Or do you hope to keep bees? Or just think bees are neat?
I wish I was a beekeeper! I want to one day in the future when I have a place for them. I’m here to learn.
Actually, we had a wooden shelf frame thingy out on our balcony and it had some holes for screws. One day we noticed that the local bees were getting in the holes and making it their home. So I now want to create a kind of bee hotel on our balcony.
But recently after the nearby flowering trees lost their flowers, the bees aren’t coming here anymore. :(
Just a wasp. :(
I realized I didn’t answer! I’m a scientist who works with honey bees, so I’ve got my “work bees” at work, and then a few hives of my “personal bees” at home.
A bee scientist whose name refers to a parasitic worm that infects pigs? This is the stuff I’m here for.
Awesome question! I’m a few months into keeping leaf cutter bees (Megachile rotundata) and have definitely been “stung” by the hobby.
I don’t currently have any honey bee hives, but am preparing to keep two on my property beginning next year. I’ve joined two beekeeping associations (one county-level and one state-level), am currently reading “The Beekeeper’s Bible”, and have joined my employer’s beekeeping club. It’s a pretty neat program; the company paid for two hives and equipment, and you can sign up to volunteer for hive maintenance duty (with training.) I thought it would be a great way to get some hands-on experience and make some local connections before starting up next year.
Anything you wish you would have known initially, or would have done differently?
I think you’ve done most of what I recommend to new beekeepers: Read beforehand, join clubs beforehand, and get some in-hive experience beforehand. Success in beekeeping is all about learning, learning, and more learning.
How have you enjoyed keeping the Megachile? I’ve thought about giving that a try.
I really appreciate your response! Megachile have been a blast to keep. It’s fairly hands-off until it’s time to harvest and sort cocoons in the fall, but they’re very active, gentle bees and are really entertaining to watch.
Due to their docile nature, you can almost get “nose close” to their nest entrances without bothering them. The females also have a very amusing way of orienting themselves before flying out of their holes. Fascinating stuff.
The only downside is dealing with parasitic Chalcid wasps, but it’s very manageable.
I am a beekeeper in California. Have 2-4 hives each year and have been keeping since 2018.
Not a beekeeper myself, but we are actively working on removing invasive species of plants from the property and will be focusing on native species to support polenators in conjunction with our vegetable gardens.
My escape-the-corprate-hellscape-dream includes beekeeping as part of a larger permaculture system and community skill-sharing space. Living in an area where we are seeing orchards and farm space being replaced by McMansion subdivisions, I want to highlight how valuable our wild and historic farm spaces are.
Plus, bees are just cool!
One of my favorite bee stories is How scientists were able to prove that bees do perceive time.
