Newsletter: 🐝 Saving nature’s architects through Kung Fu
Plus, activist Jeane Wong sentenced to 45 days of house arrest.
Last Sunday afternoon, Dan Luong and Monique Grimaldi went to rescue bees at the Santa Fe Christian School where the 30,000 pollinators had made a home in an eight-foot-tall tree branch.
As Luong prepared a ladder to access the hive, his fiancée Grimaldi blew smoke at it, making the bees think there’s a fire and that their week-old home was no longer safe. Once the bees slowly fly away from the smoke, they reveal a chandelier of intricate honeycomb panels, all different sizes shining a pastel yellow against the afternoon sun.
“I’m witness to nature’s perfection at its finest — unadulterated, nontouched by humans and this is what they can create without our interference,” Luong said.
(Left) Monique Grimaldi blows smoke at an open hive in a tree during a bee rescue at the Santa Fe Christian Schools. (Center) Dan Luong finishes cutting off the branch with a beehive attached to it. (Right) Dan Luong admires the beehive at the Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach. Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Daylight San Diego
We Save Bees is a bee removal company founded by Luong, a first generation Chinese Vietnamese American, where his approach puts the bees’ wellbeing first. His team specializes in live removal, rescuing the bees by hand and giving them a better home.
His approach is influenced by Kung Fu, a Chinese artstyle that teaches not only martial arts, but lessons in respect, harmony, fairness and self-reliance. He follows these teachings in his everyday life and said that rescuing bees is an extension of his Kung Fu practice.
At work, he follows the Golden Rule, treat others how you want to be treated.
“I don’t think in any life I would ever want to be shoved through a vacuum cleaner,” Luong said.
Before he started We Save Bees, he had a full ride engineering scholarship at UC San Diego in 2000 but quit two quarters in because he said he realized that wasn’t a life he wanted for himself.
He worked different jobs in his 20s before buying his first house at 24 where there was a bee hive in his shed. He knew someone from his Kung Fu class who was learning about bees, so he called them over to remove the colony.
Luong said watching the plumes of smoke billow out of his shed while they were working filled his brain with pure curiosity. Soon after, he started learning about bees with his friend and from then on, Luong went wherever the bees took him.
When he was working the markets with his instructor, people would come to him asking to remove their bees. Other bee removal companies and exterminators would even go to him because although the companies advertised live bee removals, they didn’t know where to bring the colonies after. He said they’d hand him boxes with crushed honeycombs and dead bees.
He did his best to educate exterminators on beekeeping but it got to a point where he stopped taking bees from them because of the bad conditions he would receive colonies in.
“They would literally squish all the honeycomb they could possibly cram into a box and then throw bees inside of there on top of that and then pass it over to me,” he said. “It was ridiculous.”
(Left) Monique Grimaldi cuts off the honeycomb with the most eggs in it to lure the bees into a transportation box. (Right) Bees crawl on a honeycomb that their colony of 30,000 pollinators built over the course of a week on a tree branch at the Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach on Sunday, March. 8, 2026. Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Daylight San Diego
Early on, an elderly woman he met while working at the markets called him because another removal company took a sledge hammer to her wall but couldn’t get to the bees and they just left it there. In exchange for having Luong remove bees from inside her wall, she allowed him to rehome bees from other removals on her property.
It was never his intention to start the business but this experience made him realize that his skills and knowledge can make a difference.
Luong and his friend who is no longer with the company strived to create a team that understands the bees and respects their natural behavior.
At a rescue job, it’s the bees that set the tone. On Sunday, Grimaldi and Luong cut the branch with the hive and found the honeycomb with the most eggs in it to put into a frame that sits in a cardboard box.
They set down the hive and watched the bees voluntarily march into the box to protect the next generation of pollinators. To speed up the process, they scoop up bees with their hands and put them into the box. Luong and Grimaldi said this is one of their favorite parts.
Grimaldi said it’s vital that the bees choose to go into the box.
“Its like the illusion of choice,” she said. “If we can work with them in ways that they respond to and convince them that they chose the box and they want to go in the box, then they’re more likely — after we’re all said and done and back in the apiary — to stick around.”
From there, Grimaldi and Luong herded the bees into the box blowing smoke to steer them in the right direction.
The bees started fanning, giving off a pheromone that tells the other bees that the box is a good place to settle down and they sat for more than thirty minutes watching the bees move into their temporary home.
(Left) Dan Luong and Monique Grimaldi sit on the ground and patiently wait for the colony to march into the box where they put the baby bees in during a bee rescue at the Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach. (Center) Monique Grimaldi takes a handful of bees to put into a box during a bee rescue on Sunday, March. 8, 2026. (Right) Bees march into the cardboard box that holds their colony’s babies during a rescue at the Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach on Sunday, March. 8, 2026. Brittany Cruz-Fejeran/Daylight San Diego
Grimaldi’s favorite part about the business is educating people on the true nature of bees and she helped spark a love for them in a prior client, Mimi Bowie.
Bowie, like Luong, also fell in love with bees when they moved into her shed. She wanted to keep the bees on her property so they could pollinate her fruit trees, and We Save Bees were the most responsive to her request.
At first she was scared of bees, but talking to Grimaldi while she was working on the colony under her shed opened her eyes to a new perspective.
“If one would come close to me I would scream for my husband for help,” she said. “My whole demeanor changed after that. I just thought this was so incredible.”
She said she was grateful that Luong and Grimaldi were open to teaching her and her husband and even bringing Bowie on a few jobs so she could gain more experience.
“I was so in love with whatever they were doing and how passionate they were and how amazing they were,” she said.
Luong said he’s always learning from the bees and if humans acted more like them then the world would be a better place.
“They live for each other. They take care of each other. They support each other. They don’t fight with each other and everything they do is for the betterment of the colony to expand it, to make it better, to make it safer,” he said.
“I think if humans live that way or thought that way we wouldn’t be in the poopshow we’re in.”
— Brittany Cruz-Fejeran
Activist sentenced to 45 days home arrest
A federal judge sentenced activist Jeane Wong to 45 days of home arrest through federal probation rather than prison time. Wong’s attorney pointed to the existence of Operation Road Flare, ICE’s tracking of San Diego activists, as a reason not to keep Wong on probation for a longer period.
— Kate Morrissey
Federal cuts revive a California lawmaker’s push for single-payer health care
Assemblymember Ash Kalra introduced Guaranteed Health Care for All, legislation that would create a universal form of healthcare provided by a state-run governing board and no-cost care to all residents, regardless of their income or immigration status.
— Mark Kreidler, Capital & Main
Asylum seekers at the Supreme Court
A federal court case that began in San Diego in 2017 is heading to the Supreme Court later this month. The case involving local legal nonprofit Al Otro Lado challenges the government's practice of turning away asylum seekers at ports of entry when they're trying to request protection. Lower courts have repeatedly sided with the asylum seekers that U.S. law requires the government to process them.
— Kate Morrissey
The celebration of women in San Diego continues this weekend including through a jiu jitsu workshop and an art exhibition. San Diegans can also attend a Hip Hop concert to support a local immigration legal services nonprofit, a DJing class or a photo exhibit of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
— Kate Morrissey
Other news
NBC7 reported that San Diego County is suing the Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security for blocking a public health inspection of the Otay Mesa Immigrant Detention Center.
KPBS looked into the currently high SDG&E rates, sharing ways to save money on your monthly bill.
A new report by a former Environmental Protection Agency official and a former commissioner from the International Water and Boundary Commission offers long-term solutions to the Tijuana River sewage, according to inewsource. The report covers five focus areas, including long-term water management, operations and maintenance, governance and accountability, and infrastructure funding.
Upcoming Events
March 13
Lesbian Cafe: The LGBT Center in San Diego invites queer folks to gather for a welcoming, inclusive and light-hearted discussion group tailored for women of all ages. 10:30 a.m. - noon, 3909 Centre St., San Diego, CA 92103
Women Who Wander: La Raza Travels is honoring five women entrepreneurs around the world while also providing business advice from a travel industry leader. Storytelling, global cuisine and traditional crafts will be offered. 5 - 7 p.m., 6403 Imperial Ave, San Diego, CA 92114
March 14
Art Walk: The Rainbow SD's Spring Gallery Night is moved to the daytime, inviting San Diego creatives to make installations or host interactive art experiences for kids and adults and to connect with fellow creatives in the area. Those interested in attending should contact the organizer. Noon - 4 p.m., 3812 29th St, San Diego, CA 92104
March 15
She’s So Lucky – Charm Bracelet Party: Whimsy and Cork & Stem are hosting a Britney-themed charm bracelet craft event. Attendees can sip wine, listen to pop music and craft. Tickets start at $40 for all materials and a drink ticket. 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., 1035 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
March 16
Intro to DJing Class: The San Diego Music Room and Soulside Vinyl are hosting a free DJing class for beginners taught by DJ Syko, followed by a Q&A and group discussion. Attendees receive 20% off vinyl records and DJ class specials at Soulside Vinyl. The event is free to attend. 6:30 - 8 p.m., Soul Side Vinyl Shop, 3535 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116
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