May Speaker — Ron Crump

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Topic:  Bees, Butterflies and Pollinators 

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Ron Crump is a local beekeeper who got his start in beekeeping 15 years ago when his father-in-law sent for a mail-order package of bees to pollinate his green beans. They soon found out that beans are self-pollinating but the fascination with the little pollinators was born!  

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After moving to Modesto from Los Angeles in 2012, Ron purchased more hives and began a hobbyist’s interest in beekeeping. After a few years of failures (the bees died) and successes (the bees lived), Ron’s apiary grew from two hives to four, then exponentially to around one hundred 

hives. He began renting his beehives to farmers for pollination of their almonds, sunflowers, melons and cucumbers. He also began mentoring other new beekeepers (aka newbees) and educating children and the community on the magic and importance of bees to our world. Ron 

and his bees, equipment and hands have appeared in two widely seen films about the importance of bees to our ecosystem: David Attenborough’s PBS program, “Green Planet” in 2022 and True 

Food TV’s “Almonds How Does It Grow” on YouTube in 2023. 

 

Ron lives with his wife, Rebecca and son Cameron in Modesto, California where his business, Bee Garden Honey, harvests and produces local honey as well as pollinates local crops. His bees have appeared at the Turlock School District’s Annual Ag Day for third graders, Modesto Junior 

College’s Wild Planet Days, the La Loma Community Garden Pollinator Festival, and classrooms at Central Catholic High School and Our Lady of Fatima. He has also spoken at various garden club meetings throughout the region.