The Honeybee Discovery Center is designed to teach the public about honeybees and the rich history of beekeeping in Northern California. The Center is a place for the public and schools to learn about honeybees and for the beekeeping community to display items that are part of beekeeping and its history.

Beekeeping has always been a vital industry in Northern California agricultural area.  Honeybees became even more important as the number of almond trees grew in the northern counties and more beehives were needed for pollination.  

Northern California is also excellent for queen bee rearing, with tens of thousands of queen bees produced annually. This popularity of Beekeeping as a profession led to the designation of the city of Orland, CA in Glenn County as the “Queen Bee Capital of North America.” Eighty percent of the queen bees used in the United States are raised here in Butte, Glenn, Shasta, and Tehama counties, which are often referred to as the “Golden Triangle.” Orland is also the 40th “Bee City, USA” with a commitment to creating greater awareness and an environment that protects honeybees and other pollinators.  

It’s all about Pollinating Minds…

Yvonne Koehnen, a longstanding and highly respected part of a local beekeeping family, originated the idea of the Honeybee Discovery Center, and the Honeybee Discovery Center board is working to recognize the goal of a new center that will further its mission of teaching the public about honeybees and other pollinators.

Queen Bee Capital

The perfect union of Orland as Queen Bee Capital, and the Honeybee Discovery Center was established in 2018, when the two groups joined to make the vision come to life. At present, the Honeybee Discovery Center administrative offices are located at 501 Walker Street in Orland, California. Fundraising is currently underway for the construction of the state-of-the-art Discovery Center and pollinator gardens.