Honey Bee Sweet Apiary

07/25/2026

Nurse bees attending future bees. Notice the different life stages from a tiny egg to the capped cell.

07/25/2026

Granddaughter Harlem helping out with a recent swarm capture.

07/22/2026

Don’t waste your money on big box store plants that won’t grow and require constant attention in our warm Florida climate.
Native trees and plants are the way to go. They require less maintenance and are an important resource for our pollinators.

06/28/2026

Our mango trees are doing what they do best.👏 It looks like it’s going to be a decent harvest despite the freeze we had this past winter. 🥳
The varieties we currently have and will have Julie, Ice Cream, Super Julie, Valencia Pride, Nam Doc Mai, Choc Anon, Cotton Candy, Venus, Honey Kiss, to name a few.😋
$4.00 per lb.
🙏

06/22/2026

Hyacinth and I had a great time yesterday at the Gatherings Grove Mango Festival.
We were able to share our sometimes limited, apiary knowledge with the attendees. As usual, our observation bee hive, was quite the hit, especially with the youngsters.
Many people enjoyed our honey and creamed honey tasting samples.
It was quite hot, but we all endured. We were so busy that I forgot to take more photos.

06/18/2026

Received our ‘Save The Bees’ plate today.🍯🐝🍭

06/18/2026

Your "Organic" Honey might be lying to you

Because...brace yourself. There is no USDA organic standard for honey in the United States.

I know. Somewhere a health food store just gasped.

The problem is simple: bees don't read property lines and they definitely don't care about marketing labels. A honey bee can forage several miles from her hive. You can't tell her to skip the neighbor's flowers, avoid a treated field, or only visit certified organic plants.

That's why there is no USDA organic certification standard for honey. There is no practical way to guarantee every flower a bee visits.

And while we're at it, don't fall for labels like "organically managed" either.

That's become a popular buzzword because it sounds official without actually meaning much. It's often used to imply the honey is organic when it isn't. Some beekeepers use it honestly to describe how they manage their hives, but others use it as marketing fluff because "organically managed" sells better than "regular honey."

The truth? Honey should be sold on transparency, not clever wording.

So when you see "organic honey," one of two things is usually happening:

• It's imported from another country using a different certification system.
• Someone is stretching the truth to help move jars.

Want good honey?

Buy from a local beekeeper. Ask questions. A good beekeeper won't get offended when you ask how they manage their bees, what they treat for, or where their bees forage.

Honey doesn't need fancy labels. It just needs bees, flowers, and an honest beekeeper.

If a jar is doing more marketing than explaining where it came from...you've probably been sweet talked

06/17/2026

Our Florida ‘Save The Bees’ license plate arrived today .
The plate idea came from the Florida State Beekeepers Association.
By purchasing this specialty plate, you are contributing to the education, research and outreach to support our essential honeybees.

​ You may now go in person to the DMV/County Tag Office and use your voucher to purchase your "Save The Bees" plate... or if you never purchased a voucher you may order/purchase you personalized...

06/17/2026

Hyacinth and I have been extracting, bottling, sealing and labeling or recent batch of honey.
Long couple of hot days, but it’s always worth it. We extracted 205 lbs. of honey from our ten hives.
God is good.

06/10/2026

Marc stopped by last week to assist me with capturing another swarm in our lime tree.
This lime tree, do to the citrus fragrance, seems to attract swarms.
It was a good size swarm and very calm.
Marc will give the bees a good home.