Beekeepers Yasmine Iqbal, Lynn Lampman, and Jenni Tuliszewski
Who’s behind the yellow and orange hives at Pendle Hill? Yasmine Iqbal, Lynn Lampman, and Jenni Tuliszewski met during a six-month beekeeping course at Tyler Arboretum and decided they wanted to start their own apiary, “Sweetness and Light.” United by their interest in and concern for bees, and strengthened by their diverse personalities and style, they work toward building and maintaining healthy honeybee hives.
As women beekeepers themselves, the hives are named after other, famous women beekeepers. “Eva” the orange hive is named after Eva Crane (1912-2007) who traveled to 60 countries worldwide doing bee research. “Maggie” the yellow hive is named after Margaret Murray Washington (1865-1925) who was an accomplished educator who brought the idea of horticulture as a viable occupation to Black women in the United States, and she was a Friend, too.
Right now in the hives, the queen is laying eggs and producing royal jelly (which is secreted from glands in her head!), the workers are feeding the larvae, and forager bees are gathering their food sources of pollen and nectar from nearby flowering trees and plants. The lovely byproduct will be a bountiful honey harvest later in the year, which will be available for purchase in the bookstore!
Photos were taken by Jenni Tuliszewski:
Honeycomb made without frames.
Collecting pollen, which can be seen on the legs.
Bees tending the pollen stores!
The “Eva” hive landing pad.
Blessing the hives.
The queen bee, marked with a white dot.
