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Santa Barbara Beekeepers Association
updated: May 05, 2012, 10:00 AM
What started out as a little Google Group founded by Krista Harris, publisher of Edible Santa Barbara,
has turned into over 100 enthusiastic Backyard Beekeepers yearning to learn more about the Majestic
World of the Honey Bee.
In the spring of 2011, the group began its journey to a more formal organization through the efforts of
Todd Bebb and Paul Cronshaw. Now an established California non-profit, SBBA hopes to bring our goals
of education, awareness and honeybee preservation to a new level.
We are fortunate to have some of the most knowledgeable and experienced Beekeepers living right
here in Santa Barbara, willing to share this knowledge and experience with us. Learning how to take care
of the Honey Bee, so that she can continue taking care of us, is what we all hope to do.
Our Mission Statement:
The Santa Barbara Beekeeper's Association is dedicated to the promotion and advancement of
beekeeping through best management practices, the education and mentoring of people about honey
bees and beekeeping, and increasing public awareness of environmental concerns affecting honey bees.
This is the Bee Swarming season.
Swarming of bees is a natural part of the bee's life cycle... Almost half of the worker bees and maybe a
few drones, leave the parent hive after having starved the old queen to stop her laying and reduce her
weight. The old queen may have to be goaded into flight by harassing workers.
The departing swarm leaves the hive often with thousands of bees in the air, and darkening the sky.
The old queen has not flown since her mating flight; she tires easily and will stop to rest on a nearby
structure. The bees will cluster around her to protect their ruler. In this stage, the bees are very gentle
and should not be bothered. In 90% of the cases, they will move on to a new location in 24 hrs. If
you would like to have an SBBA beekeeper relocate the swarm, please call our Bee Rescue Hotline @
805.699.6229
This relocation process involves capturing the bees, and then moving them to one of our Backyard
Beekeeper's backyards.
We offer this service free to the Santa Barbara community! We do this because we realize the
importance of the honeybee as one of the best pollinators on the planet. Without bees, we would not
have food.
We have established beginning and advanced beekeeping educational programs, hold monthly apiary
visits to our members, have special presentations at various schools and organizations, all in the hopes
of letting people know that there is an impending crisis with what is commonly known as Colony
Collapse Disorder (CCD), affecting the honeybee globally. The bees need our help to insure their survival,
and in turn, our survival.
Welcome, we are so glad you are interested in joining our organization. It will greatly enhance your zen
and bring balance to your life. (It will also help the local bees). Your membership in the Santa Barbara
Beekeepers Association will help educate the local community about the plight of the honeybee and
also contribute to our efforts of rescuing local honeybees. Membership starts at just $25 annually per
family and signing up is easy, just go to www.sbba.org, and use the secure PayPal link to join.
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