The Buzz About Backyard Beekeeping in Aliso Viejo

As last week, the Aliso Viejo City Council has once again tabled its decision to limit beekeeping in residential areas in the city. I've been following the issue over the last month as it has unfolded and have done my own research regarding the concerns that Mayor Carmen Cave has expressed regarding backyard beekeeping.

I contacted  the Orange County Bee Keepers Association and spoke with Amy Cripps. Via several long e-mails regarding common misconceptions regarding beekeeping, she was able to clear things up for me. I hope I can do the same for you.

The mayor brought up two main concerns regarding backyard beekeeping at the last City Council meeting:

1. She thought beekeeping is “more appropriate for rural or agricultural types of land use.”
2. One of the problems with beekeeping is the possibility that a swarm of bees from a local hive “breaks off and decides ‘Hey, the house next door is really neat place to live.’ "

Many people are allergic to bee stings and because of an influx of Africanized honeybees, some are concerned about the dangers of the overaggressive bees taking over the normally peaceful European hives.

According to Cripps,  "Africanized bees can take over other hives. But it is not that common." Trained beekeepers would be sure to look for such a takeover if it were to happen.  

As far as swarming is concerned:

"The other common concerns stem from bee infestations in homes (roofs, chimneys, etc.). A beekeeper does not want half of his or her bees to go live in the neighbor's roof. It would mean half the bees are no longer in the hive and it won't produce as well. 'Swarming' is a common reproductive practice where a portion of a colony breaks off to go form another colony, and that causes these other infestations to occur. Vigilant beekeepers can prevent this in their hives—most of the time. Infestations in the 'wrong' places will not stop if beekeeping is banned. Africanized bees swarm 10 times more often than Europeans," Cripps said.

I also asked Cripps what she would say to a City Council considering banning backyard beekeeping.

"Well, first of all, I would like to know what on earth prompted this. With so much press about the importance of bees over the past few years, more people are turning the other direction and becoming concerned that we don't have enough beekeepers. It is true that the number of beekeepers has been declining nationwide for many years. New York City repealed their anti-beekeeping law last year. They have some great projects going on keeping bees on rooftops. I can understand some restrictions, because we all know bees sting and some people are allergic, but why ban it altogether?"

The most important issue to understand is the difference between Africanized bees and European honeybees. Cripps distinguishes between the two.

"There is also a difference between good European stock honeybees and the feral Africanized bees we find saturating this area now. Any bees can be dangerous if they are provoked, but the Africanized bees are known for being easily agitated and their overly defensive behavior. We are in an Africanized zone, unfortunately. That means the wild population here is saturated with the Africanized genetics,  and all our wild bees are a mix. To translate, they are unpredictable.

"European honeybees however, are known for their gentle behavior. They are much easier and safer to work with. That doesn't mean they don't sting, but they do not get as easily angered or dispatch a huge defense army because there was a weed-eater started nearby.

"If a beekeeper is keeping good European bees, there are still some things that they should do to be considerate to neighbors.  If a beekeeper has a severely allergic neighbor, much caution should be used and another location for that hive should be considered. It is highly unlikely to get a bee sting unless a colony has been disturbed somehow and the bees feel the need to protect their nest. Bees grocery shopping in your garden aren't going to sting on purpose."

I believe people should have the choice to keep bees if they wish and if they have a reasonable amount of room.  If the city wants to limit beekeeping, it should limit it in areas such as townhomes and apartment complexes, but when people have backyards, they should be able to do what they want with their space.  Education should be a big part of allowing people the ability to responsibly keep bees.  The benefits of harvesting fresh, local honey can be great, especially when you can share it with your neighbors.