Long Beach Beekeepers upcoming events

Beekeeping 101 - Moore Community Garden (6 Jun 2026)

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Beekeeping 101 is an introductory class that will give beginners a glimpse into the secret lives of honeybees. The class includes instruction, discussions, and suiting up to inspect the hives in the bee yard, weather permitting. We invite guests to take the class more than once, as there’s always something new happening in the hive. Recommended for ages 8+.

Free!
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, INCLUDING GUESTS. NO DROP-INS OR EXTRA PEOPLE, PLEASE.
No prior experience is needed.
Wear long, THICK, loose, lighter colored pants, such as jeans; CLOSED SHOES, preferably BOOTS, to protect your ankles; and thick long socks. For safety reasons, persons without proper coverage will not be permitted to participate in the hive inspection. NO shorts, leggings, sandals or clogs, ankle socks, etc
Please bring drinking water.
Please provide loaner bee jacket size at the time of registration.
Minimum age is 8 years old.
Be aware: there is always a possibility of bee stings.

NOTE REGARDING SPACE: Beekeeping 101 is currently offered twice a month, at two separate apiaries. Space is limited and the classes fill very quickly. Reserve your spot by registering now. Once the class fills, you will be able to join the wait list. We will notify you if a space opens up, or you will get priority registration for the next Beekeeping 101. For children under 8yo, please contact us to be placed on the list for our next "Beekeeping 101 for Kids" class.

Registration for Moore Garden opens mid-May. Wait list from the previous session will get priority registration.

Bee Team: Sanctuary Hive Inspections (6 Jun 2026)

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 15:30:00 GMT

The Willow Springs Bee Sanctuary will be open for Bee Team members to come and help inspect bee hives. Registration for this event is by invitation only. Please bring your protective gear, hive tools, smokers, and drinking water.

Monthly Meeting (7 Jun 2026)

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Sri Lanka. Different continent. Different species of honey bee. Different way of beekeeping? Find out at our June meeting as we welcome club member Dr. Wasantha "Punchi" Punchihewa, a prominent Sri Lankan entomologist and apiculture expert.

In addition to a guest speaker, meetings feature an opportunity drawing and the ever-popular Honey of the Month tasting, courtesy of Doug Garrett in June. What a sweet deal!

Long Beach Beekeepers meet on the first Sunday of the month and welcome everyone from the experienced to the novice beekeeper to those just curious about beekeeping. The in-person meeting is open to the general public. Members who opt to attend online will be emailed the meeting link and passcode.

Special thanks to EDCO Recycling & Transfer for hosting our meetings.

Punchi (far left) volunteering at a Beekeeping 101 class at Zaferia Junction Community Garden

Italian Queens - Order by June 4 (13 Jun 2026)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:30:00 GMT

Long Beach Beekeepers has a LIMITED number of marked Italian queens available at cost from a group order for $34 each - a signoificant discount from buying one or two queens plus shipping. If you need a queen but not the instruction, this is a great deal. LAST DAY TO ORDER IS JUNE 4.

These beautiful marked Italians with known genetics come from Koehnen and Sons - a family business in northern Sacramento County since 1907. The queens will be in a mini cage without attendants in the cage. Please bring a small cardboard box for transporting the mini cage plus attendants to their new home. Limit 2 queens per membership.

Pick up at the Willow Springs Bee Sanctuary on Saturday, June 13 between 7:30 and 7:45am (prior to the start of the re-queening class). Please park on 28th Street or in the Willow Springs Park lot to keep the sanctuary parking accessible to class participants.

If you are thinking about re-queening, think fast. Order deadline is June 4.

Re-queening at the Sanctuary (13 Jun 2026)

Sat, 13 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

If you prefer working with managed bees, join us on June 13 for our re-queening class. You will learn how to safely install a new Italian queen. This process is also used when splitting managed hives, in order to control size, or even survivor queens that may need to be replaced with a more gentle survivor queen.

Queen purchase is required for this class, independently or through our group purchase. All students attending this class must wear protective gear (suit/jacket, long/loose pants if wearing a jacket, closed shoes, gloves).

There are two registration options:

Option 1, instruction-only: To register if you have purchased your own queen and want to learn how to install her, please email proof of queen purchase to educationchair@longbeachbeekeepers.org. You will receive a code to register for the $15 instruction-only option.
Option 2, instruction WITH purchase of a marked Italian queen: register now by choosing the $49 option ($15 for registration plus $34 for the queen). Queens will come in mini-cages with no attendants in the cage. You will need to bring a small cardboard box to take home your queen after the class. LAST DAY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GROUP ORDER IS JUNE 4. After that you may still choose the $15 instruction-only option above, if there are spots open.

Note: There will be a follow-up visit on June 27. Register for this event separately.

ALL ATTENDEES MUST BE REGISTERED - NO DROP-INS. The $15 per person registration fee will help us offset the cost of the Italian queens for the Sanctuary. Reserve your spot by registering now! Once the class fills, you will be able to join the wait list. We will notify you if anyone cancels.

Beekeeping 101 - Zaferia Junction Community Garden (21 Jun 2026)

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Free!
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, INCLUDING GUESTS. NO DROP-INS OR EXTRA PEOPLE, PLEASE.
No prior experience is needed.
Wear long thick, loose, lighter colored pants; closed-toed shoes, preferably BOOTS; and thick long socks. For safety reasons, persons without proper coverage (e.g. wearing shorts, leggings, sandals, ankle socks, etc.) will not be permitted to participate in the hive inspection.
Please bring drinking water.
Please provide loaner bee jacket size at the time of registration.
Minimum age is 8 years old.
Be aware: there is always a possibility of bee stings.

Registration for Zaferia Junction opens May 21. Wait list from the previous session will get priority registration.

Re-Queening Follow-Up visit (27 Jun 2026)

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

After re-queening several colonies at our Willow Springs Bee Sanctuary, these colonies will require a check-up visit. We will make sure that the queens have been accepted, and that they are laying in a healthy pattern.

PLEASE NOTE: Protective gear is required (suit/jacket, closed shoes, gloves), and this class is available to club members in good standing. Priority registration will go to members in good standing who purchased queens this season. Please email proof of purchase to educationchair@longbeachbeekeepers.org. You will receive a code to register.

ALL ATTENDEES MUST BE REGISTERED - NO DROP-INS OR ADDITIONAL PEOPLE.

Apicultura 101 (28 Jun 2026)

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Apicultura 101 es un curso introductorio que incluye instrucción y preparación para inspeccionar las colmenas de abejas de miel, si el clima lo permite.

NOTE FOR FLUENT ENGLISH SPEAKERS BELOW, AT THE END OF CLASS DESCRIPTION.

1) Este curso es gratis.
2) SE REQUIERE REGISTRO EN LÍNEA, INCLUYENDO CADA INVITADO. NO HAY ACCESO PARA PERSONAS EXTRA, POR FAVOR.
3) No es necesaria experiencia previa.
4) Use pantalones largos, gruesos y sueltos, de color claro (no oscuros ); zapatos cerrados, preferiblemente BOTAS; y calcetines largos y gruesos. Por razones de seguridad, no se permitirá la participación en la inspección de la colmena a personas sin la cobertura adecuada (por ejemplo pantalones cortos, sandalias, sin calcetines, etc.).
5) Por favor traiga agua potable.
6) Nosotros proveeremos la chaqueta y los guantes protectores. Por favor avísenos su talla para la chaqueta.
7) Tenga en cuenta: siempre existe la posibilidad de sufrir picaduras de abeja.

NOTA SOBRE EL ESPACIO: Apicultura 101 en español se llevará a cabo cada semester. El espacio es limitado y es posible que la clase se llene. Reserve su plaza registrándose ahora. Una vez que la clase se llene, podrá unirse a la lista de espera. Le notificaremos si se abre un espacio, u obtendrá inscripción prioritaria para la próxima clase Apicultura 101. Si sucede después de inscibirse, que ya no podrá asistir, por favor cancele su registración para que otra persona pueda asistir.

FLUENT ENGLISH SPEAKERS: Due to the high number of fluent English speakers who would like to learn beekeeping terminology in Spanish, we have created a glossary of Spanish beekeeping terms (please request by email at educationchair@longbeachbeekeepers.org). We would like to keep this class accessible to people who are not fluent in English. Our target audience for this class is non- or limited-English speakers, as well as their companion(s) regardless of language ability. Thank you.

Beekeeping 101 - Moore Community Garden (11 Jul 2026)

Sat, 11 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Free!
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED, INCLUDING GUESTS. NO DROP-INS OR EXTRA PEOPLE, PLEASE.
No prior experience is needed.
Wear long, THICK, loose, lighter colored pants, such as jeans; CLOSED SHOES, preferably BOOTS, to protect your ankles; and thick long socks. For safety reasons, persons without proper coverage will not be permitted to participate in the hive inspection. NO shorts, leggings, sandals or clogs, ankle socks, etc
Please bring drinking water.
Please provide loaner bee jacket size at the time of registration.
Minimum age is 8 years old.
Be aware: there is always a possibility of bee stings.

Registration for this event opens June 7. Wait list from the previous session will get priority registration.

Monthly Meeting (12 Jul 2026)

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT

DATE CHANGE! Please note we are moving our July meeting up a week to avoid getting together on the holiday weekend. Happy Birthday, America!

In addition to a guest speaker, meetings feature an opportunity drawing and a Honey of the Month tasting, courtesy of Akiko Sekiya in July. What a sweet deal!

The in-person meeting is open to the general public. Members who opt to attend online will be emailed the meeting link and passcode.

Special thanks to EDCO Recycling & Transfer for hosting our meetings.