A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees creating a “bee beard.” Beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena was not stung as the bees swarmed around his chin. Steele and a child in a bee suit check out the look in a mirror on Aug. 17, 1990.
David Middlecamp
dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
The least successful journalists are the least curious.
One of the great joys of the craft is meeting people and telling their stories about interests completely different than your own.
Sometimes a critic will take us to task for covering a story, saying we are glorifying or showing off our bias toward a topic — when in fact though the topic is fascinating, it is not a personal interest.
It’s a big wide world and people do things I would never imagine.
I’ve covered plenty of stories over the years which could be filed under “not my jam” — or perhaps this case, honey.
Need an example?
A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees creating a “bee beard.” Beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena was not stung as the bees swarmed around his chin. Steele and a child in a bee suit check out the look in a mirror on Aug. 17, 1990. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
So let’s back up a bit and I’ll take a moment to share.
I don’t like bugs crawling on me.
Mosquitoes get a quick slap if I feel one land on my arm.
Bees don’t react positively to being slapped and beekeepers who don’t wear suits are completely beyond my comprehension. Beekeeper will never be on my resume.
A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees creating a “bee beard.” Beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena was not stung as the bees swarmed around his chin on Aug. 17, 1990. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
I respect anyone who can remain calm around a hive of humming bees.
Beekeepers have told me they can gauge the health of a hive by the sounds they hear standing nearby.
Some even work hives without protective suits.
That is a level of zen I will never achieve in this lifetime.
And how about inviting bees to land on your face?
Jeepers!
But if having a bee beard is something you have imagined, well, there’s a way to do that.
A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees creating a “bee beard.” Beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena was not stung as the bees swarmed around his chin. When finished a couple of quick hops knock the swarm off harmlessly on Aug. 17, 1990. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
And when you are done take a quick hop and the bees will fall off to the ground.
These pictures and a long caption are from Aug. 18, 1990.
Beautiful beard
Beekeepers finished up a three-day conference Friday at Cal Poly with a relaxing afternoon of “bee bearding.” A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees.
“It’s real macho to get your picture taken with a bee beard,” one bee researcher commented. Above, displaying a whole lot of macho, is beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena.
A highlight of the Western Apicultural Society’s meeting was placing queen bee hormone under the chin and attracting a swarm of worker bees creating a “bee beard.” Beekeeper Bruce Steele of Altadena was not stung as the bees swarmed around his chin on Aug. 17, 1990. David Middlecamp dmiddlecamp@thetribunenews.com
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David Middlecamp is a photojournalist and third-generation Cal Poly graduate who has covered the Central Coast region since the 1980s. A career that began developing and printing black-and-white film now includes an FAA-certified drone pilot license. He also writes the history column “Photos from the Vault.”
