Sorry, We're Closed? Not the California Master Beekeeper Program!

A cape mallow, (Anisodontea sp. "Strybing Beauty") in full bloom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's a honey bee to do when one of her favorite flowers, cape mallow (Anisodontea sp. "Strybing Beauty") is not open for bees-ness.

Well, leave it to the bee to find a way.

We recently witnessed a honey bee encountering a yet-to-open flower in the early morning. No entry! No way? And right at the beginning of National Honey Month, too. (USDA's National Honey Board founded the event in 1989 to celebrate the beekeeping industry and honey.)

As for Anisodontea, it's a perennial shrub that likes full sun. 

It likes bees that pollinate it, too. It just closes at night and reopens in the morning.

Interested in keeping bees or knowing more about bees? The California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) lists a number of bee classes on its website. The program, launched and directed by Cooperative Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, based in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, educates and trains bee ambassadors. You can become a Master Beekeeper and "communicate the importance of honey bees and other pollinators" within your community and serve as mentor for other beekeepers.  Master Beekeepers are the "informational conduit between the beekeeping communities throughout the state and the UC Cooperative Extension  staff," according to Niño and program manager Wendy Mather on their website. (Email camasterbee@gmail.com for more information.)

Currently available are three online courses or webinars:

Seasonal Honey Bee Colony Management in Southern California, Online

• Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, 9 a.m. to noon, South Coast Research and Extension Center, Irvine
• Event details
• Register here: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/730   

Broodminder: Apiary Technology and Honey Bee Health, Online

• Saturday, Oct 9, 2021, 10 a.m. to noon
• Event details  
• Register here: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/739 

Exploring Beekeeping 001 #2 Online

• Saturday, Oct 16, 2021, 9 a.m. to noon, South Coast Research and Extension Center, Irvine
• Event details
• Register here: https://registration.ucdavis.edu/Item/Details/733

Unlike flowers that close, the California Master Beekeeping Program does not, despite the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to grip us. CAMBP has just found another way--online.