I spent the morning at the Honeylove Bee Sanctuary in Moorpark, which is basically California farmland that we Angelenos rarely ever see. I kind of love it out there. Its so wide open and rural and smells good- the older I get, the less I like the city.
It was especially intriguing to get to see the bees close up- you know how it is- we always see them fly by, usually we swat them away or, in some cases, run from them. Maybe we will get to watch one busy inside a flower for a minute- but to see them in their homes, up close is completely a different world.
All bees are female except the drones. Drones don't belong to any one hive, as the other honeybees do- they are loyal to their queen and their hive, but drones- the males, of which there are very few comparatively, can just up and leave the hive and be welcomed in at the next hive- they only need them to make more babies, they serve no other purpose than to mate with the queen.
It was neat to see the sacs where they store the pollen on their legs- I've never gotten close enough to see that, especially full of pollen. I also didn't realize royal jelly is what they feed the queen- that is all she ever eats, and only the queen gets to eat it.
Their society is very ordered, each bee knows its job and its place, what to do and when to do it.
When the beekeeper Bill opened the hives, the smoke pacified the bees a little bit (they sense the smoke and the signal that they get is that a fire is near so to fill up on honey to take to the next hive that they will have to create- so they stick their heads into the combs and start eating honey, and that calms down a lot of them. The others spent a bit of time bashing into the beekeeper netting, or not paying any attention to us at all. But some were mad, and wanted to let us know it. I am glad they didn't sting me. They die after they sting you, their little intestines trailing out behind them like silk. I didn't want them to die from a misunderstanding- I wasn't there to hurt them.
I was kind of hoping that they would simply feel my bee love and that energy would be enough to create harmony, and docility on their part. I grew up on Disney as a child and did LSD as a teenager, so these flights of fancy happen from time to time. The reality is- bees are bees. They aren't there to love me or like me or even pay much attention to me- they've got shit to do! But I am fascinated with them, and that isn't going away any time soon.
Next- I need to learn how to catch feral swarms of bees! I can't wait.
Go check out the cool stuff Honeylove does- Honeylove website.
And here is a link to LA Weekly's Cover story this week about Urban Beekeeping in Los Angeles, featuring Rob and Chelsea who started Honeylove-LA Weekly Urban Beekeepers in LA article
These folks spend a lot of time rescuing wild swarms and bringing them all the way out to Moorpark to introduce them to their new homes. These are really good and kind people doing something extraordinary!
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| The hives at Honeylove Bee Sanctuary |
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