Our story

About Forest Bees

Forest Bees was founded in 2005 by Forrest Lee Breese and operates as a Certified California Apiary in North San Diego County.

I grew up in Orange County and started gardening when I was seven years old. By my twenties, I had converted my entire backyard into food production — growing only plants that were edible or directly supported food systems. Long before blogs and social media, I wrote seasonal gardening and soil notes for local communities, focused on what actually works over time.

Forest Bees reflects that same approach. We raise locally adapted honey bees, offer seasonal NUCs and queens, and harvest small-batch California honey when the season allows. Everything we do is shaped by restraint, timing, and respect for biological systems rather than shortcuts or hype.

We keep things simple and honest: humane beekeeping, clean practices, and real honey that tastes like the hills, groves, and wild forage our bees work every day. Our goal isn’t scale for its own sake — it’s to protect pollinators, support responsible beekeeping, and share the sweetness that comes from doing the work carefully.