Flea’s Bees: Chili Peppers Bassist Starts Apiary
It’s a hobby perhaps more befitting of Sting than Flea, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has become a full-fledged beekeeper with over 200,000 insects in his apiary. In recent months, Flea has posted numerous photos of himself in full beekeeping regalia on his social media accounts, and TMZ reports that his backyard is now home to three hives with over 60,000 bees apiece.
Flea’s passion for beekeeping is twofold: In addition to his unabashed “love” for the insect – “Pleezus more beezus” and “Me about to get busy with my beautiful little bees that I love,” he wrote in June – the bassist’s environmental concerns also inspired him to cultivate an apiary of “Flea’s bees.” The honeybee population has steadily and staggeringly decreased over the past few decades, a decline known as the Colony Collapse Disorder, threatening a food chain that relies on the bugs to pollinate plant life.
Flea’s environmentalism will also take center stage when the bassist takes part in the Pathway to Paris concert at Paris’ Le Trianon on December 4th. The all-star event will also feature Flea’s Atoms for Peace bandmate Thom Yorke, Patti Smith, Dhani Harrison and many more. Pathway to Paris aims to raise awareness about the urgency of climate action and coincides with UN Climate Change Conference, which takes place between November 30th and December 11th in Paris.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea told us how he broke his arm snowboarding in our animated video. Watch here.