If you’re reading this, there’s a big chance you know that bees are important, and not just because they supply us with honey.

Bees are pollinators. Their activity is essential to plant reproduction. If all the bees on earth disappeared, life would be untenable. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the planet’s ecosystems would collapse.

Knowing how crucial bees are to the existence of every living thing on earth, it is upsetting to find that there are people who fear instead of welcome their presence.

I spoke to Amy (not her real name), an urban beekeeper who wishes to keep her identity a secret after witnessing several friends told to dismantle their hives due to complaints from needlessly fearful neighbors.

Amy’s interest in beekeeping began in 2016, when she met a woman who kept hives on her rooftop. “Her neighbors were nice about it, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Amy said.

The interaction stuck with her, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she decided to start taking it seriously. She enrolled in free online classes given by US universities (they were the only ones available back then) before taking a seminar in UPLB. She acquired her first hive in 2024.

The first thing she realized was beekeeping is expensive. She was told, “You’d better be ready to spend. Like, you're buying a smartphone. It's really that much.”

She enumerates the initial expenses: a nucleus colony of five frames (three brood frames and two food) of European honeybees (apis mellifera) for about ₱10,000 and at least one box (hive) to contain the frames for about ₱800 to ₱1,500. New beekeepers are also advised to start with at least two colonies. This is just in case one fails, the other one can share its resources.

Queen bees, the most important part of the colony, are expensive as well. “In the US or Europe, if the queen dies, that's fine, the colony will make a new queen as long as they have eggs and young larvae. The same happens [with local bees],” Amy explained. “The difference is when the queen hatches in the West, they fly off, find males to mate with, come back, and then you have a new queen.

“The problem is apis mellifera is not endemic to the Philippines. So if they do fly out, [they won’t find] as many drones as in the West. So if they do fly out and if they do get back, the chances of them being well mated are very, very slim. Because of that, a lot of beekeepers, especially in urban areas, will buy queens from those who produce them.”

If a queen dies, a new one must be bought. “A queen will cost you—depends if it's naturally mated or if it's artificially inseminated—around ₱2,500 to ₱2,700 for an insect. So imagine, it really stacks up,” she said, adding that because of a lack of regulations, there is no guarantee that a queen will produce a healthy brood.

She currently has four Apis mellifera colonies in her spacious backyard, which is planted with different flowers. She also lives in an area with numerous trees, a blessing since Apis mellifera can fly up to a five kilometers radius.

“My neighbors don't know because… I had to position the hives in an area of the property where there were no direct lights at night (because it messes with their body clock)… and that area just so happens to have trees covering it,” Amy said. “I was really worried that my neighbors would see me in my bee suit but so far, I haven't heard any complaints.”

Her concerns aren’t unfounded. Even before she purchased her first hive, her mentors warned that not everyone understood urban beekeeping. Amy narrated a story about a woman whose neighbors complained to the barangay that they had been stung by her apis mellifera. The woman replaced her hives with native stingless bees. The neighbor returned to the barangay, claiming to have been stung once more. This was, of course, impossible, and the neighbor was caught in their lie.

Amy did her due diligence by taking courses before she bought her first hive, and she continues to do so as she pursues this hobby. “Scientists are finding out new things about their behavior and I try to keep up with it,” she said.

When asked what she wished more people knew about bees in urban areas, she said, “If I were your neighbor, I would tell you [that] if you see them in your backyard, just don't bother them. They're not gonna bother you. I only get stung when I'm inspecting them while I'm in a hurry, or if I accidentally hit one. Bees don't want to die. If they sting you, they're gonna die. They're not gonna just sting you just for fun. That's what I would want my neighbors to know.”

Watch out for part two next week!