Let's remind ourselves how Varroa mites can be a problem. They weaken individual bees by parasitizing them. But there's more! They are vectors for a couple of dozen viruses that affect bees, like deformed wing virus. Thus, managing Varroa in honey bees can be critical.

My notes are as patchy as the shot brood Varroa mites can cause. (In fairness to the mites, Dr. Wallace told us that viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases can also cause shot brood.) Have I missed something good? Please add your comments! But here's some of what I got:

Measuring the Infestation

A reality check: all colonies have mites. It's a question of degree. What I get from this is: Don't lie awake at night feeling like an inadequate beekeeper if you find mites in a hive. What separates adequate beekeepers from inadequate ones is not whether mites can be found in the hive, but how the beekeeper responds!

How would you measure the problem in the first place? Dr. Wallace reviewed several diagnostic tools:

sticky boards
drone brood inspection
sugar roll
alcohol or soapy water wash

Sticky boards are easy to use and non-invasive, but Dr. Wallace believes them to be very inaccurate.

Drone brood inspection depends on having plenty of (disposable) drones. If you use this method, 10% infestation is a good treatment threshold.

The sugar roll is less destructive. I like to think that when bees covered with confectioner's sugar, like little white ghosts, are poured back in the hive, their sisters have a great time cleaning them up. But your mite count can vary, depending on the technique of shaking or rolling the bees. If you're testing several hives and have help, the same person should do the shaking for each hive. This approach will give more consistent results. (Most of us wouldn't think of this, since we work solo and take care of small numbers of hives.) Test about 300 bees: one measuring cup full is close. The treatment threshold is three mites per 100 bees, or 3%. This means nine mites from your one-cup sample.

You'll get the most accurate results from an alcohol or soapy water "wash." The downside is that this kills the bees in your sample. On the other hand, Dr. Wallace reminded us that 300 is only a fraction of a laying queen's daily production. A healthy hive will replace 300 bees in short order.

Dealing with the Infestation

Your mite count is over the treatment threshold. Now what?

Screened bottom boards are the low-tech approach. If a mite ever loses its grip, then down, down it will plunge, through the screen, to a mysterious, hostile jungle it's not equipped to deal with. But first it has to let go and fall. Dr. Wallace is not convinced these bottom boards have much effect on mites.

In general, beekeepers use fumigants to combat Varroa mites. Dr. Wallace pointed out that "natural" fumigants have their own hazards, so it's important to read the instructions.

Formic acid (used in Mite-Away) is popular. It's used occasionally in the Cal Poly Pomona apiary. Oxalic acid is also used, elsewhere, but is illegal in California. Both acids work well for a quick mite kill in the fall.

Amitraz (found in Apivar) works well, but more slowly.

Mites have developed resistance to coumaphos and fluvinate. Products containing these (for example, CheckMite and Apistan, respectively) are simply a waste of money.

It's a good guess that these chemicals build up in beeswax.

What About our Scutellata Bees?

Most of us work with feral bees, which we assume are Scutellata (formerly known as Africanized). Dr. Wallace gave us an excuse to feel smug, when she said that Varroa does not impact them as much. She mentioned several reasons for this:

grooming behavior
hygienic behavior (e.g. removing infected pupae from the hive)
10-13 hours shorter pupation (compromising pupae as Varroa hosts)
more frequent swarms

Dr. Wallace left us with a thought about mite treatment: If we kill mites too thoroughly, we don't give bees a chance to develop resistance or tolerance.

Mite-A-Thon

Bee Administrator — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 16:18:00 GMT

It's almost time for the Mite-a-Thon.

http://www.pollinator.org/miteathon?utm_content=Kelly&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Mite-A-Thon&utm_campaign=Get%20Ready%20for%20the%20Mite-A-Thon%21

The Boy Scouts Help Us Again at the South 40 Community Garden

Bee Administrator — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 16:17:00 GMT

We are so fortunate to have Boy Scout Troop 105's Malin help us by creating a viewing screen for our teaching hive. He built the viewing wall and topped off his eagle scout project by creating a classroom area with a white board and cork board. Please join us for the Saturday morning meetings, 8am first Saturday of the month.

Boy Scout Troop Raises A Bee Sanctuary

Bee Administrator — Fri, 05 May 2017 00:55:00 GMT

We are so lucky to have the support of a special Boy Scout group that has built a Bee Sanctuary for our Long Beach Beekeepers club and city of Long Beach. With their hardwork the Boy Scout troop was able to prefabricate the structure and raise the structure at Willow Spring Park. Stay tuned for new details about upcoming events at the Bee Sanctuary.

LB Beekeepers presence at a Homeschooler Park Day in LB

Bee Administrator — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 20:30:00 GMT

I recently spent a couple of hours with a group of local homeschooling families, sharing with the children a little bit about the honeybees. I had written a post on FB, inviting them to join me for one of the many events that Long Beach Beekeepers hosts, and so many of them expressed a general interest that I thought it might be worthwhile to plan something special with them. The date was set, and the fun began. We started off with a picture book about a beekeeper. Kids and grownups of all ages love a picture book. The Beeman (by Laurie Krebs and Valeria Cis) is a sweet intro to beekeeping, and there are plenty of books at the library to supplement, for kids who want to learn more (I'll post a short list soon). We then jumped over to inspect the observation hive, and all the kids, from toddlers to tweens, were absolutely fascinated by all the activity taking place inside! They crowded around, pointing and asking questions. After that, we played a game which required the children to run around gathering "nectar" with their "proboscis" from nearby "flowers" and depositing the nectar back at the "hive." Everybody had a blast, and then they all enjoyed some honey sticks from the LB Beekeepers. I hope that some of our new friends will stop by to see us at First Fridays (this Friday, 6-9 pm, Atlantic and Burlinghall, directly across the street from EJ Malloy's), at the South 40 hive next month (Nov 5, 8am, 2813 E South St, LB, 90805), or at the next club meeting(Nov 6, 10am).

I'd like to give thanks to Roberta Kato for inviting me to write this guest blog post, to Dick Barnes for trusting me with his bees, to both for all the encouragement, and to Carlos Angeles for allowing me to share the bees with his tribe. You are all the best! ❤️

Reading "The Beeman"

The observation hive

Gathering nectar

Celebrating the harvest

New Generation of Beekeepers

Bee Administrator — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 14:44:00 GMT

We had an amazing class with a class of 3-6 year olds! They were so knowledgeable and were answering questions like pros and asking questions like "where are the larva?" Pictures and more details to come!

February Meeting: Splits

Bee Administrator — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 16:28:00 GMT

It's getting a little warmer and when springs officially comes and the nectar starts to flow it's good to be ready for your colonies to expand. Expansion also gives you the opportunity to split your hive or if you hive is already big, you can split to keep them a more managable size. Ray will be speaking and showing us how.

December 6th Meeting: Making Beeswax Products

Bee Administrator — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 03:17:00 GMT

Please join us in making beeswax products from Terry. Bring your own ideas and things that you've made to prepare for the giving season.

November Meeting: Bee Anatomy Part 2

Bee Administrator — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 03:49:00 GMT

August Meeting: Honeybee Forage

Bee Administrator — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:59:00 GMT

When our bees leave the hive they forage for water, pollen and nectar. Today we looked at Melissa's Garden list of 5 top forage plants: borage, tansy, echium, goldenrod and lemon balm. For more information, check out their site. We also found a fun guide to nectar and pollen color by season from Eversweet Apiaries.

July 5th Club Meeting

Bee Administrator — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 22:43:00 GMT

Bring your beehive removals and cutout stories. We'll have a computer to project so if you have pictures you can bring those too.

Amazing Wrigley Tree Hive Rescue

Bee Administrator — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 20:02:00 GMT

Support Bees and Chickens in Torrance Tues 3/3 at 7pm

Bee Administrator — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 01:00:20 GMT

After a long and arduous journey, the subject of legalizing chickens and bees for Torrance will come before the Torrance City Council on Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at the Torrance City Hall:

Address: 3031 Torrance Boulevard, Torrance, CA 90503

For all those who want to help support Long Beach Beekeeping, it's important for neighboring cities to support bees too. Especially if you are a Torrance resident or know someone, please plan to come and speak to the council in support of bees and/or chickens letting them know why it's important to you and your family.

This is very exciting news that they will consider allowing bees and chickens! I hope you share our joy and will attend!!!

It's item 12, Administrative Matters.

12A. Community Development - Consider a land use study regarding the keeping of chickens and bees for single family residences within the city. Recommendation of the Community Development Director that City Council consider a Land Use Study regarding the keeping of chickens and bees for single family residences within the city and provide direction to staff.

For the full agenda go here http://www.torranceca.gov/PDF/AGENDA_3-3-15.pdf

Honeylove Event: Future Zombee Apocalypse 1/11 Sun 11am

Bee Administrator — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:59:00 GMT

For more information please see the

Honeylove Meetup Group

FEATURED SPEAKER:
Sam Comfort (Founder of

anarchyapiaries.org

—New York)

COST:
HoneyLove Members: FREE
Non-Members: $10 Suggested Donation

TOPIC:
Future Zombee Apocalypse:
Bee Prepared and Stick Together!

What will beekeeping be like 25, 50, or 100 years from now? The bee world is changing quickly. So are the bees and their environment. Their lessons in survival are their most valuable gift. Like the bees, we beekeepers must look to diversity, cooperation, and adaptability for our resilience. Anarchy Apiaries is around 500 hives of various types in all kinds of situations from New York to Florida. The more I bee the less I know. I'll talk about our do-it-yourself methods, several hive designs, queen-raising, healthier, hardier bees with no treatments, and a future of a self-reliant beekeeping community with more hives than televisions.

LOCATION:
Grow Native Nursery 100 Davis Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

(map)

Next Meeting 12/7, Bee Class 12/6

Bee Administrator — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 06:45:00 GMT

November Meeting 11/2

Bee Administrator — Sat, 01 Nov 2014 05:23:00 GMT

It's that time again. Just remember to fall back and sleep in on Sunday.

Natural History of Bees: Oct Meeting

Bee Administrator — Sun, 05 Oct 2014 18:17:00 GMT

Thank-you to Terri who presented the natural history of bees. She discussed the types of bees including the queen, workers and drones. The term beekeepers use to refer to the life cycle of honeybees is bee math. She had great questions. See if you can answer these questions with the table below.

1. If you find eggs, and no queen, how long ago do you know there was a queen?
2. If you find just hatched larvae and open brood but no eggs, how long ago was the queen there?
3. If the queen starts laying today, how long before that brood will start foraging for nectar?

September Bee Class

Bee Administrator — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:51:00 GMT

It's always fun to get together with other bee loving beekeepers, new and experienced. We had a good number of people so that our new people could get into the hive. We loved finding the heart shaped comb. Unfortunately a bee lost her life in the inspection. We always try to avoid that. Hope to see you at the next class October 4 at 8am.

September Upcoming Meeting

Bee Administrator — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 20:59:00 GMT

Upcoming Bee Club Meeting August 3rd

Bee Administrator — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 21:15:00 GMT

First Saturday Classes

Bee Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:57:00 GMT

We've had some great first time experiences for newbees during our classes. We welcome beekeepers or admirers of all levels. We would love to have people with experience that would like to help mentor and be available to answer questions.

If you are coming out remember to...

Wear socks that cover the ankles.
Shoes that cover the feet, ideally boots such as rain books work really well.
Consider bringing a baseball cap, some of the suits fit better with one on.
Long pants such as jeans or other heavy materials, some of the suits are jackets only.
Camera/phone to get those precious first time in a suit and hive pics.
Water to stay hydrated and eat something before you come.

Remember, it's always possible that you might be stung and stings hurt! Don't worry if you are nervous, you can observe too. Kids are welcome but you will need to supervise them and they might be stung.

Earth Day Outreach Fun

Bee Administrator — Fri, 02 May 2014 05:35:00 GMT

We had so many events for Earth Day in Long Beach! We introduced many children and adults to the idea of beekeeping and showed how wonderful it can be to learn about bees. The observation hives were a big hit. Thanks to all the events that invited us at the Growing Experience, Green Prize Festival, and YMCA.

Hive Move and Little Beekeeper

Bee Administrator — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:11:00 GMT

Saturday looked like it might some work when Shannon emailed me to let me know that hives I had left a couple of years ago needed to be moved. She had already moved them when the wound up empty after bees had left. But when she went to move them again she found "a lot of bees". In my mind it was a hive move that could take a while. I got my dolly, gaffers tape, extra tops to close up hives as these were 5 deep hives. Luckily Shannon said there were only bees in just one of these hives.

I got there and they showed me the hive and I couldn't see a single bee! I watched and figure that they had left but after a couple of minutes a little bees hovered back into the hive. It was later in the day so maybe most of them had returned but it was looking better than I hope.

The other luck was that J was there, a family friend who had some bee experience and wanted to help out. And Sophia, Shannon's 6 year old daughter wanted to help too. So now it was a small hive with 2 helpers. Could be easier. At first I thought I thought I needed to take the bees home but in the end Shannon and her family decided to keep them and give them a place to live. We found a new spot right by a window on the side of the house that they could observe them from. What could be better?!?!

Sophia was a natural and got geared up and dove right in. She was part of every step. We pulled the frames out as a group so that the small swarm could stay together. There were just a few bees but we spotted eggs so the swarm had a chance of making it. But it would be at least a couple of weeks before there were any new bees. Sophia quickly claimed the hive as hers, and rightly so. She even carried a medium box full of frames and placed it onto the hive even though it was a little tricky because it was a little high. She's going to be the beekeeper for her family! What a beekeeping super star.

March Beekeeping Class

Bee Administrator — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 05:57:00 GMT

Our March class was later in the month due to rain but the rain was very welcome. We had Reggie there for his first time in a hive.

After watching us open the hive and taking out a couple of frames he did the rest. What a natural. We found the bottom box full and the second box empty so we pulled up 2 frames of brood and a couple of honey to make some space. In the process we saw a decent laying pattern and we even spotted the queen. Great first day for a new bee.

Just a reminder, these are foundation less frames. We just push the comb around a little bit to get it straight when it's first being made and they wind up pretty straight. No starter strips either.

February Beekeeping Class Follow-up

Bee Administrator — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 16:30:00 GMT

It was another nice morning for a beekeeping class. Chilly but it warmed up pretty quickly. Alyssa, new beekeeper, joined us. She's already ordered her suit and is visiting LA Honey soon to pick up her equipment. For our inspection she borrowed one of our Honeylove supported bee jackets. She was a natural with the bees and did most of the inspection. Pretty good for the first time in a hive.

We found all the brood in 3 frames in the bottom box. The queen was laying in newly built comb but looked pretty slim. There was a frame of just pollen which I hadn't seen before. We took 4 frames of honey and put some empty frames here and there. Next time I'll pay more attention of the positioning so we can put it on the blog.

The frames of honey will be shared at the Long Beach Organic community garden South 40 workday and their upcoming Valentine's day event. I'm sure everyone will enjoy the treat. After I take the honey, I'll put the frames back with a little strip of honeycomb left at the top. I'm sure they'll build it out soon.

Before Our Beekeeping Class

Bee Administrator — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 04:36:00 GMT

A couple of weeks ago we went to check out the hive to see if it had started the January build up that happens when "Spring" comes early in the coastal areas. We saw lots of honey and nectar and some pollen being brought in. There was brood and we opened up the brood area to make room for new comb. There were still some empty frames which is always good to see. The honey stores was in the some cross comb so we'll plan on taking that out for our next beekeeping class coming up on Sat Feb 1st at 8am. We'll cut out the honey comb, clean up the empty frames, move some brood up and inspect the hive. The honey comb will need to be put into jars away from the bees. And then we can share it with the garden at the next work day.

Last week I also took a frame to show the 4H Bee Club kids. We identified the brood and even saw a queen cell. It was quite a frame after throwing the bees off and into the hive. I figured I would go ahead and take the frame since I so many new eggs being laid in new comb. It wasn't capped so not sure if they were planning on replace the queen or not. I took a quick trip to Spring Street Farm for an errand and found Kelli was working hard with her young volunteers. It was a surprise for Sunday so I brought the frame out so they could take a break and check out the bees.

Thanks EDCO

Bee Administrator — Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:27:00 GMT

Carlos Sanchez with our gift of gourmet cookies for the crew

For close to a year EDCO Transfer Station has hosted the monthly meetings of the Long Beach Beekeepers. Many thanks to Carlos Sanchez, Facilities Supervisor, who has opened the doors for us every first Sunday in the morning and has gone out of his way to make sure we have needed supplies and support. EDCO is a family owned and run business located in Signal Hill but dedicated to providing support for the Long Beach community as well. We are grateful to Vice President/General Manager Efrain Ramirez and hope our relationship with EDCO will continue for years to come.

New Beekeepers With a Fall Swarm

Bee Administrator — Tue, 05 Nov 2013 02:02:00 GMT

Joan and Larry had some bees move into a box that they had on their porch. It was quite a surprise and their first thought was, "Who can take them away?" But after a little more thought they realized that the bees weren't that bad and maybe they should keep them. Luckily I know Joan from work and we had a Long Beach Beekeepers class happening so they decided to come and see if were up for it.

I was pretty sure that they could do it since they felt comfortable enough to move the box of bees on their own to the backyard even though the box started to fall apart! They were naturals and so open to the idea. We inspected the South 40 hive, I lent them some suits, a smoker and a deep 8 frame box.

In just a couple of days they had the bees moved into the new hive and had attached the new comb to the frames. Their son joined in the fun. Can't wait to hear what happens to this little fall swarm. It's a hard time for bees to establish themselves going into the fall but it can also be a good time to start beekeeping since their are fewer bees to work with. These seem to be pretty busy bees since they've already made some comb. Good luck! - roberta

Outreach At The Children's Clinic's Health Fair and Walk

Bee Administrator — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:08:00 GMT

It was a wonderful day to be out for the Children's Clinic's Beach Walk. There were hundreds of teenagers and their family members walking around the Long Beach marina. Before and after the walk, people came by and gazed out our observation hive. At first the bees were huddled together because it was so cold. After it warmed up there, they crawled around the frame of honey and brood. It was great to see how interested everyone was and some were eager to come to our bee classes.

7th Annual Gathering of The Gardens Event

Bee Administrator — Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:28:00 GMT

The Long Beach Beekeepers enjoy going to community events to educate the public about the importance of bees and the share how it is possible to have beehives in the urban environment. On Saturday, October 19th, Luis, Megan and Mike worked our booth at the 7th Annual Gathering of the Gardens.

Teague, the organizer, had a great line up of presentations from biodynamic gardening to chickens and bees. Luis gave a presentation to would be beekeepers and got a great response. One of the big hits was Dick's observation hive that held a full frame of honey. I wish our banner wasn't a little crooked....

A New Hive For The South 40

Bee Administrator — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 05:07:00 GMT

Lee has wanted to have bees for a while. We were able to rescue some bees from their backyard but they didn't make it the first year. She was also having trouble with the hive being on her roof so we're going to add it to the South 40. Thanks to Long Beach Organic.

We also did our monthly hive inspection. After a month the bees have drawn a bunch of new comb and made capped honey. Unfortunately, it crossed a couple of frames. Boohoo. We removed the perpendicular honey comb and put it in an empty box on top since it was filled with nectar and honey. These bees are busy. Fall isn't going to stop them! The bottom box had nice and straight comb which we just admired. We also added a new top board because our other one had warp a bit.

This Weekend's South 40 Beehive Inspection

Bee Administrator — Sat, 14 Sep 2013 23:47:00 GMT

Last weekend we did a bunch to the hive including adding frames, moving frames up, using a medium box as a feeder box and I'm so happy with how it's looking. Luis, Mike and new beekeeper Greg worked the hive.

We removed the feeder box where the comb had been sucked dry of nectar but there was a bit of capped honey still there that they were still transfer but we didn't want to leave the empty box there too long. They had already attached the dish to the frames!

We looked through both deep boxes to see if they were building any new comb and we were surprised to find that they had built almost a whole frame and started on another. And that was in just a week in the middle of the hottest time of the year, also called the dearth but here in an urban environment with people irrigating there is still a great deal of forage.

We saw bees coming in with a bunch of pollen but it didn't seem common and there wasn't much stored pollen. We'll probably leave them along for the next month and come back for the new schedule of South 40 mentoring at 8am First Saturdays. We want to start earlier to make sure that we don't disturb the bees when gardeners are working. Thanks to all the supporters. - roberta

More Beekeeping at the South 40 Community Garden

Bee Administrator — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 14:04:00 GMT

This weekend we did another inspection and did some management of the South 40 community garden hive. Despite being September, the dirth in Southern California, the hive is booming with new nectar and comb.

Next meeting this Sat at 7am!

Beekeeping Class Fun

Bee Administrator — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 05:32:00 GMT

We've had a great turn out for classes and now we have monthly meetings.

Stay tuned for the schedule. Our last class was the 2nd Saturday. It was a one-on-one mentoring day with Janneke.

I got to see a queen laying in action and that was really exciting and I was able to catch her action.

The previous classes have included basics for beekeeping, the codes in Long Beach and how to inspect the hive. We've tried adding a swarm and now our hive is from a cutout from under the floor of an old apiary that was torn down.

Beginning Beekeeping Class Session 2

Bee Administrator — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 03:54:00 GMT

Even if you missed the first class you are welcome to attend Session 2. Just let us know to expect you.

South 40 Community Garden

Introduction to Bees and Beekeeping

A beehive is a wonderful addition to any garden to improve pollination and add energy to your backyard space. Come and join us at the Long Beach Organic South 40 Community Garden for a beginning class about how you can get started and what you can do to support urban beekeeping.

Classes are free. *Donations to Long Beach Organic are welcomed.

June 15, 2013. 9-11AM

Session 1:

Bee friendly environment

Laws

Misconceptions

Life cycle of a bee

Beekeeping Equipment

Introducing the bees to their new home

June 29, 2013. 9-11AM

Session 2:

Management of bees/hive for an urban environment

What can go wrong?

Harvesting, processing and storage of honey

*Bring your own bee suit or we can supply a few of them, courtesy of…HoneyLove

Long Beach Organic

South 40 Garden

2813 South Street

Long Beach, CA 90805

Reserve your spot and a suit if necessary:

Luis Sanchez

amoralsol@yahoo.com

South 40 Community Garden Gets Their Bees

Bee Administrator — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 03:53:00 GMT

We just had our first beginners beekeeping class at Long Beach Organic's South 40 Community Garden. The turn out was great with 20 people coming for the two hour class that ran three hours! See below for the class information. I brought the swarm from California Heights and they sat on the table while we discussed beekeeping. Luis discussed the what makes a bee friendly environment and life cycle.

There were a lot of questions and comments, of course, when we got to city codes and misconceptions. But the real fun started when everyone put on their Honeylove beesuits for the transfer of the swarm to the new hive.

The bees were so sweet, I hadn't even taped up the box. When we opened the nuc there were two small groups of bees and then I turned the box over to "dump" the bees into the hive.

The interesting part was that they were still in two groups. We discussed that the bees would be surrounding the queen and we could see some fanning. It was great was someone in the class (she wasn't really a beginner and already had her own suit) saw the queen in one of the clumps of bees and then we saw a second queen in the other clump!

Can you find the queen?

It made sense and there were definitely two different queens, one a little darker than the other. We nudged them both between the frames and eventually the rest followed.

It will be very interesting when we do the inspection in a couple of weeks at the second session of our beginners beekeeping class. I sure hope both queens stay and if not all of them, at least one queen and some workers.

We'll also be setting up monthly mentoring classes so please stay tuned for those dates. And if you are interested in becoming a member of LongBeach Organic, and want your own plot, check out the website for more information. There are still plots available and one is near the bees.

California Heights in Long Beach Saves Bees

Bee Administrator — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:30:00 GMT

Jim first noticed a small docile swarm of bees in his wife's Japanese maple tree a few days ago. They were there minding their own business and he thought that they would be perfect for a beekeeper's hive. He searched the web and the first call he made was to a person who said for $150 he could come and kill them. Aghhh!!! Not what he was looking for. He then came across Henry who forwarded the info to our club, the Long Beach Beekeepers. In no time we came to the rescue. I came after work and Jim and his wife were sitting on their front porch. They were so nice and welcoming. And they didn't even know I was the bee person at first!

He showed me the cute group of bees, just the size of a tiny melon resting in the tree, content to be in their beautiful front yard. They had already started building some comb but were ready to move into the little nuc that I had. They'll be part of our beginning beekeeping class today. If you are interested in learning beekeeping, we'll have these classes at least twice a year and will be working on a monthly mentoring session. Look out for more details. Thank-you, Jim, for calling us.

Blessed Bees

Bee Administrator — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:00:00 GMT

Four members of the club answered the call to help rescue a hive of bees at the Bethany Church School in Long Beach. Jaime had checked it out the previous day with the time honored bee location method – an ear to the wall – and heard loud buzzing across several feet.

Surely it had to be a huge hive but things with bees aren’t always – actually hardly ever – what they seem. The bees were in the outside wall at the very top of a narrow staircase leading to the second floor. With the help of Dan, the head of maintenance for the church, we located the hive by drilling a few test holes until comb was visible.

The room quickly filled with bees and dust as the comb was exposed. Oddly there did not seem to be all that many bees on the panes of comb which were large and almost pure white; obviously new comb. It was filled with lots of healthy brood but virtually no stores. Once we reached the ceiling header we could not continue.

Our suspicion was that there was more to the hive than met the eye. It was very possible that the majority of bees and older comb were in the attic to which we did not have access other than to cut into the roof. At that point we came to a consensus decision that it was a job for pros and we reluctantly let Dan know that we had to withdraw. Fully suited and a rescue veteran of a few hours, he later accessed the attic but did not find the expected large numbers of bees or any comb. At least we had a box of healthy brood and enough bees to support it. Hopefully there will be a potential queen. The mystery continues – Stay tuned. Barbara, Jaime, Dick, Howard and Dan

for short videos click on the following links:

http://youtu.be/z3EeDEPOwj0
http://youtu.be/MMQ1MOOPZHM
http://youtu.be/2x3mmmAFYPs

LBB Beeks Participate in Film Screening

Bee Administrator — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:20:00 GMT

*******************************

Conscious Cinema

proudly presents

Vanishing Of The Bees

a film by George Langworthy and MaryamHenein

Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon threatens the loss of much more than honey as we depend on honeybees to pollinate one third of the food on our tables. Vanishing of the Bees chronicles the innermost thoughts and feelings of beekeepers and scientists as they fight to preserve the honeybee and make it through another day.

Featuring experts like author MichaelPollan, the film also presents a platform of solutions, encouraging audiences to be the change they want to see in the world. This award-winning documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between Humankind and Mother Earth.

Special Guest Speakers: Henry Kurland, President, and Barbara Sinclair, Vice President of Long Beach Beekeepers. They will bring an observation hive and honey sticks will be available for sale to support Long Beach Beekeepers.

Join Us As We Celebrate International Mother Earth Day And Explore This Important Issue!

Donation: $5.00

When: Friday, April 26th @ 8 p.m.

Where:

Hellada Art Center

117 Linden Ave.

Long Beach, CA 90802

(562) 435-5232

For parking information go to:

www.hellada.us/

Our host, Hellada Art Center is graciously providing wine and other refreshments. Don't forget to drop something in their tip jar if you wish to enjoy some wine and light refreshments. Thank you!

www.consciouscinema.webs.com

Conscious Cinema: Without Awareness, There Can Be No Peace

Online Video Course: The Sacred Path of the Bee

Bee Administrator — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:42:00 GMT

Ancient traditions of the bee priestesses awakening in our lives today!

Online Video Intensive (6 Sessions)
with Layne Redmond and Debra Roberts
First Session: April 11, Open to the Public at no charge.

Layne Redmond and Debra Roberts are co-teaching a special video online course called The Sacred Path of the Bee: The Ancient Traditions of the Bee Priestesses Awakening in Our Lives Today. The Introductory episode is free and will be on April 11 at 8pm (the other five sessions will begin in July). If you are interested, make sure you are on Layne’s newsletter list at this link:

http://bit.ly/yjQ8Ul

Time with Layne will include learning about the amazing history of the ancient bee priestesses who were frame drummers. She will also be teaching the yogic breathing and mantra practices from the Indian bee goddess, Bhramari Devi. Debra’s part focuses on the contemporary sacred path and practices with the bees. Together, we are calling back and enlivening the ancient in our lives, now. It’s time … Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might be interested. For more information about us, please visit: layneredmond.com (Layne) and holybeepress.com (Debra). Blessed be, blessed bees.

Readers respond to Tim Grobaty article

Bee Administrator — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:40:00 GMT

Tim Grobaty: Readers say animal rules don't pass smell test

By Tim Grobaty Long Beach Press Telegram

Posted:

PressTelegram.com

MAIL CALL: After our column about the proposal of new rules regarding chickens, goats and bees in Long Beach, readers have been clucking and whinnying and buzzing with concerns and fears, with the main beefs having to do with what scatologists refer to as "No. 2."

"May Tim enjoy the fragrances from the chicken pens," writes hex-caster Marilyn Stanley McKellips on Facebook. "People don't pick up after the animals they have now."

Another, from a fellow who called us at 6:30 on a school morning, left a message that we should "bring more attention to the fact that the chicken and goats will increase the number of flies. There are already too many flies. It's made the environment, particularly in Belmont Shore, horrible. You can't even spend a nice day in the yard because of the flies. People close their garbage container lids, but the trash collectors always leave them open, and that attracts more flies."

OK, we don't know what to say about that, but presumably, or at least ideally, chicken ranchers will use chicken output for fertilizing their crops. In gratitude, the chickens will eat annoying insects and God will be in his heaven.

"NO. DON'T WANT TO LIVE CLOSE TO A FAMILY THAT HAS A ROOSTER CROWING AT 5 IN THE MORNING. LONG BEACH IS GOING TO HELL IN A BASKET," texts Michael O'Brien on his hysterical cellphone.

The truth is, very few people want to live close to a family that has a rooster crowing at 5 in the morning. You're not allowed now, nor will you be allowed under the new rules, to have a rooster. Because they make too much noise. You'll only be allowed to have gently clucking chickens. Forget being jarred from sleep; you'll have more trouble keeping from being lulled to sleep early.

A couple of alarmists checked in. On Facebook, Leslie Abrahams Gosling predicted a scene out of Revelations, "next there will be backyard slaughtering of the chickens, goats and more." And Seal Beach Dan, who admitted that he doesn't think the chicken/goat thing is a bad idea, wonders if the city isn't opening a Pandora's Box. "What about exotic pets, like a lion or a tiger. If I can have a chicken, why can't I have a python?" Well, just because you can't, that's why. Why can't we have a python if we have a dog? That's it: We're getting a python.

And, in fact, we might get a lion or a tiger, too, to take care of our burgeoning and lively mice population. After writing about that plague, Greg on Monlaco called to advise us that "the best answer for mice around the house is a cat. A neighbor's cat, an alley cat, any kind of cat will do. And if that doesn't work, get another one."

OK, we admit that the cat is looking like a good idea. But, then, what about the problem posed by reader Paula, who sends her future column request, with a nice preamble: "I enjoy your column. I do not like your detractors. I wonder if you'd be interested in doing a column about how to keep cats from using other people's planters and flower beds as their personal litter boxes.

We wonder if a variation on some of today's mailbag responses might be the answer. Get a dog. A neighbor's dog, an alley dog, any kind of dog will do.
And if that doesn't work, get a python.

Our unwillingness to slaughter the little mice earned us a nice pat on the back from our pal at Wilson, Wes Edwards: "OK, so you are a known Wilson grad, liberal, anti-war, pro-gay, libertarian type, but now, animal rights? We applaud you again!"

Then, Edwards told us a story about a mouse "waltzing" across his son's chest in his sleep. That kept us up all night.

Finally, our failure thus far using Havahart traps, drew this from Christina Nigra Johnson who, like us, is a bleeding heart nonviolent sort: "Thank you for trying Havahart! I have used them with great success. The key is to find the right bait, so try different things. Compassion often takes courage, which is why it is in too short supply. Please don't give up!"

tim.grobaty@presstelegram.com

, 562-714-2116 or

twitter.com/grobaty

LB Environmental Committee Meeting, June 2012

Bee Administrator — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 06:37:00 GMT

LB eyes easing rules on goats, hens, bees

COUNCIL: Committee will seek lengthy public comment before any changes.

Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA) - Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Author/Byline: Eric Bradley Staff Writer
Edition: MAIN
Section: NEWS
Page: 3A

LONG BEACH - Goats will continue to be barred from being kept south of Anaheim Street, at least for now.

The seemingly eccentric rule, a relic of Long Beach's 20th century urbanization, was part of a pack of changes to the municipal code debated by the City Council's Environmental Committee on Tuesday.

Urban agriculture advocates are pushing city officials to relax property line setback regulations governing the keeping of hens, goats and bees to expand opportunities to produce organic eggs, milk and honey.

Committee members eventually voted 2-1 to direct city staff to continue to study altering current restrictions, but not before lengthy public comment.

About two dozen residents lined up to speak for and against the measures, with most in favor.

Long Beach Grows Executive Director Donna Marykwas countered concerns about animal abuse by saying that her chicken and goats are treated "like royalty" compared with animals that produce the majority of eggs and milk in the United States.

"We don't tell other people what they can or cannot eat," Marykwas said, "and not allowing individuals to raise our own eggs and milk equates to more factory farm animal abuse in a commercial setting."

The proposed law would allow up to four hens with no restriction, five to 10 chickens at least 25 feet away from a neighboring residence and 11 to 20 of the birds at least 50 feet away from homes.

Currently, up to 20 hens can be kept on a property if they are at least 50 feet away from single and two-family residences and 100 feet from homes of three families or more.

The outlined changes would also allow two female pygmy goats, licensed annually, without restriction.

Goats are now limited to one animal 100 feet from residences - and only north of Anaheim Street, once considered a rural area of Long Beach.

The proposed rules would allow two beehives on property at least five feet from property lines. Those less than 15 feet from a property line would require a surrounding flyaway barrier at least six feet high.

Hives must now be kept 100 feet from homes and 10 feet above ground.

The proposals were modeled after small-scale animal husbandry laws in cities such as Seattle, Santa Monica and San Diego, according to staff.

The possibility of bees buzzing around near her home had one resident worried.

Heather Altman, who lives in Belmont Heights, said she hopes the committee will look into creating safeguards to protect bee -allergic residents.

"This is a very real concern for me, and I'd like to be able to use my backyard," Altman said.

Councilman Patrick O'Donnell submitted the lone "no" vote Tuesday after expressing concern over the committee's asking the City Attorney's Office to come back with draft changes to city code in September meeting.

"To go ahead and slide it into legal language, to me, solidifies it," O'Donnell said.

Regardless of what results from the process, Long Beach citizens won't have to deal with roosters crowing at the break of dawn.

"Roosters aren't allowed per city code, and we're not proposing to change it," said Larry Rich, city sustainability coordinator.

eric.bradley @presstelegram.com, 562-714-2104, http://twitter.com/EricBradleyPT

Great article from Long Beach Press Telegram

Bee Administrator — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:24:00 GMT

Tim Grobaty: Long Beach's proposed relaxation of urban farming rules may return us to our roots

By Tim Grobaty, Columnistpresstelegram.com

Posted: 03/27/2013 02:29:45 PM PDT

March 27, 2013 9:38 PM GMT

Updated: 03/27/2013 02:38:58 PM PDT

We had a duck when we were 2. You should know that about us. His name was Webster Webfoot and he was taller than we were.

We were living with our grandparents at the time over on Keever Avenue, and we guess they probably gave us a cute little duckling and the thing grew up. Or maybe it just flew or waddled into our backyard. We don't know.

How many ways are there to get a duck? Anyway, knowing us, we were probably afraid of the duck. Who wouldn't be? How would you feel right now if a duck larger than you barged into your house right now?

(John Foxx)

One day, our granddad gave the duck to a man he felt sorry for. "Here, have a duck, that oughta cheer you up."

The man, we later came to find, ate the duck, and we slept like a baby.

This instructive story is meant to show that we are no stranger to farm animals. There are more stories, like the week we spent inoculating piglets and cows with our cousin at his farm in Iowa - a farm that had been in our family for 100 years.

The piglets were easy, you just pick them up by a hind leg, jab a needle into them and mark them with a big grease marker so you don't accidentally inoculate them again. The cows were more problematic. You had to muscle them into a little cow-sized pen before you could give them a shot. Our cousin was your typical big Iowa boy built like a defensive tackle. In those days we were more of a scatback. Spry. Nimble. Unable to move a cow.

Farming is somewhere deep in our genes, just as it is in Long Beach's. The massive migration to this city in the early 1900s was chiefly from the Midwest Grain Belt, especially Iowa. Many were elderly, retiring from a life of hard work in extreme weather to a glorious life in the California sunshine in a young seaside town that was rapidly filling up with their neighbors and, later, younger farmers being pushed out of jobs by advances in farming technologies that allowed one farmer to work hundreds of acres practically by himself.

So maybe it shouldn't be surprising, this reawakening of a hankering for good, old-fashioned agriculture in a town that was for decades known as Iowa By the Sea.

The Long Beach City Council is now considering expanded and relaxed

rules regarding raising and keeping chickens, goats and bees within the city limits. The changes have already been approved by the council's Environmental Committee headed by 2nd District councilwoman Suja Lowenthal. They await only final approval by the council, which is still studying the rules, which mainly allow for the keeping of chickens (up to 20), goats (limit of two pygmy goats) and beehives (five), and lessening the restrictions on how far these creatures are from neighboring properties.

Some citizens of Long Beach see this as a return to Hicksville, with country folk raising critters out in the yard. Some are worried about noise. We've already got noise, with chattering squirrels, barking dogs, cawing crows, UPS trucks, overflying airplanes and round-the-clock gardeners. The odd cackle or whinny might be an interesting addition to the sounds of the suburbs. And we've had beehives on our property (millions and millions of bees)- without getting stung.

Others, including your former farming correspondent, as well as Lowenthal, see urban (or suburban) it as progressive and a boost to the rapidly advancing urban farming movement in Long Beach. That movement has been brought about to a large degree by the sins and excesses of Big Food such as Monsanto and Cargill and other companies that have swamped family farms and have been crazily and dangerously tinkering with agriculture and Frankenfood products.

Sustainable farming has been chatted about a lot, but it's a great way to go. There are scores of Long Beach farmers and chefs growing their own food on small lots throughout the city, and some of them grow enough surplus to sell to the public. Check out one of the more notable ones, Sasha Kanno's Farm Lot 59 at 2714 California Ave. (www.longbeachlocal.org).

And, finally, the movement is a return to the sort of simplicity and do-it-yourself farming that most of us who can trace our heritage to the heartland, have in our subconscious, even if it hasn't awoken yet.

Does that mean we want to live next door to a family raising chickens, goats and bees? Yes, it does.

tim.grobaty@presstelegram.com

, 562-714-2116 or

twitter.com/grobaty

Interview with our V.P. Barbara

Bee Administrator — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:49:00 GMT

Interview with our V.P. Barbara

http://www.csulb.edu/sites/emerities/archives/554

Great Long Beach Press Telegram article (used with permission)

Bee Administrator — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:38:00 GMT

Tim Grobaty: Long Beach's proposed relaxation of urban farming rules may return us to our roots

By Tim Grobaty, Columnistpresstelegram.com

Posted: 03/27/2013 02:29:45 PM PDT

March 27, 2013 9:38 PM GMTUpdated: 03/27/2013 02:38:58 PM PDT

We had a duck when we were 2. You should know that about us. His name was Webster Webfoot and he was taller than we were.

(John Foxx)

One day, our granddad gave the duck to a man he felt sorry for. "Here, have a duck, that oughta cheer you up."

The man, we later came to find, ate the duck, and we slept like a baby.

So maybe it shouldn't be surprising, this reawakening of a hankering for good, old-fashioned agriculture in a town that was for decades known as Iowa By the Sea.

The Long Beach City Council is now considering expanded and relaxed

Does that mean we want to live next door to a family raising chickens, goats and bees? Yes, it does.

tim.grobaty@presstelegram.com

, 562-714-2116 or

twitter.com/grobaty

Bee Anatomy at the Bee Club Meeting 2/3

Bee Administrator — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 20:26:00 GMT

Today we had a great class about bee anatomy. We reviewed the differences between the females, males and queen, wax glands, the pollen pressor and basket, and the honey stomach. Honey bees are unique and special and never fail to amaze.

Honey Bee Eggs and Larva From a Rescued Hive

Getting An Up Close Look at a Bee

First Fridays Outreach 1/4

Bee Administrator — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:34:00 GMT

See us First Fridays in Bixby Knolls. We can answer questions, you can buy some fun honey sticks and local Long Beach honey is available for sale. You can find us at the Expo Center 4313 Atlantic Avenue, LB. (200 yards south of San Antonio, west side of street).

Long Beach Honey at the Spring Street Farm Stand

Bee Administrator — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 07:28:00 GMT

You can now find Long Beach backyard and rescue honey at the

Spring Street Farm Stand

. They are open Tuesdays and Fridays from 10-5pm. You can find the stand at the North East corner of the Spring and Long Beach Blvd intersection. The honey is brought to you by our own Long Beach Beekeepers. The current Bixby Hills honey is brought to you by Dick. Here's the story behind the wonderful raw and spectacular honey...

This batch of honey came from a cutout I did in August on a derelict backyard dresser on Circle Drive in Bixby Knolls. The homeowner said the bees had only been there about two months. Well, as is usually the case, he underestimated. The colony was in a space that was 18 inches by 18 inches and 24 inches deep. And it was solid comb, a lot of it very dark. Had to be a year-old hive.

The homeowner was a great guy and he loved smoking a cigar and watching the bees, but his family objected and he called our rescue line. So as he sat on the patio and enjoyed a cigar, I cut out comb, tied it into frames, scooped and vac’d bees and made a little nuc. Not much brood comb. Tons of honey. Very sweet bees. No stings. A successful rescue.

-- Dick

You can also find flavored honey for just 25 cents each. Try a bunch of flavors for just a dollar.

Support Long Beach Beekeeping and Urban Agriculture

Bee Administrator — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:16:00 GMT

The Long Beach Environmental Committee is hearing recommendations for change to the city ordinances related to the keeping of bees, chickens and goats. They last met 11/27/2012 and city staff were requested to present in the first quarter of 2013 draft ordinance changes. There was a potential survey presented by staff but that has been post-poned until the draft ordinances are presented.

Here is the review in the LB report. LB Report about city meeting.

The fifth district council member, Gerrie Schipske, has put out an online survey to get a feel for what people think about the proposed changes. Here is what staff has proposed at the summer meeting.

City of Long Beach

Current and proposed policies on the keeping of backyard chickens, goats and bees [source: City of LB website]

	Current	Proposed
Chickens	Up to 20 may be kept at least 50 feet from 1 and 2 family residences or 100 feet from multi-family (3+) residences or hotels 1 chicken may be kept as pet at least 20 feet from any dwelling	Up to 4 may be kept without required distance from neighboring residence 5 to 10 may be kept at least 25 feet from neighboring residence 11 to 20 may be kept at least 50 feet from neighboring residence 5 or more must obtain one-time permit from Animal Care Services
Goats	No more than 1 may be kept at least 100 feet from neighboring residences May not be kept south of Anaheim Street	2 female pygmy goats (only) may be kept without required distance from neighboring residences Must be licensed annually by Animal Care Services Milk products produced are for personal consumption only
Bees	Hives must be kept at least 100 feet from neighboring residences and public ways (streets and alleys). Must be kept 10 feet above ground	Up to 5 hives may be kept at least 5 feet from property line If a hive is less than 15 feet from a property line, a flyway barrier of at least 6 feet high must be maintained around the hive Hives must be registered with Los Angeles County Department of Agriculture

Michael Bush Event October 7th: SOLD OUT!

Bee Administrator — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 01:35:00 GMT

Michael Bush is coming to Long Beach. The event is already sold out and looks to be a great oppurtunity to get together with other natural beekeepers.

We'll be inspecting hives with him and learning about unlimited brood next management and the 4 steps to keeping healthy bees.

Stay tuned for updates. Check the monthly meeting page for event details.

Check out this link for Michael Bush's website.

Honey Tasting and Monthly Meeting This Sun 9/2

Bee Administrator — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 19:14:00 GMT

Please join us this Sunday for our monthly meeting at 10am. Following the meeting we'll have a honey tasting where you can learn the difference between store bought honey and the wonders of unprocessed, raw honey from our own neighborhoods. Here's the agenda. Hope to see you there. The honey tasting will start about 11am.

Spreading the Buzz about Bees

Bee Administrator — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:13:00 GMT

We've been to some great events to speak to people about bees. It's a great way to show people what a hive looks like by bringing our observation hives.

We're going to be having a great set-up and a Beginning Beekeeping Workshop Sept 8th, Sat, at the Admiral Kidd Farmer's Market 11am. We were at the Farmer's Market and the bees seem to love the place and really loved the lemonade stand.

Join Us This Sunday

Bee Administrator — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:33:00 GMT

Join us on Sunday for our next meeting.

Our Family Bee Adventure

Bee Administrator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 21:58:00 GMT

CHAPTER 1 - Bugs and Berries

So technically our family adventure begins with our garden. It had been doing really well all spring. Especially our strawberries. We didn’t plant strawberries last year because, after trying for several years, we finally decided that the only beneficiaries were the slugs who consistently ravaged the berries before they had a chance to fully ripen. As much as my family loves strawberries, the plants were just taking up valuable real estate in our garden so sadly, we pulled them out. This year, we found the hanging strawberries. They were kind of expensive but we bought two anyway. When we found some cheap planter boxes at a garage sale we realized we could mount those on a wall in our garden and fill them with strawberries too. So we did. We had mounds of plump, fragrant, delicious strawberries for our pancakes and for desert and for dipping in Nutela and for sharing and for simply devouring right off the plant. Many of our berries never made it to the inside of our house, except maybe for the pink juicy goodness smeared all over the kids‘ faces... It was glorious.

Then all of a sudden our strawberries became small and misshapen. I had been watering and fertilizing (organic) regularly. In addition, our squash, for the last 5 years easily our most bountiful crop, wasn’t doing anything. And where did all the bees go? I am no master gardener, but my best guess under the circumstances was pollination. This is peak bee season and I have seen only one bee in our garden in the last month. And it only likes the fennel, which I let flower specifically for the bees. Prior to that the bees were everywhere. This Spring they were especially fond of the Manzanita blossoms in the draught tolerant portion of our yard.

Now, based on the various going’s on in our neighborhood, I have a pretty good idea that our local wild bee colonies have been hit pretty hard by exterminators and by vector control lately. Of course, I have also been loosely following the colony collapse disorder (CCD) mystery (not a mystery anymore-more on that another time) and I didn’t completely rule that out as a contributing factor. The poor bees don’t seem to be catching any brakes over the last few years. If it isn’t mites or fungus or mysterious sudden death, hysterical people commonly fumigate bees as a matter of standard practice. Did you know our “health” department advises people to call 911 for swarming bees? EEEK! A bee SWARM! Don’t tell me they wont attack because they don’t have anything to defend! Just KILL them! QUICK!

Anyway, our bee adventure technically begins with a love of strawberries AND a long standing sympathy for and appreciation of insects of many kinds. We have a tarantula (an arachnid, I know) and we had silk worms and moths, stick bugs, raised numerous types of caterpillars and butterflies and we have participated in many butterfly counts and have a growing collection of bugs that the husband and son pin themselves and well, you have the idea. We like bugs… and strawberries.

A brief conversation and it was decided. It was time. We couldn’t rely on feral bee populations in our neighborhood and having bees fit very well with our environmental ethic. Of course this would require detailed study and we also soon understood that we would not be complying with current city codes. We also discovered that there was a growing movement within Long Beach (as well as other cities) for the regulations to be modified to accommodate backyard beekeepers in dense neighborhoods such as ours.

Off to the library then. We checked out a number of dvd’s, and the one I liked best was “Vanishing of the Bees” and NOVA’s “Tales from the Hive” has some spectacular footage. I perused the “Beekeeping for Dummies” book and decided that it was a keeper so we also went to BioQuip, a local bug lovers super store. Of course they had it, and a different book for the husband too. Apparently he isn’t a dummy. (cough, cough) In addition, we confirmed that they carry all the necessary beekeeping equipment when we are ready for some bees. They do not carry live bee colonies though. We would have to get the bees from somewhere else.

As the days passed and we got into our books and videos, I was becoming more acutely aware that we would probably need advice and possibly some supervision from a local experienced beekeeper.

- Jenni Gomez et. al.

The Maple Village School Visits The Bees

Bee Administrator — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 05:31:00 GMT

This week Henry in our group received a wonderful thank-you letter from the Maple Village School. We love to do educational events because it's a wonderful to see the kids excited about the bees.

The kids came over to the bee yard at Farm Lot 59 to see the bees and they look like they had a great time.

LBLB at the Green Festival Long Beach

Bee Administrator — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:42:00 GMT

We had another great opportunity to get the word out about urban beekeeping this past weekend. Henry, Selene, Barbara and Jaime helped at out booth and answered a bunch of questions. There were even some people that were interested in beekeeping and were inspired to start after the information they received. I'm sure the next meeting will have a bunch of new people.

Support Backyard Beekeeping!

Bee Administrator — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:51:00 GMT

This week the Long Beach Sustainability Office is holding public comment meetings for the proposed code changes that will support having chickens, goats and bees in your backyard.

The next meeting will be tonight 6:30pm at the Whaley Community Center, 5620 Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA

Current and proposed policies on the keeping of backyard chickens, goats and bees

For Public discussion at Community Meetings 6/11/12 and6/14/12

	Current	Proposed
Chickens	Up to 20 may be kept at least 50 feet from 1 and 2 family residences or 100 feet from multi-family (3+) residences or hotels 1 chicken may be kept as a pet at least 20 feet from any dwelling no crowing fowl	Up to 4 may be kept without required distance from neighboring residence 5 to 10 may be kept at least 25 feet from a neighboring residence 5 or more must obtain one-time permit from the animal care services (considering $25)
Goats	No more than 1 may be kept at least 100 feet from neighboring residences May not be kept south of Anaheim Street	2 female pygmy goats (only) may be kept without required distance from neighboring residences Must be licensed annually by animal care services (considering $? Milk products produced are for personal consumption only
Bees	Hives must be kept at least 100 feet from neighboring residences and public ways (streets and alleys) Must be kept 10 feet above the ground	Up to 5 hives may be kept at least 5 feet from property line If a hive is less than 15 feet from a property line, a flyway barrier of at least 6 feet high must be maintained around the hive Hives must be registered with the Los Angeles County Department of Agriculture ($10/year)

The turn out for the Monday meeting was great but we need more people. The proposed changes will then be brought to the Environmental Committee on Tues June 26th. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come and support the changes. The more people that come in support, the better our chances are that the committee will support bringing the issue before the Long Beach City Council. The Sustainability Office, lead by Larry Rich, has done a spectacular job reviewing other city codes and we need to support his effort and say thank-you for bringing the issue forward.


Monday's First Public Comment Session with Larry Rich