A Buzz-Worthy Operation: LA's Backwards Beekeepers

When it comes to beekeeping, husband and wife team Amy Seidenwurm and Russell Bates are generating a serious buzz in Los Angeles. A few years ago, the eco-conscious couple heard about “Colony Collapse Disorder,” a syndrome affecting commercial beekeepers worldwide wherein a bee colony unexpectedly abandons the hive for no apparent reason. Wanting to do their part by helping to repopulate L.A.’s bee population they contacted local bee guru Kirk Anderson who taught them all they needed to know to begin their own hives.

Removing a honeycomb from it’s frame

Their system is technically and philosophically simple: they just let the bees be bees. They use no pesticides, chemicals, or treatments of any kind and have found that left on their own the bees flourished. In their opinion, it is the chemicals and pesticides used by major bee keeping operations that are causing colony collapse. Amy and Russell were so enamored of and successful at beekeeping that they founded two projects: Feral Bee & Honey and Backwards Beekeepers.

The fruits of their labor

Feral Bee & Honey is the name under which they distribute their honey. Choosing to barter with local restaurants instead of selling the tasty byproduct in bulk, Amy and Russell trade with a couple of local restaurants who favor the complex flavors of feral bee honey and appreciate the non-toxic, chemical free ways it is harvested. Honey takes on the flavor of whatever the bees are feeding on, which means that commercial honey production has a single predictable flavor whereas the honey from feral bees changes seasonally and from neighborhood to neighborhood.

Los Angeles bee guru Kirk Anderson speaks to a meeting of LA’s Backward Bees

Along with Anderson, Amy and Russell also began Backwards Beekeepers, a social group that brings together people of all types who share a common interest in beekeeping. The members educate each other by sharing information, tips and stories. The group began with roughly five people but has since grown into a minor phenomenon with chapters springing up around the globe. If you find yourself coming down with bee fever or have ever had an inkling about what it takes to produce your own honey, check out beehuman.blogspot.com, feralbee.com and kirksurbanbees.com for all your urban beekeeping needs.

Bees being bees

×Stephen Zeigler

Comments

[Chad]

Awesome article and I love the images!

I use honey daily in my tea/tisane, I had no idea that the chemicals & pesticides used affected both the bee's as well as flavor of the honey.
I love this harmonious and natural approach utilized by Amy Seidenwurm and Russell Bates.

Where can honey and bee lovers support FBH and buy some real honey?

[Janet Raftis]

Great article! I love the fact that people are taking up beekeeping as a hobby, and that we may be able to gain access to some tastier, healthier honey from local producers in the near future.

The photos are lovely as well!

[Gerard Horgan]

Very timely article, heard a story on the national radio about the decline in bees around the world, so this is especially important.

Honey is also a natural healing agent and also lovely sweetner, this is to be encouraged.

[Jenn]

Yum. Local honey, good for everyone.

[onf Wright]

Hello:

I heard your interview on KPFK tonight. Very glad to hear about your work. Very sorry to hear about the destructionof feral bees by the chemical industries--another crime against the natural world. Thank you for your good works.

Bond Wright, MA, CRT
Reichian Therapist, Counselor and Farmer

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[Karthick]

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[Bata]

Yes, I was looking at a binlmoog chokecherry tree in our yard this spring, and only about a quarter (or maybe only an eighth) of the pollinators were honeybees in spite of the fact that *I had an active beehive not 100 feet away from that tree*! Heck, half of the pollinators weren't even *bees*, there were at least two kinds of bee-mimic flies going after the flowers, too.I actually wonder whether it would be practical to raise and release masses of drone flies like Eristalis tenax for, say, almond pollination, instead of mucking around with honeybees. Their rat-tailed maggots are already cultivated for fish bait (they are marketed as mousies ), so they should be easy enough to raise.