The Thomas Fire that devastated Ventura County last December (2021) hit local beekeepers quite hard. Not only were many hives destroyed from both fire and smoke, but all the wildflowers that the bees depended on for food were wiped out.
- Picture of an active brood comb
- Varroa mite picture - One of the greatest threats to honeybee colonies. They attach to the bee's body and suck the bee's "blood" transmitting many disease to the bees in the process.
- Varietal Honey Guide USA
- Members of the Santa Paula Beekeepers Association on a field trip to upper Ojai.
Honeybees will build hives in many different types of locations. Here, they have built their combs inside of an old barbecue grill, almost filling the top half with wax comb.
A top bar hive uses wooden bars, suspended from the top of the hive, to allow bees to build freely hanging comb from the bars. This allows them to build hexagonal cells exactly the size that they wish.
- Circa 1918
Edmund Varney and a friend moving their beehives in Lankershim, CA, which is now North Hollywood. Edmund's grandson, Robert Varney, is still keeping bees in Ventura County, - Circa 1930
Honey label used by George Biggers, a beekeeper from Ojai, CA, who appeared on the T.V. show "You Asked For It" in the 1960's, wearing a bee beard.
- Susan Cobey was a student of Dr. Harry Laidlaw and carries on and expands his work on bee genetics. She is credited with developing the New Word Camolian Bees.
- Look Up Do you see a fly? No, Sweat Bees look a lot like flys but are actually bees. Their name comes from their tendency to alight on the skin and lap up sweat for moisture & salt. They like to nest in soil or on daisies. They live solitary and do not produce honey but are important for pollinating daisies, asters and the California Poppy!
A standard Langstroth hive, showing the various stacked layers. This is the most common type of hive among commercial beekeepers.
- Outer Cover with Inner Cover hidden underneath
- Queen Excluder
- 2nd Deep Super for Brood
- 1st Deep Super for Brood
- Slatted Rack
- Screened Bottom Board
This honeycomb, from a standard Langstroth hive, shows the many hexagonal cells filled with honey. Each cell of fresh honey is at first uncapped, as it is dried out. Once it reaches the right consistency, it is sealed with a cap of beeswax.
- Deep Honey Super
- Collecting pollen using a pollen trap
- Deep Hive Body
This photo of a comb, from a top bar hive, shows the many worker bees normally on it. They normally leave a "bee space" of about 3/8" to allow the many bees to move freely between adjacent combs.
This Warre' hive is similar to the common Langstroth hive, except that it uses top bars for the bees to freely build comb from, instead of the solid foundations used in the Langstroth hive.
- Honeybees forage flowers for their nectar, which they turn into honey and store as a high energy food source for the winter. In addition to nectar, they also forage for pollen, which provides a high protein food source for growing new bees in the spring
- This enlarged photo of a bee stinger shows the barbed stinger, as well as the venom sacs left behind after a bee stings you. This action also results in the death of the bee.
- This worker bee is gathering yellow pollen in her pollen baskets on her rear legs. This yellow pollen in from the wild mustard flower that she is on.
Santa Paula Beekeepers Association:
The Santa Barbara Beekeepers Association (SBBA) was founded with one very simple goal: helping bees. And promoting and advancing beekeeping. And educating and mentoring people about best beekeeping practices. And increasing public awareness of environmental concerns affecting bees. Ok, so, technically it’s a lot more than just the one goal, but you get the idea.SBBA is committed to the promotion and advancement of beekeeping through best management practices, the education and mentoring of people about bees and beekeeping, and increasing public awareness of environmental concerns affecting bees.
The SBBA is committed to providing education throughout our community to raise awareness of the plight of bees. We strive to inspire others to take positive action, whether it by planting a pollinator-friendly garden, eliminating the use of harmful pesticides, or simply being a vocal advocate for these amazing creatures. And of course, we also focus on empowering beekeepers of all levels to become better custodians of the bees!
Programs
Today, bees face an unprecedented set of challenges, from pesticides and parasites to pathogens and poor nutrition. We help influence local decision making to ensure that the interests of bee health are holistically aligned with the mutual interests of human health. And the best way to achieve this is through continuous community outreach and education.History
In the spring of 2011, Paul Cronshaw began teaching beekeeping classes at Fairview Gardens in Goleta. Through the efforts of Paul and other passionate beekeepers, a group was formed and began its journey to a more formal organization. Now an established California non-profit, the SBBA is bringing education, awareness and honey bee preservation to a new level. We are fortunate to have exceptionally knowledgeable and experienced beekeepers living right here in Santa Barbara who are willing to share their bee wisdom with us. The more we learn to take care of the honey bee, the greater the chance that honey bees will continue taking care of us.
SBBAMission
The mission of the Santa Barbara Beekeepers Association is “Helping People Help Bees." We provide our community with mentoring resources and a variety of educational opportunities about bees and beekeeping best practices, as well as increasing public awareness of environmental concerns affecting bees.
- Blue Ridge Honey
- Ventura Bee Rescue
- Ranch Montane
- Apiary
- Homegrown Honey Co.
- Phil Salerno
- The Weinerth Family
- Sally Kufta
- Mike Mowry
- Walter Gamboa
- James Greenhill
- Kenyan Apiaries
- Ron and Lisa Merkord
