LIMA, Peru — In the bustling capital of Peru, Alfredo Santiago has carved out a distinctive niche for himself as a bee rescuer. At 35 years old, he started off as a beekeeper but felt compelled to expand his focus by helping to save these vital insects. Today, it’s not uncommon for him to keep a close eye on his phone, awaiting messages from individuals needing assistance with bee hives that have taken residence in windows, playgrounds, or even cemeteries.
“I do this work because I have a passion for protecting these creatures, which play a crucial role in our ecosystem,” Santiago expressed. When the number of requests builds up, he suits up in a white beekeeper outfit, gathers his smoker and wooden box, and navigates the streets of Lima, a sprawling metropolis with a population exceeding 10 million.
Unfortunately, there are times when Santiago arrives at a site only to find that well-meaning people have taken matters into their own hands and killed the bees. Nonetheless, when he successfully rescues these insects, he brings them back to his home on the outskirts of Lima, where he practices beekeeping and produces honey. Interestingly, he appears to be the only person in the area offering such rescue services without charge. “This is purely volunteer work. Some choose to plant trees or care for stray animals,” he noted, mentioning that his parents are also involved in beekeeping.
“I take on multiple roles: the driver, the one transporting the bees, the one handling the equipment, and even the one capturing the moments for social media,” he said while inspecting his dark green vehicle he uses for these rescue missions.
Recently, Santiago drove over 80 kilometers (50 miles) across Lima to retrieve a bee hive from a home garden. Additionally, he answered a call from a cemetery after a man, there to bury his mother, was stung by bees that had taken residence on a wooden coffin.
Santiago receives about 100 requests annually for bee hive removals and estimates that since he began his selfless mission in 2020, he has rescued approximately 4 million bees. Word of his endeavors has spread largely through social media platforms.
Life is challenging for bees in Lima, as the dense cityscape offers limited parks and green spaces for them to thrive. In the spacious garden of his home, he accommodates over two dozen green wooden hives sheltering upwards of 400,000 bees, allowing them to recuperate after their rescue. The patio features two plates full of honey, alongside a wood piece where a steady drip of water comes from a tap, all designed for the bees’ benefit. After allowing the bees to recover for a few months—sometimes as long as six—he relocates them to the Andean forests of Peru, over 225 kilometers (140 miles) from the city, where his parents continue the family tradition of beekeeping.
This commitment to beekeeping is indeed a family affair; Santiago is already contemplating purchasing a tiny beekeeper suit for his 3-year-old daughter, ensuring that the legacy continues.
