All abuzz: Kona Historical Society to open Beekeeping Legacy exhibit

Among the coffee fields of South Kona are acres of land alive with buzzing bees.

For more than 100 years, beekeeping has been a quietly growing industry on the Big Island with evidence of bees first recorded in the late 1890s, according to research at the University of Hilo. The bees were brought over from O‘ahu, and primarily used to increase the production of kiawe bean and further establish kiawe forests to create a nutritious source of cattle feed.

Over the years, beekeepers started producing honey and in the 1970s, South Kona quickly became the hub for rearing queen bees, which continues to be the state’s largest production of queen bees in the state.

A new exhibit at the Kona Historical Society will delve into the history of beekeeping in South Kona with a documentary that showcases bee yards, and the beekeepers that tend to them.

The Kona Beekeeping Legacy Project was spearheaded by Leandra Rouse, who wanted to pay tribute to her father, Gus, who raised queen bees in South Kona for three decades at Kona Queen Hawai‘i.

The project, which also celebrates her fatherʻs 75th birthday, turned into a yearlong passion of collecting oral histories and capturing footage for a 10-minute documentary that tells the “little-known story” of Kona’s beekeepers and their global impact. According to the state Department of Agriculture, beekeepers in South Kona produce the most queen bees in the state.

“Beekeeping isn’t just a job; it’s something alive and vibrant,” Leandra Rouse said.

Growing up as a beekeeper’s daughter, she used to help feed the bees or make queen cages.

“I’d ride my tricycle through the Quonset hut, completely unfazed by the bees flying all around me,” Leandra Rouse recalled. “It was dirty, intense, and completely unique — just a normal part of growing up in a beekeeping family.”

The project also celebrates all the hardworking farmers who shape Hawai‘i Island’s agricultural identity. Her hope is also to preserve the stories and history of the beekeeping industry while inspiring future generations of beekeepers and sustainable farmers.

The exhibit will run April 8 to July 3 at the Kona Historical Society, 81-6551 Hawaiʻi Belt Road in Kealakekua. It is a multimedia initiative that features images, articles and the documentary, co-produced by Leandra Rouse and videographer Andrew Richard Hara.

The documentary includes drone footage overlooking the Kona coast and bee yards, and looks at the relationship between beekeepers and landowners.

The historical society also is scheduling school field trips to see the exhibit.

Visitors to the exhibit will learn the basics of beekeeping, the history of how bees arrived and thrived in Hawai’i and what makes Kona ideal for queen breeding.

Leandra Rouse’s favorite part of the exhibit is the “Talk Story” section, which is a collection of oral histories from longtime beekeepers in Kona.

“This part of the exhibit is interactive — I invite visitors to share their own experiences with beekeeping in Hawai‘i,” Leandra Rouse said. “My hope is that by the end of the exhibit, we’ll have a growing collection of community stories that can be preserved in the archive.”

Along with a glass observation hive, the exhibit will feature artifacts, including an old honey extractor that belonged to the uncle of famed astronaut Ellison Onizuka in the 1940s.

Gus Rouse said he always felt an exhibit on beekeeping needed to be done because Kona has become the center for the state’s production of queen bees over the years.

“Beekeepers. It’s not a real visible industry as they don’t have storefronts,” Gus Rouse said.

He started beekeeping in 1974 in Northern California. After a visit to the Big Island in 1978, Rouse and his wife moved to Hawai‘i not long after to work at Kona Queen Bees, which grew to become the largest producer of queen bees in the state.

“Kona Queens was the first queen-rearing company in the state. We only raised queens,” Gus Rouse said. “Later, we started producing some honey.”

Gus Rouse is thrilled the historical society will be showing his daughter’s work saying: “I think it’s great to be in the historical archives. She’s done quite an amazing job in digging stuff up.”

Hawai’i Island’s large uncultivated and pesticide-free forests of kiawe, ʻōhiʻa, and Christmas berry trees lead to the highest production of organic honey in the United States.

Maria McCarthy, pest control technician with Hawai’i Department of Agriculture’s Apiary Program, said the state supplies 60% of the queen bee demand to Canada and 40% of the demand to the U.S. mainland.

Queen bees help with pollinating as well as production of honey.

Ku‘ulani Auld, archives specialist at the historical society, said this is the first time in the 25 years she’s worked with the nonprofit that the society has showcased South Kona’s beekeeping industry.

Auld said she didn’t realize the importance of the Kona queen bee was and its impact across the nation.

“They’re so integral to everything we do with agriculture in Hawai‘i, and it’s super important to tell their story,” Auld said.

Leandra Rouse was looking for a place to share her project with the community and reached out the Kona Historical Society.

“It’s a wonderful exhibit and it really aligns with our mission of preserving Kona history,” said Laysan Unger, board member and care ???? of the development committee for the historical society.

Unger said this project is a testament to Leandra Rouse’s tenacity to collect the stories.

“The result is going to be really special,” Unger said. “I think it will surprise people how Kona’s impact is globally, providing queen bees in the world.”

Through this project, Leandra Rouse said she hopes visitors to the exhibit will discover how the Big Island has made a major impact on national and global beekeeping.

“Beyond learning the fascinating history of how this industry took root in Hawai‘i, I want people to increase their comfort with honeybees, develop a deeper appreciation for how these pollinators interplay with our Kona crops, and gain a genuine interest in the keepers who tend them,” she said. “I created this project to shine light on these hard-working farmers, celebrate their innovative spirits, and share their profound connection to the agriculture system that feeds us all.”

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