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ranchandcoast.com 66 JULY 2025 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE Headquartered in Boston, Best Bees installs and maintains hives on both commercial and residential sites in 24 cities around the U.S. in order to collect data on the bees as an indicator species for pollinators overall. Information is then shared with partners including Google Earth, National Geographic, NASA, Harvard University, Stanford University, and many more, as well as Urban Bee Lab, Best Bees' sister nonprofit. e information is an essential factor in understanding and addressing climate change, food security, natural disaster mitigation, and preservation of both environment and species. Understanding the variables impacting bee health offers a unique picture of the world beyond the hive. ough not a native species, the Italian honeybee, Best Bees' bee of choice, was long ago introduced in the United States to support agriculture and has become essential to maintaining our food supply. ese domesticated bees are easy to study, as opposed to endemic species that are solitary and therefore difficult to track, and provide key insights that can be applied to other pollinators in a region — hence their "indicator" status. Placement is carefully evaluated to confirm the habitat can support the bee colonies without putting pressure on other species to compete for resources. "We want to ensure that we're caring for these bees in a really safe way and a really responsible way," says Delaney Dameron, Best Bees' CEO. Once hives are set at a site, Best Bees supports them with what Dameron calls their version of "white glove service," caring for the bees with regular visits from their employee beekeepers, addressing any needs from feeding or adding frames to the hive to ensure the queen has room to lay her eggs to treating them for pests and diseases for the health of the hive and their fellow pollinators who share their habitat. For the property owner host's part, the role is simple — pay a small fee and sign an annual contract. But they're paid back in liquid gold: Best Bees bottles and returns all the honey from their hives. For commercial hive hosts, the honey can even be branded or used as ingredients in restaurants and bars, says Dameron. Others, like Bender, may choose to keep what they'd PHOTO BY BOB STEFANKO Focus environment <<