The sound of a buzzing bee nearby often incites fear and an instinct to swat the insect away. However, to those who are aware of bees’ contributions to the environment and their relatively harmless nature, a bee’s buzz evokes echoes of long days spent among thrumming hives and amber honey.
Senior and beekeeper Morgan Glasser, who has been involved in beekeeping for about two years, is now mentoring sophomore Giselle Zirpoli with her recent venture into the activity.
Although the beekeeping community is not the most prominent group, the insects that it cares for are vital contributors to ecosystems. With the recent decline in bee numbers (seven species of bees are on the endangered species list for the first time, according to the Climate Institute), beekeepers’ roles in encouraging the growth of local bee populations is increasingly crucial, a fact that three local beekeepers are aware of, and take seriously.
Redwood graduate Roy Crumrine is doing his part to contribute to the continuation of bee growth in Marin, managing about 400 hives with the help of Glasser. When Glasser graduates, he is planning on passing on some of his responsibilities to Zirpoli, who has just recently become involved in the beekeeping community. For now, however, Glasser is committed to his involvement with Crumrine’s bees.
“I had three hives and those grew to over 400. Now we have them all over Marin County and even Sonoma,” Crumrine said.
Crumrine began acquiring apiaries, or collections of beehives, about eight years ago, and after graduating from Redwood in 2016, he continued to grow his business. Now officially licensed under Anything Bees LLC, Crumrine’s hives require the assistance of a second beekeeper, a role which Glasser has taken on.
Glasser first became involved with bees his sophomore year. His interest in apiaries was piqued during his time in the Sustainable Agriculture class (SustAg), which originally introduced him to the Redwood bee hives, located in the marshes. Glasser decided to reach out to Crumrine to explore how he could develop his interest outside of the class.
Crumrine and Glasser work together to manage a bee community Crumrine set up in Tiburon after he graduated. No longer a novice, Glasser now works with Crumrine to manage the set-up of the hives and collect the honey produced by the bees.
Each of Crumrine’s hives, which are primarily located in Tiburon but extend all over Marin, produce between 20 and 60 pounds of honey per year, yielding a profitable income and steady work.
“We take beehives and split them to make more hives. We make nukes, which are these little boxes that bees go in, and we give them to people who want to have bees. We also collect honey and then rent bees out to farmers who need pollination,” Glasser said.
Despite seeming like an overwhelming amount of bees to care for, the day-to-day maintenance and costs are relatively low, according to Glasser.
“Maintaining the bees is probably the least expensive [aspect]. It’s pretty much just our time that we spend to go up there and make sure they’re alive or if there’s a problem in the hive. It’s mainly just the input to get them; once you have them, running the hive isn’t a big cost,” Glasser said.
Crumrine, who attends College of Marin during the day, dedicates his spare time to managing Anything Bees.
“I respond to clients’ emails or phone calls or researching creative, crazy ways of keeping bees or managing the hives themselves,” Crumrine said. “Beekeeping is really six months out of the year, and the rest is maintenance or feeding the hives.”
Running beehives requires the contributions of many different suppliers according to Glasser, and for Anything Bees, that includes a box framer from Northern California and a queen bee breeder from Texas.
“We’re just one part in the whole circle of beekeeping, and ours is the larger part of dealing with the bees themselves,” Glasser said.
This holistic view of the apiaries is also reflected in the online presence of the beekeeping community, which can be found on the Marin Beekeeping webpage and encompasses enthusiasts from all over Marin. Additionally, the website serves as Glasser and Crumrine’s primary method of advertisement.
“It’s a community of people on this webpage, and if someone wants to contact us for renting bees or buying boxes, that’s pretty much how our name is out there,” Glasser said.
At Redwood itself, Glasser also maintains the SustAg class’ beehives, which are located off campus but affiliated with the school. When in college, at University of Colorado Boulder, Glasser is planning on continuing to develop his interest in bees, but for now is focusing on passing on his knowledge and responsibilities to Zirpoli, who became involved with beekeeping because of the critical condition of the bee population—and her love of honey.
“I always thought bees were cool, and I heard that the bee population was declining. I also love honey, so I thought ‘Why not?’” Zirpoli said.
Thousands of bees have become a part of her family’s yard, and although the number might sound large, Zirpoli has started off with just one hive. She says that despite the initial costs, once the hive is set up, it requires little maintenance.
“I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult to take care of them because they’re totally self-sufficient,” Zirpoli said. “In the wild they make their own hives and everything, so you just have to empty their hives once or twice a month for honey.”
Crumrine echoed Zirpoli’s concerns about the bee population, pointing out that much of our fresh produce would be unavailable without the work of bees.
“Without [bees] you would lose all your fruits and vegetables pretty much, and it would be a very bland world without much to eat,” Crumrine said.
For those who aren’t interested in starting hives of their own, there are still ways to support the bee population. Crumrine suggested planting trees and flowers or letting beekeepers use land for their hives. He also emphasized the importance of being aware of the source of honey when purchasing it.
“The most important thing is know where you buy your honey. A lot of honey, whether it says it or not, comes out of China, simply because the U.S. can’t produce enough honey to supply the U.S. need,” Crumrine said. “It’s important that you know your beekeepers, because chances are they’re getting their honey from their hives directly. Everyone is crazed about local food these days, and honey is a part of that as well.”
Although bees may face many environmental challenges, the interest that beekeepers such as Crumrine, Glasser and Zirpoli share in the bees’ wellbeing is promising for their future. Part of Crumrine’s fascination with bees stems from the observations he has made on the human-like behavior of hives, and he has an insider’s perspective on an often misunderstood species.
“They’re also very social and they’re supposed to work together,” Crumrine said. “It’s basically a little world inside of a box, just like human society.”