Meet The Beekeeper Behind Bee Rescue: Tasha Trujillo

In celebration of World Bee Day and our planet’s precious pollinators, Comvita is rescuing 5 Million bees by working with independent beekeepers across the US to safely relocate hives that have found their way into unwelcome areas. This interview is part of a series of introductions to get to know the lives and work of real, professional beekeepers. See what inspires them about their work, learn fascinating facts about bees, and life lessons the beehive can teach us.

Meet beekeeper Tasha Trujillo (also known as @palmpike ), from Miami, Florida.

How long have you been beekeeping?

4 years

How did you get involved in beekeeping?

I was always terrified of bees and never thought I’d be a beekeeper. However, at my old job which was a science museum, there was an exhibit all about honey bees that actually had an observation hive. Everyday I had to walk by this exhibit to get to my office and everyday I’d look at the hive and learn a little bit about honey bees. I mentioned to my boyfriend that we should try beekeeping just for fun! As fate would have it, someone at our local gym was giving away a hive and we took it! Our first year was a lot of experimenting and we started doing bee rescues. We then realized that beekeeping is not only fun but also something that is needed! The rest is history when we decided to start a small business rescuing hives. Today we keep about 20 hives, perform bee rescues, and grow organic cut flowers for the South Florida community.

What do you love about beekeeping?

Beekeeping forces you to be present. When you’re working a hive or a bee removal, all you’re thinking about is the bees. It’s an amazing feeling to be inside a hive and seeing the different bees doing their job and everything they accomplish together.

What are your favorite facts about bees?

There are many facts I love about bees but I think the most interesting that most people don’t realize is that the queen bee doesn’t make the majority of the decisions, it is the workers that do. They communicate and make decisions as a whole. The fact that usually gets people laughing is that drones, the male bees, don’t have any jobs within the hive and die after mating with a queen bee. The workers also kick out the drones when resources get scarce in the fall/winter.

What lessons have you learned from bees that are helpful in other areas of your life?

Great things happen when you work together! Honey bees are a super organism and it’s amazing how they work together. I think this is important to keep in mind in my life because I can’t do everything on my own, it truly takes a village!

What advice or tips do you have for people who want to help bees where they live?

My number one advice for anyone who wants to be kind to bees is to plant flowers and not use any pesticides! Supporting beekeepers in your local area is another great way to make sure the bee population is being taken care of.

What do you wish people knew about how bees impact the world around us?

Bees are so important for our world because of their excellent pollination skills. Without bees, we would not have the majority of our produce and plants around the world.

Do you have any other thoughts about working together with Comvita to rescue bees?

Comvita is one of the most inspiring bee companies I have had the pleasure to know! The quality of the Manuka Honey is unmatched and most importantly, the commitment to sustainability and promoting new beekeepers is amazing and inspiring.