What are the benefits of honey bees?

Honey bees are excellent pollinators. They are not selective and will work majority of nectar/pollen producing plants increasing garden yields and improving an area’s biodiversity. In fact certain crops, such as almonds don’t yield fruit unless there are bees present to perform pollination duties. If you have a vegetable garden you will see tremendous improvements in production in many of your crops.

Are honey bees dangerous?

Honey bees have at times gotten a bad rap because of the Africanized bee influence in Southern parts of the United States. The truth is that honey bees are not dangerous if you do not have an allergy to them. They are often very docile, to where its fairly common to work the colonies without protective gear at all. We make a tremendous effort to maintain genetically gentle bees. There are certain things that can cause colonies to become more protective: physically agitating them, using lawn equipment in close proximity, poor/careless handling and excessive handling of the frames, dearth periods, and size of the colony, genetics, some environmental affects such as pesticide exposure and viruses can make them more likely to be defensive.

Africanized Bee colonies in Florida are euthanized as they are considered invasive.

How does set-up work?

We do a initial apiary evaluation to confirm the best location for your bees. Full sun, away from heavy human/pet traffic is a great location. The hives will only need about a 5 feet around them for access to manage the colonies. 100 sq ft is plenty of space for a couple of hives. It would also be wise to check with neighbors and home owner association covenants to confirm there will not be issues once the bees are in place.

Hives can be installed any time of the year. Summer (July-Early Sept) and Winter (Nov-January) offers dearth periods where there is no forage, so the colonies will be smaller in size and not as active as during nectar flows.

Once location is confirmed, a 50% deposit is due to secure the colonies, and the remaining 50% is due upon colony delivery.

What are the start-up costs?

There is a per hive set-up fee of $725.00 for the standard pine boxes. This covers all of the required hive equipment (Bottom board and base, 2 deep brood chambers, 2 medium honey supers, top cover, queen excluder, installation, and the Honey bees themselves.) A popular option is to upgrade to a telescoping cover, a garden cover, or to utilize cedar boxes. Prices vary based on upgrades.

What is the monthly fee and what does it cover?

The monthly fee is $150. This fee covers 1-2 visits to the hives per month, and all associated management processes required during those visits (regular inspections/reports, queen replacement, equalization, supering, disease management and prevention, etc). Some months, such as during the winter, only 1 visit may be needed to ensure colony health. Additionally this fee includes extraction and bottling of up to a full medium super of honey (honey harvest varies from year to year, but medium supers have around 30-40lbs of honey). Worst case scenario, we will guarantee you 24lb minimum, however it may come from a different location than your backyard.

What if I want more than 1 hive, is there a discount?

Start-up cost is the same per hive regardless of the number of hives you purchase. Each additional hive beyond the first will incur an additional $25/month……so for example an apiary with 2 hives would be be $175/month, one with 3 hives would be $200/month

What if I want more honey from my hives?

Assuming the hives have an extractable surplus of honey beyond the 1 medium super, you are able to purchase honey at a discounted rate as compared to our regular retail rates. Prices vary depending on bottling requirements (Bulk containers vs. jars)

What if I have hive equipment or bees already but would like someone to management them?

You are welcome to supply your own hive equipment, but we only use 10 frame langstroth style hives. This allows us to be able to interchange equipment or move around brood when needed. Also the management strategy is consistent across the entire outfit. If you have your own bees, we will be happy to manage them for the regular monthly rate, however we will not guarantee a specific amount of honey harvest, nor replace hives or queens free of charge. This includes but not limited to absconding, swarming, queen death or reduction in queen efficiency.

If you purchase the bees from us and maintain the monthly subscription without interruption, we will replace the hive or queen free of charge for any reason, and guarantee 24lb of bottled honey after the main honey flow.

Can we work with the beekeeper during inspection?

Most of the time our beekeepers are eager to share their knowledge. However, we do not carry extra protective equipment, so participating in the hive inspection in detail may not be feasible. We can schedule separate instructional hive inspections for you to be part of the hive.

What is the subscription commitment?

After initial set-up, monthly management fee is due on the 5th of each month. You can terminate the subscription at anytime. However, in that case free queen replacement, free hive replacement, and honey minimum would no longer be guaranteed. You would be able to keep the single brood chamber colony. The secondary brood box, and honey super boxes would also be yours to keep, however the frames and drawn combs from those boxes would be removed, as those come from our stock and are utilized across the outfit.

What legal/state requirements are there?

Beekeepers/Apiaries are required to be registered and bees are required to be inspected in the state of Florida. It is not a complex process, just some basic forms to fill out and submit.