WE ARE CURRENTLY BOOKING BEEKEEPING LESSONS DURING THE WINTER FOR OUR UPCOMING 2012 SEASON. THE COST IS $35 PER LESSON.
LESSONS ARE HELD EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AT 10:00 AM. CONTACT US TODAY TO REGISTER FOR YOUR ALTERNATIVE BEEKEEPING LESSON!
WE ARE TAKING TOP BAR HIVE ORDERS FOR THE SPRING 2012 SEASON. CONTACT US TODAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF GREAT EARLY-BIRD DEALS!!
THEY WON'T LAST LONG!
CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS ON OUR 'ABOUT STELLER APIARIES' PAGE!!
OUR PHILOSOPHY
At Steller Apiaries we believe natural beekeeping is about keeping outside the box...literally. We pride ourselves on being top bar beekeepers that were made for bees. Bees have existed for more than 30 Million years and we've only been keeping them in hives for the past 4-6,000 years. They had to be doing something right without our help!
The practices we're most proud to announce that we follow are:
*We keep our bees in more natural hives that are associated with better bee health.
*As a result of using these types of hive bodies, we can say our hives (As well as our honey) are COMPLETELY MEDICATION FREE!
*We do not use four-sided frames for the bees to build out their comb structure. We use top bars to allow the bees to naturally cling to each other and build out their comb without obstruction.
*We do not use stamped foundation for our bees. There is no 'one size fits all' for humans, why should bees be any different? Allowing the bees to build all of their cells to their specific size also promotes health throughout the colony by not leaving excess cell size available to mites when larvae and pupae are gestating in the cells
*We cut, crush and strain our comb to harvest the honey, and nothing else. We do not mix our varieties of honey and you don't need an expensive honey house to process honey!
*Once we harvest wax from a colony, we don't put it back. Brood comb is often reused until it is unsuitable to be put back in the hive. Every bee that is born from a cell leaves behind cells (like our skin cells)
*We do not pasteurize our honey. What you do get is the raw, unprocessed, perfect honey that includes all of the health benefits associated with honey, pollen, propolis and the nutrients and enzymes they each contain.
*Our method of beekeeping is more related to 'outside observation.' Using our observation window we can see the bees progress without actually hindering their progress. Every time you open the hive and smoke the bees, they are gorging on honey unnecessarily while you simultaneously remove their retained heat and nest scent.
*We harvest our honey in the spring time, AFTER the bees have made it through the winter with their hard earned honey stores
Steller Apiaries
...Keeping outside the box
Learn about alternative top bar beekeeping and how we can help save the honey bee by "keeping outside the box" From bee-ginner beekeeping lessons to custom hives constructed for backyard beekeepers, we are here to provide you with the best possible bee experience!
We are 'backyard beekeepers' that practice a natural alternative to the commercial beekeeping industry. We pride ourselves on practicing, as well as providing information on, alternative hive designs and construction, sustaining our bees without medication or stamped foundation, top bar hives and Warre hives, as well as producing honey bees for the sake of their pollination, not to manipulate them for honey production.
We believe that a natural approach is the right approach to sustaining the bee population and we're doing our part to naturally and organically pollinate food sources and blooms alike! Many have heard about the epidemic killing the bees known as Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD and we believe the constant over-medication, strain and manipulation of bees for commercial quantities of honey are larger culprits than many are willing to admit. Although we hear so much about CCD, sustaining your bees naturally and providing them the care and essentials they need can produce healthy colonies of bees that may readily duplicate and swarm. Caring for your bees naturally and sustainably can provide hobbyists with very healthy bees. And healthy, happy bees provide us with essential and beautiful pollination as well as the best local honey you can get your hands on!
Steller Apiaries is located in Jackson, Michigan on eight glorious acres filled with our own vegetable garden, native wildflowers, and beautiful countryside.
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