Ethical Beekeeping
Our ethical beekeeping includes these principles:
In ethical beekeeping, only one beekeeper's honey is used in honey packaging; thus, the honey retains both its uniqueness and each batch of honey is identifiable with a specific beekeeper. Bach number labels on the back allow us to identify which beekeeper the honey came from.
In conventional beekeeping, synthetic treatments are usually used in the treatment of bee colonies against Varroa destructor, the Varroa mite. In organic beekeeping, natural acids are used, which are also naturally present in the honey itself (for example, oxalic acid).
A drone comb can be used in beekeeping. Our beekeepers use it. This allows to reduce varatosis (This non-chemical method has its advantages, a primary one being that can be used throughout the honey production season).
In conventional beekeeping, bees are taken to fields for pollination, where they wear out faster. (Demand for food is growing along with the human population, leading to an increase in plant production. Many crops are pollinated by insects, so the global demand for managed pollinators is also increasing. The honey bee has traditionally been considered the main provider of crop pollination services. For providing it beekeepers seasonally transport hives to different locations after the flowering of different crops. These movements could be detrimental to pollinators by: 1) stressing honey bees, making them more susceptible to pathogens and parasites; 2) spreading bee parasites and pathogens across locations; 3) increasing the transmission of parasites and pathogens between managed and wild pollinators and vice versa (spillover and spillback, respectively).
Our beekeepers do not engage in pollination service, which preserves the bees' vitality.
In conventional beekeeping, the most common method of replacing the queen bee is to press the old queen and attach the new one. We use a method where the colony with the old queen bee and the colony with the new queen bee are combined without suppressing either queen. We leave it to "Mother Nature" which the queen bee remains the main one.
Our beekeepers don't clip the queen bee's wings and they don't artificially inseminate the queen bee.
How do we ensure our bees have sufficient food during winter:
During summer, honey is harvested multiple times while ensuring there's enough left for the bees. It is important to note that bees do not receive additional food during the summer and spring seasons, as they consume the honey they have produced.
A key responsibility of beekeepers is to ensure that the bee colony survives the winter by providing adequate food. We collaborate with various beekeepers who supply different varieties of honey. Some beekeepers feed their bees with honey, others provide organic sugar syrup or inverted syrup during the winter months, as not all types of honey are suitable for overwintering. Feeding is carried out only when absolutely necessary.
For example, bees taken to heather pastures require feeding in winter because heather honey is unsuitable for overwintering. Additionally, spring honey often crystallises, making it inaccessible for the bees and potentially leading to starvation.
While some honeys, like honeydew and buckwheat, are rich in minerals, they can cause digestive issues to bees, potentially leading to nosematosis, which can be fatal for the whole colony.
Our beekeepers ensure that winter food remains separate in hives from the honey meant for bottling and never get mixed together.