Photos: Making LA a bee-friendly city

In many parts of the world honeybees are in trouble, with their populations in sharp decline. That decline has scientists, environmentalists, farmers and bee lovers worried because of the bees/ importance to pollination and, thus, agriculture.

But there’s some good news: here in Los Angeles the wild bee population is thriving, with as many as a dozen hives per square mile in some neighborhoods. And where there are bees there are beekeepers. L.A. has a surprisingly big community of urban beekeepers who have backyard hives. These urban beekeepers are motivated both by their love of straight, fresh-from-the-hive honey and a desire to do something to help save the global bee population.

However, when it comes to municipal rules and regulations, urban beekeeping in the City of L.A. isn’t explicitly legal. Urban beekeeping advocates, led by a group called HoneyLove, are trying to change that. They’d like to see the city adopt rules and regulations that both promote urban beekeeping and safeguard wild bee hives reported by the public.

Rob McFarland, seen here in full bee protection gear, is the co-founder of HoneyLove, a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect honeybees and promote urban beekeeping. He’s harvesting honey from a rooftop hive of bees we visited in West Los Angeles. “Bees are the most fascinating creatures” says McFarland. “The more you learn about them, the more they pull you into their world.” (Photo by Saul Gonzalez)