When people think of beekeeping, they picture hundreds of hives, out in the country. Well, that may the way of Professional Beekeepers, but bees are incredibly adaptable to urban environments, and is a wonderful hobby. They also are very helpful in pollinating local backyard gardens. Now that there are virtually no colonies of bees in the wild because of a parasitic mite that arrived in the country a decade or so ago, Hobby Hives are quite important for many local gardeners, and small commercial gardens.

Right here in the metro Boston area there are many hobbyists with one or two or several hives in their yards. In Boston proper, there are several beekeepers who have hives on their apartment or condo balconies! Bees have amazingly complex society and social structure. The more we learn, the more questions we have. Beekeepers can become mesmerized crouching at the hive entrance on a warm Spring day, and watching arriving bees bringing in several types of pollen on their trips.

Bees are not aggressive. They will only bother you, when you bother them. With some simple guidelines for hive location, you usually don't have to worry about neighbors, or in my case the mailman, as the Yup-Bee hives are located on either side of my front walk, just a few feet from a 4 lane divided highway. In fact, the mailman looks forward to harvest, because he knows he is on the keep happy list (neighbors and key people who get free honey). During a good season, one of my (2) hives produced almost 120 lbs. of the best honey around. Although it's just a hobby, I sell off enough to cover the expense of hive upkeep, and keep the rest for our family, and for gifts to our friends and neighbors.

Interested in becoming a beekeeper? Many local non profit organizations have bee school every Winter, and there are bee clubs and associations in most urban areas.

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