Northwoods Honey
Northwoods Honey is a family owned and operated apiary. Our bees are cared for meticulously and work hard to provide our community with excellent quality honey.
Our apiaries are home to Italian and Carniolan bees. We currently maintain two bee yards. One borders a heavily wooded area full of natural resources for the bees. The second bee yard is at our home. Our home bee yard is filled with culinary and medicinal herbs, flowers, fruit trees and vegetables. Aside from honey production the bees are excellent pollinators and have really helped increase our harvest yield! Since both locations are only about a mile apart, both groups have access to the same resources. Bees can travel several miles a day, so they are able to pick and choose what they forage on. On occasion we host informational bee gatherings, keep an eye out in the events tab!
On occasion we are called to remove swarms that have settled in places their human landlords don't appreciate. Beekeeping requires patience and dedication.
One important thing that most beekeepers would love for people to understand is that the bees are overall very docile. Honey bees, like mason bees, do not go out of their way to sting you or harm you in any way. In some ways bees are similar to cats or chickens. They are nosey! If they frequent your area they will begin to remember who you are. This process may involve the bee landing on you or your favorite lawn chair. The bees may fly around you and stop in front of you and hover midair, as if they are assessing what you are doing. This is not aggressive behavior. They are just hanging out with you. Since the honey bee dies after stinging, it only stings as a last resort. Usually they will fly into you and "thump" you as a warning if they aren't comforatble with you being so close to the hive. There are guard bees whose purpose is to deter predators. Through pheremones the bees can signal to their colony that there is danger. The pheremone is detectible by humans and smells like bananas. Important note-don't eat bananas near a bee hive! Bees become irritable when it has been raining or is cloudy. Avoid checking around their homes during rainy or cloudy weather. Bees are also irritated by some noises. From experience, I can strongly advise you not to start a chainsaw near them! Blowers and trimmers too! If you have to do yard work with small engine equipment near a bee hive it is best to do so in the middle of a sunny day, when the foragers are away from the hive. With a little bit of awareness, humans and bees can live symbiotically with very few issues. Your reward for being kind to your bees? Honey, wax, pollen, and propalis!
