The magic of urban beekeeping: a backyard San Francisco hive

Perhaps motivated by a drive to prop up the bee populations decimated by colony collapse disorder, beekeeping has become popular in cities worldwide. We visit one San Francisco beekeeper who keeps her hive in a Bernal Heights backyard where she escapes once a week to check on her colony. For Alexandra Danieli, beekeeping is part meditation and part fascination with a magical world of GPS, honing pheromones and group intelligence.

[@unitedstatesdale]

Alex the bee lady is So Precious, She will be a Great Mom :)

[@Lndwdr]

As a new beekeeper, I loved this video interview/demo! Thanks for sharing it. Delightful.

[@richdaly9861]

Thank you so much S.F ca, Im in San Francisco I have 4 hive going to start 3 more for a total of 7 Hives the are so cool to watch flying in and out of the hives with Pollen on the bodies

[@clarksonbarry]

Beautifully done. Any beginner could profit from this movie. Nice clear speech too. A dedicated beekeeper talking to her bees! All those supers. Mediterranean climate. Perfect!

[@angelakim4229]

Love to watch what one takes pride in and have respect for. Thanks for the video!

[@mowells]

Best way to learn beekeeping; find a beekeeper nearby -- at the farmer's market -- and ask questions. Practices vary across the country, so while youTube videos are great, what they do in California can differ somewhat from what works best in Minnesota, especially in the area of overwintering. The big producers typically move bees south or to California. Ask to go along to the bee yards and to watch honey extraction back at the honey house. Most beekeepers are very open to helping out beginners.

[@JuniperJupiter]

It's nice to see that sometimes the best teachers are the ones that are still learning! :)

[@TheDenisedrake]

Another interesting video. We can't get over how casual and professional your videos are. Her funny "...you don't want to piss your neighbors off." probably would have been edited out by most. For some reason it doesn't seem vulgar here. We feel as if we were really there with you looking at the bees. We're looking forward to more videos.

[@Johnfor3]

That hive looked like it was time to slit it. That's a lot of bees in one hive!

[@SoMDBeekeeper]

"City honey is pretty pure" she says. I absolutely agree even though it may seem ironic. Bees subjected to monoculture away from the cities are dying, rapidly. Cities are a jackpot of variety for honeybees. I'll take backyard honey from urban environments any day!

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

Yes USA use to have 7.5 mill. of hives full of bees in 1947 .Now we have in USA only 2.5 mill.

[@vention4wh]

Awesome work both the bee keeper lady and you for filming her.

[@LearnToFlyWithPilotGuy]

Great video!!! Did want to mention that what the smoke does is mask the pheromone that bees release when they think their hive is being attacked. With the smoke they can't sense the pheromone. BTW, really like your attitude towards the bees! :)

[@kirstendirksen]

@greatmasterboy I just shot the video, but I asked "the bee lady", Alex, and she said : "The bees were ordered through the San Francisco beekeeping society. They help beginners and also advanced beekeepers with resources, meetings, rental equipment and ordering bees. I guess they want to make sure that people know what they're doing since there is quite a lot to it. Most cities or counties seem to have a bee club or a bee association to help with all that."

[@jonathanspengler8913]

Beautiful beekeeper...

[@PinkPoo]

Bee-eautiful

[@pcan7537]

She has a very easy way about. I like listening to her explain about bees

[@alexandragabriel2977]

Love this video. Will show it to everyone. Thank you so much for bringing another dimension to these lovely creatures. Have shared it with all my Facebook friends too.Alexandra from urban beekeeping tips.

[@colemanwads]

this video was beautiful, the hive was extradary for a first year! it was only 8 frame boxes but WOW that lady knows how to keep bees! the bees were prob carnilials, as they produce alot of wax and build up fast. amazing video, well done

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

Everything Kirsten is saying about city plants is true. My bees can also pollinate orchards around my area which do have pesticides. Early spring is when apples and pears bloom but gives my bees a kick start after leafy trees pollinate that are not sprayed. I must get my bait hive out this morning as my bees would be stronger with more bees, which if I catch a swarm I can rob brood from if needed.

[@Seattle206723]

Fantastic and encouraging.

[@MurderousJohnny]

Amazing skill and great vid

[@dananelson3534]

Thanks for sharing guys. Bees are fascinating creatures. Enjoyed the video.

[@ArtaniAM]

Very nice hobby. You have a very good colonies of bees here. (maybe they are Buckfast , considering the very fast development of the colony). You are right about the urban bees in comparison with the country bees. I have 3 beehives in the city of Amsterdam and 2 others in the countryside of Amsterdam. Definitively those in the city go much better than those in the countryside. I like your video and the accent in your English. Friendly Artan

[@mohawksniper79]

Very nice bees such a good job.🐝

[@VictorFursov]

Thank you for interesting video. Best greetings from beekeepers in Ukraine! I heard that some Canadian beekeepers planned to buy Ukrainian Carpathian honeybees in 2018-2019, maybe. Ubran beekeeping is not popular in Ukraine, it sounds really surprising and annoying for people. We do not have enough flowers in a cities.

[@markanthonybuchanan]

You should make more videos. you have a great way of explaining things, and it would be good to see how your bees are coming along.

[@bradgoliphant]

It's not CCD, its Human Collapse Disorder---for Real!!!! Have you ever considered getting a Flow Hive Super? You would not have to stack up all those supers on top of each other by having one. I just ordered my first Flow Hive 2, and LOVE IT>

[@dang2443]

Basically you are being destructive because you are lazy

[@lisakilmer2667]

Urban beekeeping has taken off in Washington, DC as well. My brother and his wife run a service in which they monitor and service a homeowner's hives. Their client list inside the city has expanded greatly, including the Vice President (who, like him or not, is a long-time beekeeper). His service is called Eco-Honeybees, if you live in the metro DC area.

[@mowells]

You should have no major problems in Minnesota. As a hobby I kept bees for years in South and North Dakota, some of the best honey producing areas of the country. Two years in a row, I harvested over 400 pounds of honey from two hives, (never had more than three producing hives.) That's well over 30 gallons and way more than enough for my family and to give, give, give away! In the Dakotas the flowering season is short but intense. Canada also has great honey production. Good luck to you!

[@josephastier7421]

Those are some very docile bees.

[@van604media7]

been a good may for us in Vancouver drier than normal picked up a few swarms thanks for the great video. new sub thx

[@naturebc]

Sweet sensation!

[@alexaa77]

Great job Kirsten!!

[@marcman5109]

Wonderful looking hive very good work

[@kickbuttowski3731]

Great video, inspiring me to learn more about bees and maybe even begin keeping my own someday. Thank you!

[@deanznz]

this lady was very interesting to listen to and it sounds like she has done her homework very well.... which is quite rare for someone on youtube.... ha ha.

[@dyndan19]

"Zoom, zoom, zoom" :) This was fascinating. I have been interested in bees for a long time and this just increased my interest 10 fold. Great video. Thanks!

[@workwithnature]

Great video, I do beekeeping me self :)

[@powerifly]

Vert nice wax. White like snow. Healthy!!! Good for you...

[@Apijoan7]

Very interesting beekeeping is very interesting is in the city or countryside.

[@mrazik131]

wow i always thought in suburbs we have lot of pesticed and chemical sprayed on grass to keep it weed free... will this effect the bees? this was such a nice video!

[@cycleplumber]

+mrazik131 You are not entirely wrong. If you look carefully, the nursery at Home Depot will say if the plants are treated with neonicotinoids. This is a class of insecticides that have been implicated in colony collapse disorder. Unfortunately, you can't do much about what your neighbors plant in their gardens and yards. But last I heard, Home Depot and Lowe's are aware of the problem and has reportedly committed to phasing out the use and sale of these harmful chemicals.

[@randomthoughts1001]

Very nice job. 🐝

[@SeismicChirp]

shes amazing!

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

I really like this beekeeper. She is knowledgeable, yet not. Good for bees if she has kept up as this is 10 years ago and many things have happened since to our friends.

[@cameronbrickey]

She's so cute.

[@ScottYdo]

Do you cover your hives when the city sprays for mosquitoes? Tarps or poly. Thanks for your videos here. 👍👍🎯

[@What-videos-to-watch-today]

Thank you kirstendirksen for the reply. I appreciate it.

[@ualuuanie]

I stay in the city too. My neighbor used to rear bees and I would pop over and help him out. We usually see some bees while flying back or flying off get chased and eaten by small birds. In fact 1 year it was so mad that those birds just waited at the railing and pick out any bees that fly out of the hive that we have to use a broom to shoo them away. Later my neighbor's son used his BB gun to shoot some birds down. Do you encounter such problems at your place?

[@survivorman86]

Great vid!!!

[@RCCwGCC]

Great! learned a lot from this video

[@ailtonfontana361]

Porque essas abelhas não voão? elas são dopadas? Quando abrimos uma colmeia qui no apiario, ninguen consegue ficar perto.

[@regikeyz]

NIce I liked this, I think it would have been great to show the honey being extracted, also if the length was shortened 30 - 50%, make it more snappy.. but overall its nice, well done

[@bella.anne1]

Im a youn un so i just like to ask a question.How does a bee make the wax with the honey in it and how it it like perfect hexagons?😊Thanks

[@DH-iu4gn]

Do the bees get really stirred up when you mow?

[@333johno]

Nice vid, like your caring, lucky bee's lol, :)

[@What-videos-to-watch-today]

This was a simple yet informative video especially for those who don't know anything about beekeeping like me. The bee lady seemed very nice too. I suddenly became interested in keeping a beehive.Where did you order your bee package ?

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

If you the bee to cap that honey quiker put a bucket ful of water and put 5 spoons of sea salt.The bees will use the salt to dry the honey,they love salt.

[@jannassary]

NICE NICE NICE VIDEO!

[@aceman4564564]

So. Basically this video is about bashing country bees and promoting cramped areas for huge hives. Tell me, what are the major honey flows in your area? Do you have Goldenrod within reach of the bees? Maybe Basswood? Or how about Locust? Those are just a few crops only found in the country. And not everything out here is sprayed in pesticides,hay fields aren't and those are the chief source of alfalfa and clover honey out here. We country beekeepers also boast about not having to argue with our neighbors about the location of a hive, or bees drinking pool water, or a swarm in the wrong place, I respect your beekeeping and props to you for being able to put up with city life and still raise bees, but please do not bash on my good ol' country bees.

[@junemacneil631]

What makes you think bees are cramped in a back yard when they fly for miles. No apparent bashing here except your comment.

[@aceman4564564]

Oh really, the "rural honey is not really organic" bit in the beginning of the video, that didn't sound like bashing at all. Look, I didn't come here to start a fight, I simply wanted to say that urban beekeepers shouldn't bash on us rural beekeepers for exposing our bees to pesticides when in reality urban and suburban beekeepers expose their bees to "Lawn Care Specialists" who use any number of pesticides for one reason, to eradicate pests. Most of these pests are insects, Aphids, Ants, even beetles, and as I recall, Honey Bees are insects too. So when they go a-foraging, they suck up these pesticides and die, or worse, they take it back to the colony, feed it to the young, store it, or possibly the worst thing that can happen, they feed it to the Queen.

[@williamisaksson6548]

Cole I I´m Pretty sure she did not intend to bash down on all the bee-farmers located in the countryside. And off course it would be wrong to say that all honey harvested in the countryside is contaminated by pesticides. However, she is right in saying that there is a greater risk of honey harvested close to conventional crops, to be contaminated by pesticides. That is merely stating a fact.

[@aceman4564564]

William Isaksson Most conventional crops out here are actually not pollinated by Honey Bees, Corn, Potatoes, Soy Beans, all majorly wind-pollinated, though sometimes a Bumble bee will work a Potato flower, but that is an odd day. And Commercial Beekeepers and Commercial Crop Farmers have come to an agreement on pesticides, they are not to be sprayed when the crops are in bloom, only before and after. While I agree with the fact that on occasion there may be some Honey in the hive that has some type of Pesticide infection, it is often very minuscule, because the foragers that work these crops often die, and the bees rarely work it again, the exact location of the source having been forgotten. To me the Urban Beekeepers are the ones putting there bees at risk, as, no offense, a majority of the urban population often makes the mistake between a Yellowjacket and a Honey Bee, they also think Dandelions are the most hideous things that can appear in your lawn, when in Reality they are excellent turf holders, beautiful flowers, survive with no 'specialty care' that grass requires, and are a staple in the Honey Bees diet. If you wanna help make a difference in saving bees, stop buying RoundUp, and other weed and pest killers.

[@dang2443]

THAT is what you got from the video? 😂

[@noahriding5780]

How do you make sure you are in control of the bees and not bothering neighbors when doing this urban and backyard? I've been worried about this and searched out and found your video based on this idea.

[@davidjohn5237]

at last a hot beekeeper

[@bradgoliphant]

Hello Kirsten, I want to return to beekeeping with a single hive to start off with yet I am running into dead ends trying to find a location for it. I live in NYC. Do you have any ideas? I have contacted over 30 community gardens and no-one wants to help me. HELP!!!

[@checklistmaniac]

actually there is.. quite a few.. should I list them or just send you the link to how much rowse spent on its new laboratory for testing the quality of its honey?

[@travisk5589]

Wait a minute. In the most restrictive city in the most restrictive state, you are telling me that you dont need a permit?

[@dang2443]

Tell us you are completely clueless without telling us you are completely clueless....

[@geanitsucuneli4791]

if 1/3 of the frame is caped you can extract the honey.

[@bradgoliphant]

Are those Italians? What kind of species of bees do you have.

[@Mega_vegeta]

i want to keep bees but damn rented accommodations

[@Joelwilly57]

We’re can i purchase a bee hive like that?

[@ivanivanich29]

Hey guys! I need dry honeycomb with no honey in it ... Where cay I get it?

[@cycleplumber]

+ivan ivanov I think what you are looking for is brood comb. At around 4:28 they begin to describe how a queen excluder allows you to keep the queen restricted to certain areas of the hive in order to have pure honey combs separate from brood combs where the queen will lay eggs to raise new bees. Small or fledgling colonies may have frames with the center devoted to raising baby bees with the outer edge serving as honey storage. For larger colonies with a prolific queen, it is possible to have brood comb entirely devoted to hatching baby bees with no honey storage at all. As your local beekeeper for old brood combs. They will usually look pretty dark due to the the propolis, pupa residue, and other things that may accumulate on the beeswax. What do you need dry combs for?

[@kevinm.pfeiffer5037]

Sorry, meant to write "superior", not "super".

[@bernardogamboapereira8614]

Me gustaría que los vídeos fueran en español, creo son importantes, pero no se el idioma.

[@katmanclancy]

Ahh no, she's about to put a humongous swarm in her neighbours roof! Learn before you keep bee's or have a mentor guide you. Can't stress this enough!!

[@rami.nguyen]

2021

[@RaySarasin]

I am 100 miles from a city, my first year subscribed please do the same. I started with 1 hive and now at 3 hives and adding 4 more next spring I am in Canada I have Italian and sask bees thanks for sharing

[@ВладГниденко-е1с]

Какая порода пчел?

[@checklistmaniac]

Not swallowing city honey beeing any purer, remember that bees collect water as well - which can be ghastly around towns, not to mention sugar available from dropped whatever can impurify but probably not worse than most of our winter feed practices. not that I wouldnt take up a site around a town - all year pollen at minimum is tiptop by me!

[@princessvloger289]

ya she keeps on talking

[@divipowaful]

are the bees all girls or all boys or half and half and i like the saying about respect

[@CaliforniaGleamin]

Matthew i believe the majority are female as they do all the work (foraging, cleaning, wax production and filling the cells with nectar. The males just tend the queen and mate.

[@dang2443]

@@CaliforniaGleamin Drones (males) actually DON'T tend to the queen, and they don't even mate with the queen. That would be mating with their own mother. They mate with queens from other hives.

[@divipowaful]

has some one or even yo gotten stung by your bees

[@kevinm.pfeiffer5037]

LOL, so what to do? Don't eat pink or blue honey (should you ever encounter any). For more information about honey analyses, simply type the term into Google. Signing out here, -K

[@MrSzviktor]

You have a lot of pollution in the cities from cars, I don't think the city honey is really superior, maybe because of multitude of flowers it's richer in sugars, but I don't want to think how their pollen is like.

[@user-kt8gb3cn1m]

hai alveari ????

[@nuglyph9139]

ASMR

[@vega120]

:)

[@kaboom511]

Would think you open yourself to legal liability though. Especially if the hive became Africanized and stung some kid a hundred times.

[@checklistmaniac]

becoming africanised is like becoming black, you never will be, your kids might be, and there kids definitely could be but it is not something that happens over night.

[@dang2443]

That made zero sense. It can definitely happen fast. The entire population of the hive can change within months.

[@MassDynamic]

she seems a bit high.

[@dang2443]

you seem a bit stupid

[@BAKSANAA]

You my dear are a amature stop with this. If childeren come near there they arescrewed ! Stop the place is not good

[@HTHammerYT]

joop pils keep your kids away from her house if you dont like it!

[@user-ms2mi9sc3z]

+joop pils ^¥-€$,_$%6$=rrhxjnd3vdudrhxyif59udo

[@codydcodyd]

your ignorance is astounding

[@roushouseink2341]

+joop pils you my friend are ignorant. please educate yourself on a subject before subjecting us to your drabble.

[@CaliforniaGleamin]

Not as risky as it seems. Bees are more predictable than they seem and keep to themselves. Bees have a flight path they keep to and jn small yards the fences and bushes direct them up about 20 feet where they disperse to forage within a 3 mile radius. Fear of swarming is misdirected as this occurs when a new queen has been born and she leaves to find a her own home, taking some worker bees with her. At that time bees are full of honey and at their most docile.