AUSTIN, Texas — "Queen of the bees," "the unstung hero" and "protector of the honeycombs" are all names one Austinite has been dubbed after her beekeeping videos went viral on social media. Erika Thompson is taking TikTok by swarm, one post at a time.
The owner of Austin-based Texas Beeworks has been sharing updates on what it's like to be a beekeeper in Central Texas, and it has created some buzz online in her mission to "save the bees."
Thompson only has about 20 TikTok videos as of Aug. 20 since her first post was shared in April, and every single video has more than 1 million views. In fact, her latest TikTok has been watched more than 20 million times. This queen bee also has more than 1 million TikTok followers.
Most of her videos show her process for removing bees, and to many of her followers' surprise, she wears very little protective gear. You could say she's learned their "bee-havior."
"After keeping bees for nearly 10 years, I've learned to read their behavior and can tell when they're aggressive," Thompson said in a comment. "No stings and no bee suit needed here!"
KVUE's Rebecca Flores had the chance to meet with Thompson last summer to find out what a day in her life is like. She looks after more than 5 million bees in the Austin area alone, and it takes a lot of work.
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