Reporter/Anchor
Two women in Reno have made their own gardens more colorful thanks to a hobby that’s now turned into a business idea that they want to share with others.
Molly LeGoy DeMay’s backyard is lined with colorful, hand-painted boxes that almost look like nightstands – but open them up, and they’re filled with yellow and black stripes.
She and her business partner Kim Hansen are lifelong friends who are turning their passion for beekeeping into a local business. “Red, White & Bees” allows community members to rent beehives and have an expert take care of the maintenance.
Both say they started beekeeping as a hobby. LeGoy DeMay says it was the promise of honey that drew her to the craft.
“That’s the biggest attraction for me,” she said. “But then once you start doing more research into what they do for our community and our region and our plant life … It’s really cool.”
Though the bees themselves don’t have much personality, she said they’re quite the show.
“We enjoy sitting in the summertime out here at our little table, and just watching them all day,” she said. “They’re so fun. … They fly in and out of the hives like little torpedoes, and they go in all different directions, and other than that – they don’t bug anybody.”
LeGoy says she’s never been stung by one of her own bees, and they’ve even been gentle with her dog Enzo, who likes to chew on her garden plants.
For Hansen, a local science teacher, the appeal of beekeeping is the entomology.
“When you take a frame of bees out, you can see bees being born. You can see them at all different stages of their life, and it’s really a fascinating hobby,” she said.
Holding up a frame filled with honeycomb, she said caring for a hive is more challenging than most hobbyists might expect, adding that these days, most people who have their own bees have to seek outside help to keep the hive running smoothly.
That’s why she and LeGoy DeMay wanted to start a local business offering their own expertise – it takes a village to raise a honeybee.
Reporter/Anchor
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