‘Changed the face of beekeeping’: New world record for female apiarists

Women from across the world have swarmed social media with photos of themselves beekeeping, breaking a world record challenge set by a Tasmanian beekeeping duo.

Anita Long and Jenni McLeod of Sister Hives at Richmond. Picture: Chris Kidd

WOMEN from across the globe have swarmed social media with photos of themselves beekeeping, breaking a world record challenge set by a Tasmanian beekeeping duo.

The bid to achieve a world record for “Most Photos of Women Beekeeping Uploaded in 24 Hours” was concocted by Anita Long and Jenni McLeod, of Richmond-based beekeeping initiative Sister Hives, in a bid to encourage and foster support for female apiarists.

Women around the world uploaded photos of themselves beekeeping to social media. Image: Instagram

More than 1300 photos of women donning their beekeeping suits and tending to hives were posted to social media with the hashtag #BeekeepingWorldRecord, making 2.8m social media impacts in just 24 hours.

“Our main driver for this was to show that women are out there beekeeping, to connect women who are beekeeping, and to really make us visible in the space,” Ms McLeod said.

“The statistics tell us that the average beekeeper is a 69-year-old white male and we wanted to show the diversity in beekeeping. So this world record … is like a massive tsunami that’s completely changed the face of beekeeping.”

Women around the world uploaded photos of themselves beekeeping to social media. Image: Instagram

Women around the world uploaded photos of themselves beekeeping to social media. Image: Instagram

The challenge reached 25 countries, with women from the United States, Europe and Asia taking part, including a Ukrainian beekeeper operating in a war zone and a mother-daughter who set up the only female beekeeping business in Pakistan.

As well as breaking a digital world record, Sister Hive also achieved an in-person milestone with more than 100 attendees at their Richmond beekeeping event on Saturday, setting a world record for “Most Women Beekeeping at Live Event”.‘

Originally published as ‘Changed the face of beekeeping’: New world record for female apiarists