Mid-70s is too young to pass over to the other side. But that was the fate for Kim Flottum, 76, who passed away Sunday, December 10, 2023, after a short battle with cancer. The bright and adventurous bee master, editor, and author was based in Medina, Ohio. Kim was the editor of Bee Culture magazine for 33 years, retiring in 2019. He was originally from central Wisconsin. It followed easily that he would earn his bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Wisconsin. Following graduation, he worked as a researcher at the USDA Honey Bee Research Lab in Madison. His work focused on pesticide issues, crop pollination, and nectar-producing plants, especially for the home gardener.

Most of us knew him as editor of Bee Culture magazine – a job that kept him engaged and knowledgeable about bees and beekeepers. But earlier, his career took him to Connecticut where he was elected president of the Connecticut Beekeepers’ Association. Later, as Publications Manager for Bee Culture, he created a new magazine, Beekeeping: Your First Three Years. This new magazine helped Kim educate new beekeepers at the time that beekeeping was rapidly expanding as a hobby. Over the years, Kim served as the Chairman of the Eastern Apicultural Society, president of the Ohio State Beekeepers’ Association and president of the Medina County Beekeepers Association. Kim retired in 2019 but continued keeping backyard bee colonies, writing beekeeping books and articles, and co-hosting podcasts.

I first met Kim in Ireland at Apimondia-2005 where I gave him my deep thanks for the kind accolades that he gave my Bad Beekeeping book. He said that I’d written a classic (and he repeated that claim in Bee Culture magazine – comments that touched me, considering the source) – but it was he who was the master of writing. I own several of the books that Kim Flottum wrote or co-wrote, including The Backyard Beekeeper; In Business with Bees; The Backyard Beekeeper’s Honey Handbook; First Time Beekeeping; Better Beekeeping: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Stronger Colonies and Healthier; More Productive Bees; Honey Connoisseur (written with Marina Marchese); Beekeeping for Dummies (by Howland Blackiston with the Foreword by Kim Flottum); Common Sense Natural Beekeeping (with Stéphanie Bruneau); The New Starting Right With Bees (with Kathy Summers); and, Honey Bee Pests, Predators, and Diseases (with Roger A. Morse). I recommend all of these books as good, informative reads and treats.

My last meeting with Kim was in August 2023 when he and Jeff Ott interviewed Etienne Tardiff and me for the Beekeeping Today Podcast. I had no idea that he was ill. I don’t think anyone would have guessed that he’d be gone in a few months. Jeff has posted a heart-felt tribute to Kim and Kim’s association with Jeff and the podcast – you can read it here.