By Miriam Raftery

July 8, 2019 (San Diego) - U.S. beekeepers lost 40.7% of their honey bee colonies for the year ending April 2019, according to the latest survey by the Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit led by the University of Maryland.  That continues a national decline in recent years that has alarmed scientists, with causes ranging from pesticides to climate change to colony collapse disorder of unknown causes. 

East County News Service

February 27, 2018 (El Cajon) – Learn all about beekeeping at a presentation by local beekeeper Richard Edwords on Saturday, March 10 at 2 p.m. Fletcher Hills Library, 576 Garfield Ave, El Cajon, 92020.

Edwords will bring some of his beekeeping equipment, including a bee box. He will explain how the box works and what is necessary for beginning beekeepers. He will explain the health benefits of using honey over white sugar. Edwords will give a brief history of beekeeping, which became big business in the 1800’s due to Mr. John Harbison’s successful enterprise. The presentation will also include safety tips on what to do if you get attacked by bees.

By Chris Jennewein

Reprinted from Times of San Diego, a member of the San Diego Online News Association

April 26, 2017 (San Diego) -- Biologists at UC San Diego have demonstrated for the first time that a widely-used pesticide can significantly impair the ability of honey bees to fly.

The finding raising concerns about how pesticides affect their capacity to pollinate and the long-term effects on the health of honey bee colonies.

By Ted Salois, Helix Water District

October 11, 2016 (San Diego's East County) - Jesse Adcock knows bees.  He moves among them with the ease and acceptance of a good friend—because he is one, even though the bees don’t know it.  

His “self-taught” expertise with the busy, buzzing, honey-makers tells him how to approach a sizable nest while remaining safe.  His choice of clothing--t-shirt, shorts and sandals--shows confidence in his judgment.  “When I first arrive at a hive, I listen to the sound the colony is making,” Adcock said.  “I can tell by the tone whether they’re angry or likely to become aggressive.”  

By Jonathan Goetz

Photo: Members of the San Diego Beekeeping Society at Lemon Grove City Council Meeting 5/17/16 (left to right) Carlos Richardson, Mark Kukuchek, Rebecca Wolniewicz, Daryl Hern, Neyl Montesano

May 21, 2016 (Lemon Grove) -- Lemon Grove is one step closer towards simplifying its beekeeping regulations. Half a dozen members of the San Diego Beekeeping Society gave testimony to the Lemon Grove Council on Tuesday in an attempt to address common fears about bee hives.

 “When I find an aggressive hive, I insert a new docile queen to make the hive less aggressive. Good beekeeping keeps our communities safe,” Carlos Richardson told Council members and the public.

County News Service

September 16, 2015 (San Diego)--The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved new rules Wednesday that will promote beekeeping and local agriculture while protecting the public. 

Supervisors approved a new “tiered” beekeeping ordinance that will allow beekeeping hobbyists and businesses to keep bees and hives closer to roads, property lines and homes in unincorporated areas — but still far enough away to keep people safe.

March 16, 2013 (San Diego) -- Dear EarthTalk: I’d like to have a garden that encourages bees and butterflies. What’s the best approach?                                                              

-- Robert Miller, Bakersfield, CA

Attracting bees and butterflies to a garden is a noble pursuit indeed, given that we all depend on these species and others (beetles, wasps, flies, hummingbirds, etc.) to pollinate the plants that provide us with so much of our food, shelter and other necessities of life. In fact, increased awareness of the essential role pollinators play in ecosystem maintenance—along with news about rapid declines in bee populations—have led to a proliferation of backyard “pollinator gardens” across the U.S. and beyond.