Amazing Feats of Urban Beekeeping

Mark Cawsey of Plan Bee Apiaries writes: "Here are couple of photos of us pulling honey supers recently. We keep bees just north of Seattle in Brier, Wash. The pictures were snapped by my son, Jacob."

Bees at Plan Bee Apiaries, in Brier, Wash.

Bees at Plan Bee Apiary, in Brier, Wash.

Karla writes: "I have beeen keeping bees for 4 years now on 0.8 of an acre, surrounded by new development (thousands of houses) in Gainesville, Virginia. I currently have 3 hives and 9 nucs in the back yard. Due to the efforts of our beekeeping club, recently, our county (Prince William County, Virginia) passed new zoning rules allowing the keeping of bees on lots as small as 10,000 square feet."

Stefani writes: "When people find out that a 40x40-foot yard in my little Bay Area city holds three beehives, they're surprised. I don't know how much room they expect bees to take -- it's not as though I'm running beef cattle or alpaca in Alameda. Everyone's happy to visit at harvest time, though. The photo is of my daughter Caterina Angstadt-Leto 'helping' hive a swarm."

Kelly writes: "My partner Janet and I have had some incredible bee adventures. It started when a reporter from the OC Weekly (Orange County, CA) wanted to follow us (two renegade urban bee rescuers and keepers) and do a story about what we do...."

Kelly continues: "We were just beekeeping as a hobby, as gardeners and nature lovers, and soon we could not keep up with the amount of emails from people who wanted us to rescue their bees. So now we are the founders of backyardbees.net."

Kelly continues: "We have over 40 hives that are  kept in backyard gardens, small local farms or orchards. One of our bee locations is the City of Laguna Woods -- resuced 4 hives from their city building and now manage them on the rooftop!"

Kelly continues: "We sell local honey and rescue hives as an alternative to chemical extermination. Our other goal is to provide public awareness by giving beekeeping lectures and help people who want to get started in beekeeping."

Kathleen writes: "We started recently backyard beekeeping in Denver Colorado. My interest in beekeeping started several years ago while helping a friend with her honey harvest out in Strasburg Colorado. After setting up our two hives in late May, we waited for swarm calls. The first came from Greenwood Mountain and the swarm was miniscule but we were thrilled. We collected the swarm by hand, which took quite a long time, but we were excited and awed by the process. Our second swarm came to us boxed and I made many newbie mistakes while introducing them to the hive, but somehow they ended up claiming it as home. Towards the end of summer, we did a hive combine. Although we weren’t able to gather any honey this season, we hope that our hive combine was successful enough for the bees to survive through winter for "robbing" next season!

"Dallas and I recently married and we included our hives in the half-moon cake topper I compiled from photographs of us and our 'menagerie.'"

Anna writes: "I am a second-year urban backyard beekeeper. I live in the city of St. Louis near Forest Park, famed home of the 1904 World's Fair. I became a beekeeper because I felt called to help perpetuate the species and pollinate my garden. The Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association has been a great resource. This picture was taken last summer, when there was only one hive. Now there are two.

T.J. writes: "My family of seven began keeping 3-4 hives in 2005 on a little over an acre in a neighborhood in Tullahoma, Tenn., after a little bit of discussion with our immediate neighbors and city zoning officials. The only obstacles we have encountered in the past five seasons have been the occasional observations from neighbors about bees visiting swimming pools, birdbaths and hummingbird feeders. A few times through the years we have had the occasional sting on a child’s bare foot or a cloud of robbing bees roaming the yard after a mistake by the beekeeper. Through beekeeping, gardening and tending for friend’s farm animals we have decided to put our home in the city up for sale and look for a hobby farm in the country to expand our operation and become more self sufficient."

John writes: "One winter my dad surprised my wife and I with an eight-frame starter kit and all the tools we would need. We painted the boxes and I set out to build an enclosure for the hives in order to protect them from curious hounds from venturing too close. Our yard gets full sun all day so I have faced the hive opening to the southeast and constructed a trellis of morning glories that protects them from the mid day heat. It all turned out just as I had hoped except that I was still very apprehensive of keeping bees in urban Fairfax County, Virginia, which is a close suburb of Washington, D.C. I was afraid of what my neighbors would think and envisioned complaints of bees stinging everyone in our subdivision. Thankfully most of our closest neighbors are gardeners and welcomed the honey bees with enthusiasm. To this date no one has been stung (except me, like all the time) and our conversations often start with the question, 'How are the girls doing?' Their caring and encouragement has been a great inspiration to me."

Read more of his story Two Tales of Beginning Urban Beekeeping.

John continues: "In our rookie season we have made a few mistakes -- a swarm and an all-to-curious skunk (which has now sprayed our bloodhound twice) ... but we are learning. Thankfully, not at the cost of the bees who seem to be doing just fine as they are headed into their first winter here. Even my Brooklyn-bred wife, Patricia, has fallen in love with them. Her first stop after arriving home from work is usually out to see the bees."

"My wife and I have already begun planning for another hive next year. After some research with my dad we have decided to try some "Kenyan Top Bar Hives" which we have began to construct ourselves. I am expanding my bee friendly gardens also. We installed a sunflower garden as well as a 1,500-square foot vegetable garden this past spring. All of which turned out very well. Can't wait for the girls to see what is in store for them next year!"

Read more of his story Two Tales of Beginning Urban Beekeeping.

Amy writes: "I live in North City Park section of Denver, about three miles from the center of downtown. Bees just recently became legal here. I have two hidden behind sunflowers are at my house (still illegal; they are supposed to be in the rear third of my lot). Denver City Park and Zoo are 1/2 mile from my house, and the Denver Botanic Gardens are two miles away. My yard is fully xeric, not one blade of grass ... Bee heaven!

Toni writes: "I keep bees in three locations within Washington D.C., as well as one in the Virginia suburbs. My first two packages of bees arrived and were installed on my roof. My Virginia apiary was started the following year. I now look after seven hives within DC, one of which actually belongs to the DC Parks and Rec Department. I have two hives on my roof, and the picture comes from there.

"The picture shows me with my roof hives at mid-year last year. Every year they grow up stronger than the last, which results in me pressing all sorts of gear into service ahead of swarming -- which I believe must be avoided in an urban context. The electrical cords attach to Bee-Cool units, which make me feel better because roof temps top 110 degrees F at least once every summer here. My bees are really productive, so perhaps it helps them, too."

Brenda writes: "We began beekeeping (in Cambrian Park, San Jose, Calif.) on a whim in April 2009 because we never saw honeybees in our garden. Our first hive swarmed in June, then it was varroa mites and moths. We now have two very healthy hives going into Fall strong with honey stores. We have added bamboo to our grape-stake fence to shield the sidewalk and plain view. Our neighbors are so far in strong support and it's been a hit with most of the passers by."

Denise writes: "Well — surely you guys didn’t mean to discriminate against our native bees, just because they don't make honey! These little girls and guys are fabulous pollinators, and they need our love and support, too. That's why I started raising Orchard Mason Bees about seven years ago, and why I donate the bee houses I designed for them to local schools, native plant nurseries, historical sites, County parks and anyone who wants to help increase their populations. I live about seven miles outside of Washington, D.C. on 1/8 acre that I've jam-packed with all the plants that bees and butterflies adore. So don't forget to count me in, because I'm a dedicated urban beekeeper, too — and I don’t even need a bee suit ;-)"

Did you know that it takes only 250 orchard mason bees to pollinate one acre of commercial apple orchards, whereas it would take 25,000 honeybees to accomplish the same task? Learn how to raise orchard mason bees and other native bees.

I am an illegal urban beekeeper. In my small Midwest town bees are classified as "pests." Pest indeed! In the first 16 years I lived in my house I never saw a honeybee. As a way to honor and remember my late father who kept 10 hives I decided to get a hive to release some swarms back into the wild.

I live toward the end of a tree-lined dead end street, surrounded by neighbors who don't use chemicals and are understanding about my mission. I live about a block from a clover- and flower-filled park with many dead and hollow trees ideal for a beehive....

It has been a good 16 months. When I take my grandson for a walk and see a golden bee (which happens with increasingly more frequency) I feel pretty good that at least one of my swarms is doing well.

Finally this summer I saw a bee I had never seen before. Research has led me to conclude it is a leaf cutter bee. I take this as a sign that, at least in my micro-ecosystem, things may be improving. I hope to send off many more swarms and get a bit more honey before the local authorities catch me and slap me in leg irons. The Obamas can keep bees but not me?

Jacqueline writes: "I am a Deacon in the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of California and I have a beehive in my backyard on Potrero Hill in San Francisco. We run a food pantry – The Julian Pantry — out of our church St. John the Evangelist in San Francisco's Mission District on Saturday mornings. The honey that is harvested from my backyard hive is sold to benefit the food pantry. I received a grant from The Church Divinity School of the Pacific to fund this project."

Jacqueline writes: "The Julian Hive is an attractive feature in our backyard garden."

Jacqueline writes: "Our 3 1/2 year-old daughter is fearless and she loves the bees. (She renamed herself Firefly when she was 18 months old and that is the only name she will answer to.)"

Nancy writes: "I am an urban/country beekeeper from central Virginia. I started about 6 years ago with a few hives at my parent's home in the country. I really wanted a hive that I could visit every day. It is so relaxing to watch the girls come and go from their hive. I love being able to go out my back door to visit them."

Erin writes: "I get a lot of swarm calls as I put my information out there as someone who will 'rescue' honeybees. I am one of only four Master Beekeepers in Maine. I have two top bar hives that I am experimenting with. The best way to populate a top bar hive is with a swarm, so I'd been waiting to use it until I caught a swarm for it. I manage about 80 colonies including quite a few at my home in Portland (that's where the top bar hive is). I sell my honey through local grocery stores and at the farmer's market.

"Like most beekeepers, beekeeping is my second job. My first job is as controller for a manufacturing company here in Maine, Sterling Rope. I keep bees on the company's property in the industrial park. Last year I had five of my own colonies there. This year I got a grant from SARE to explore/demonstrate the differences between locally raised bees and commercial Italian bees. I set my SARE apiary up at the office to make it easier for me to feed them when they first started, also it is a great place to have people come and see them (lots of parking, etc.). And I can run out and tend to them at lunchtime, which is great. The forage in the industrial park is excellent — lots of wildflowers and weeds that bees love. Plus, the bees are right under the eye of myself and our employees all the time (so safe from vandals/predators), and the company loves the marketing aspects of the fact that we keep bees on our property; there is even a picture of them in our catalog, and the company purchases honey from me and gives it away at trade shows."

To read more about Erin's bees, see this multimedia feature in The Sunday Best.

Joan writes: "I am an urban beekeeper in Tacoma, Wash. I have been keeping bees for two years and have one hive. I have been a gardener for over 24 years and it seemed like the most natural progression for me. I wanted the pollination for my vegetable garden but have become enamored with them and their amazing habits. Even though I find more of them in my neighbor's gardens than mine (sigh), they are a delight. All the neighbors are very positive about my bees and understand the plight of honeybees worldwide. My dad is responsible for introducing me to the world of bees (he kept bees over 30 years ago and does to this day) and is still my mentor."

Meredith writes: "In 2008, a group of five backyard beekeepers with more than 60 years of combined beekeeping experience established the nonprofit organization, Burgh Bees, to promote honeybees, beekeeping and the creative reuse of neglected urban land."

Meredith writes: "Since 2008 Burgh Bees has established four demonstration apiaries in urban neighborhoods throughout the city in partnership with local urban farming organizations as well as the Pittsburgh Zoo." (This polar bear is a neighbor to the bees.)

Meredith writes: "In addition Burgh Bees also is in the midst of our 'intensive beekeeper training program,' by which we are training 35 aspiring urban and suburban beekeepers." 

Meredith writes: "We also host monthly beekeeper meetups at local watering holes each month and bring city residents to all of our hives around town for tours! Beekeeping is quite a phenomenon in the Burgh! As we say, Honeybees are Yinzer Bees!"

Mark writes: "My wife and I live in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in an older Italian neighbourhood filled with vegetable gardens, fruit trees and wild flowers, and our girls produce a wonderfully flavourful honey that reflects the diversity of plants they visit all summer. We have a large, private yard with very supportive neighbors living beside us."

Mike writes: "I live and keep my bees on the southwest side of Oklahoma City. I have been both a rural and urban beek and enjoy keeping them in the city much better. There is always something blooming."

Phil writes: "I've been interested in bees since I was a kid, but it wasn't until this year that my neighbor and I both got hives -- to do what we could to help guard against Colony Collapse Disorder, etc. We found comfort in our own inexperience and have been greatly helped by the Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Association -- a fantastic organization. I've even started a blog, Honey Honey ... Don't Stop. My girls are in the front yard under a tree next to my neighbours driveway (in Kirkwood, St. Louis). They are the cause of great interest, never alarm, to all the neighbors, and my bees go largely about their business without interference. The electricity meter reader had no idea I even had a hive, despite having walked in front of it once a month for the past five months! It's been fascinating and fun."

Roger writes: "Genesis Park Community Garden, the South Bronx, New York: I have kept 3-4 hives of bees here for 10 years. Amazing as it may sound, the Bronx is ideal for an apiary. The flowering trees and plants in its acres of parkland and on its streets make the Bronx a bee-paradise! The hives are very productive, and the honeys are delightful!"

Alex Templeton writes: "My hives sit atop our garage in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, with well-tended gardens and landscaping nearby. I built my hives from scratch, choosing the 8-top bar, vertical design invented by French pastor Émile Warré. My Carniolan bees are sweet-tempered, and I expect to take about 80 pounds of honey this autumn."

Amber writes of her hive: "I knew very little about bees when I got the hive. I worked for Mann Lake LTD for almost a year and I learned enough to keep my hive alive. This is the second season. My first season I made approximately $500 selling honey at $5 per pound. It started out as just something for my 15-year-old son and I to do and turned in to an awesome hobby."

Bob writes: "I'm a first-year beekeeper in Seattle, WA. I live in an apartment building so got my friend's neighbor to let me put them in her backyard. I don't have a car but ride my bike over to Diane's place in the Central District. The CD is a pretty dense, urban neighborhood but close to Lake Washington with lots of backyard gardens and fruit trees nearby. Due to rookie mistakes I had to combine my two hives into one.... So far, so good with that one. All the neighbors are very happy about the production of the local produce this year; we are pretty sure it's the presence of the bees."

Chris writes: "I live in a dense urban area where beekeeping is not illegal (though most other types of livestock are specifically prohibited) and I have a large lot that provides a good buffer between the bees and my neighbors. A sharp drop to the sidewalk means that bees fly well over the heads of any passers-by. The roof you see in the background is part of the low-income housing that's in front of my home on the hill. Beyond that is the Hudson River. I prefer not to precisely identify my location as my hive uses bars without frames. While they can be carefully removed, a draconian inspector could declare them 'fixed comb' which does not conform to the requirements.

"The hive is considered a modified Warré hive, as it includes glass viewing windows with insulated covers. I can satisfy my curiosity without opening the hive or disturbing the bees. While it's not really an observation hive and the queen is rarely visible, it does allow a satisfying view of activity inside without causing any disruption. I use this hive design because I believe it provides the best environment for the bees of any I have investigated when it's used according to the instructions of its creator Abbe Emil Warré. Thür and Christ both developed similar designs, apparently all three without the benefit of the other two's experiences."

Christy writes: "Here are several shots of Gold Star top bar hives -- the kit we manufacture for sale. Not as 'surreptitious' as say, a New York City rooftop beekeeper has to be, I mean, hey -- my landlord wrote my bees right into my lease, and even let me grow the lawn into a meadow this year! But it's a lovely little apiary at 5:30 on a summer morning in Bath, Maine ... with the sunrise shining on the sides of the hives."

"Gold Star Honeybees runs a Beekeeping Service, where I place the hives, populate 'em with bees, and then maintain them all season -- sort of like the 'pool guy' would take care of your swimming pool (only different)."

Craig writes: "I’m an avid gardener in the city of St. Louis. When my neighbor mentioned she was getting bees I said, 'I’ve wanted to do that for years,' so she helped me get started with Russians. We compare notes and have learned a lot. Aside from some queen problems, my untreated bees seem fine and the neighbors have no complaints."

Dana writes: "This hive sits in my backyard. The bees have a small urban landscape (in downtown Fargo, N.D.) to forage, which supplies an uninterrupted flow of nectar. The city's plantings throughout downtown, neighbor's gardens, rooftop patios ... they all supply the nectar that is making what I feel is the best honey."

Donald writes: "Better known as Koppy's Bee Ranch, these hives may appear to be out in the woods but they are actually in a typical old subdivision of St. Louis. I've had them here for nine years and every four years must get a special animal permit from the City of Crestwood, Missouri. Fortunately, my neighbors are OK with me keeping bees, and an annual jar of honey keeps them that way. I sell my extra honey at the local grocery store and call it 'Darn Good Honey, Straight from My Backyard.'"

Frank writes: "An observation hive is a glass-walled hive that one keeps to see what bees are doing and how they are doing it. Honey bees are a social insect; they engage in many complex behaviors (and, unlike with ants and termites, these behaviors are easily observed). The tube allows the bees to come and go as they wish. I live in a cul-de-sac and the neighbors are familiar with my bees -- and their honey. The individual in the house visible through the window allows the bees to drink from her birdbath. I live, with my bees, in Fairfax, VA."

Gigi writes: "I'm a first-year beekeeper whose untreated bees appear to be thriving; 'purebred' Russians in two 8-frame hives started from nucs. They sit facing my kitchen window in Dogtown, a working-class neighborhood of St. Louis. My neighbors don’t mind and ask how they’re doing. One neighbor even started his own hive as a result, so we share tools and information."

Greg writes: "I'm in my second season of backyard beekeeping. I keep this hive in my backyard in South Milwaukee, WI. No laws prohibit it, and the neighbors, for the most part, are interested. In fact, I just harvested 40 pounds of basswood honey despite a June swarm and unusually cool and dry summer weather."

Ido writes: "I'm part of the Montgomery County Beekeepers Association in Silver Spring, Md., and I currently keep two hives in my backyard. I've had the hives since May and I live in a suburb of Washington, D.C. (approximately 15 miles from the hive known as Congress). My wife and I are organic gardeners and I took up beekeeping because we noticed the loss of pollinators in our garden and around our plants. I love my little girls very much and feel that they are more a part of my family than they are bees. I have attached a picture of the hives taken in July of this year."

James writes: "Here are three photos of my Apis sub-division in the city of Groveland, Fl. The three 'town-houses' are habitated by Russian immigrants. They seem to take to city living quite well, they gave a good honey crop this year. They also have cut down the number of poachers in the orange grove they dwell in."

James writes: "The Gotham City Honey Co-Op formed around free weekly beekeeping course held in Manhattan from January to May. We are a formal nonprofit agricultural co-op hoping that beekeeping will soon be legalized in New York City. The photo is of a 8-foot long 3-foot diameter bee tree felled by a thunderstorm at the Bronx Zoo. It took eight Co-Op beekeepers most of a day to hive the colony."

Kait writes: "I keep a single hive in my backyard in Oakland, Ca. It's wedged between the casita (my bedroom) and the neighbors' fences. The hive is nested in among raspberries, bluberries, goldenberries, kiwi vines, a peach tree, roses and medicinal herbs. Still, the bees fly out of the hive, up and to the north — straight for the neighbor's bottlebrush tree! 

Karin says: "I've been keeping bees for four years. The city of Cleveland recently passed an ordinance allowing chickens and bees on residential city lots. I feel that my bees help to restore balance in the city by improving pollination of the flora of urban gardens, community gardens and vegetation for wildlife. In addition, the honey is wonderful and has won several awards in competitions against honey from rural areas!"

Linda writes: "I'm an urban beekeeper in Atlanta where my bees are on my deck behind my house. They have been there for four years. I also keep a hive at a community garden, the Blue Heron Nature Preserve, which is inside Atlanta's city limits. It's within the law in Atlanta and all over Georgia to keep bees. I'm a member of the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers Association and we conduct inspections of our hives to help new beekeepers learn what to do and this photo shows me with other beekeepers on an inspection at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve community garden.

"This spring I got a call at work to go get a swarm from someone's house. I had an hour and a half break at work (I'm a psychologist), so I drove past my house and grabbed my beesuit, a ladder, a cardboard box and a sheet. I drove to the woman's house, captured the swarm in the cardboard box. I put the cardboard box, complete with swarm, into the back of my car.  The box was somewhat open because I didn't want to seal the bees into it. I knew with Atlanta traffic that I didn't have time to take off my beesuit before driving the swarm to my backyard hives. Wearing my beesuit, I jumped in the car with the bees in the back. Some of them were flying against the back window trying to leave. I got all kinds of stares on my way home — me driving in the beesuit with a car with bees hitting the back window one after another! I got the swarm to my house, installed them in a hive on my deck with the rest of my hives, tore off my beesuit, jumped back in the car and got to work in time for my next patient!"

Melissa writes: "I'm a first-year beekeeper and love every minute of it! My girls live in Cleveland Heights, which has no ordinance for or against keeping hives, but there is a 'nuisance' law that requires hive (or dog or rusty car) removal if someone complains. Luckily, all my neighbors are thrilled to have bees buzzing around their gardens!"

Nicole writes: "I’m a first-year beekeeper in Gainesville, Fla., a mid-size city of approximately 114,000 people. I have one hive in my front yard along a suburban street. Fortunately, my yard has a good number of trees so the neighbors haven’t noticed the hive yet! I’m proud to say that I will harvest honey very soon!

"Thanks for spreading the word about the value of bees and the joys of beekeeping! Also pictured is my friend Rob Horsburgh, a long-time beekeeper who has been helping me with hive inspections, teaching me about bees, their ways and tricks of the trade."

Steve C. writes: "I don't know if my hive counts as 'urban' but I have a few hundred neighbors within a few blocks, so I guess that counts. The bees are 15-feet-plus off the ground. I would imagine they are happy to be at that height."

Dave Creasey writes: "These hives are on a rural setting 6 miles northwest of Elmira, Ore. Four is a good amount of hives to go into the winter with. No chems are used. Hobby only. No honey is sold... only given away as gifts and gratuities."

Chris Pampo writes: "When my son Julian was in kindergarten, he came home from school after learning about honeybees one day and announced that he wanted to be a beekeeper. He was in luck, because unbeknownst to him, I had been a beekeeper in the Peace Corps many years ago. It was just the excuse I needed to jump back in! We live in a residential neighborhood in Gainesville, Fla., and keep our hive in our backyard with our swimming pool, swingset, and 3 dogs. We plan on adding 2 more hives in February. My son is now 7, and we love our bees! My 2 year old is fascinated, too!"