Phil Krista (Beekeeper) Passed Away
It is sad to hear the news of the passing of Phil Krista a member of HCBA and led the HCBA weekly ConEd group with David Schultz, one of Phil’s mentees. Phil was a veteran of the Vietnam war and took great pride in his Scottish heritage.
On a personal note, Phil was one of my mentors who was always willing to share his beekeeping and life experiences. I accompanied him on a couple cutouts (one with Nick Rowan - see picture), helped him work on his PT Cruiser and learned how to set a swarm trap. With decades of experience, he had so much to offer. I was fortunate enough to accompany Phil a couple times out some wild bee chases, but count myself blessed to have photographed him in action, resulting in a 1st Place ribbon at the HoCo Fair.
Phil, thanks for serving our country, for being a beekeeper and for being a mentor to so many, God bless you and your family.
As an added side note... a little over a year ago, Phil gave me one of his handmade swarm traps. I had not put it out before, but due to the number of swarm calls, I thought it would not hurt to try it. So on April 16 I baited the trap and hung it from a tree in my backyard. I checked the trap everyday, but no activity. On the evening of April 24th, I was cutting the lawn and I checked the trap and there were bees. The morning of April 24th, Phil passed away. Coincidence, I don't think so... I am sure that Scotsman winked his eye and had a laugh as his lesson on how to catch a swarm worked. Thank you, Sir. (He didn't like it when I called him Sir.)