We Rescue Honeybees & Educate New Beekeepers

Bill, Guerilla Beekeepers

Guerilla Beekeepers is nestled in the quiet hills of Silverado Canyon, CA where our bees have miles and miles of unspoiled forest and chaparral in the Cleveland National Forest in which to forage. Additionally, a number of local organic orchards and gardens benefit from the pollination provided by these bees.

All of our bees were rescued from extermination. Caring homeowners and businesses, who have decided that the honeybee is too important and significant a creature to destroy, secure our services to safely and gently remove their unwanted honeybee colonies. As a result, all of our colonies are superbly adapted to the conditions here in Orange County, as well as being highly resistant to the new strains of diseases and mites which are plaguing honeybees around the world. It is our goal to propagate the genetics of these “survivor” bees. Single-handedly we won’t change the world, but a growing number of beekeepers are beginning to adopt this philosophy.

Bill Walter, the Head Beekeeper for Guerilla Beekeepers, has a passion for bees that he’s thrilled to share with anyone who will listen.From the age of 9 when he saw his first hive at the Raleigh Natural History Museum, Bill has always wanted to venture into apiculture. He finally got his chance after feral bees took up residence in a remodeled wall of his home. A hobby quickly became a profession. Now his goal is to rescue wild honeybee colonies wherever possible, take them out of harm’s way and raise and care for them without the use of dangerous pesticides, miticides, or antibiotics. He is known nationally in the treatment-free beekeeping community and is widening his circle of influence in the Southern California organic farming association.

Beekeepers love to talk about bees and Bill is no exception.  He enjoys teaching and sharing his enthusiasm about bee rescue, the history of bees and treatment-free beekeeping, the role honeybees play in our daily lives, and honey & hive products. Check out the classes Bill offers at the Dragonfly on the Classes / Calendar.

Guerilla Beekeepers believe…

•That honeybees and other pollinators are far more valuable than we realize.

•That the bees know what’s best, so we should learn from them.

•That antibiotics and poisons have no place in the hive.

•In organic and sustainable methods of beekeeping.

•In small cells.

•That honey is really, really good.

•That the health of the world’s honeybees is the responsibility of every beekeeper.

•That we are a part of the world, not apart from it.