How I Began Beekeeping

The idea of raising bees came to me after learning that a hotel in New York City served honey to their guests from its rooftop hives. I marveled at the inventiveness of their efforts and contemplated whether I could do this as well.  After careful research and persuasion, I convinced my parents to let me build an apiary in our backyard. 

I signed up for lessons with a local commercial beekeeper, Bill of Bill’s Bees. Once a month, I would drive an hour into canyon country, suit up, enter the bee yard and work with some of Bill’s 2,000 hives. Each hive contained a swirling cloud of bees -- an intimidating sight at first glance. Bill taught me how to maintain a colony, treat for mites, and harvest honey. Most importantly, Bill taught me the importance of bees in our ecosystem. Without bees, there would be no pollination, no plants, no food, and no us!  Learning this made me more passionate about becoming a beekeeper and doing my part to save the bees from extinction (a modern day threat due to enhanced pesticides). After months of training, Bill believed I was ready to start my own apiary. I will never forget driving home with 25,000 honeybees in the backseat of our car; truly, an un-bee-lievable experience!

Fast forward six years and six honey extractions later, the hives at Riviera Honey Farms are thriving and producing more honey than ever before. 

Examining a frame at bee class with Bill from Bill's Bees!

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