Let me first explain the name Honey Pimp Apiaries. I was talking with a friend one day explaining what I was up to with my bees. I had mentioned that I lined up an organic farm that was very excited to have my bees come live on their property. She asked if I pay them to have the bees stay there and I mentioned no, the farms producing certain crops a lot of times pay bee keepers to get bees on their land. So she said to me “so you pimp your bees out to farmers to work their crops”? I then said yes… and that’s where Honey Pimp Apiaries came about!
Currently our hives are located on several properties called apiaries. We are scattered throughout Bloomington and Downs Illinois. Each of these locations have a few things in common:
- They have forage for the bees through most of the growing season
- The properties do not use hazardous chemicals prophylactically
- They are environmentally minded and understand some of the issues negatively impacting pollinators today
With that said, they produce different honeys based on the available forage throughout the warmer months. I truly look forward to letting people taste the difference themselves instead of trying to describe it. People seem to get “it” when the flavor hits their tongue.
As I learn more about bees and understand more of the issues, I’m now focusing on trying to manage my genetic stocks. I have suffered severe losses over the years and work tirelessly to make strong healthy stock. About my bees:
- The only chemicals we use are organic miticides and only used when absolutely needed (oxalic acit, formic acid, and thymol)
- These are not used when honey is being collected in the hives
- We graft from Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH), Italian, and Carniolian stock
- We do regular testing to maintain these behvaiors in our stock
I hope you enjoy this blog of sorts. Please jump in the conversation and leave us feedback as we go forward.
