about us + bees
We want to educate people on the importance of bees and the amazing ways that bee products can keep humans healthy.
Tom & Marisha Lewis
Our family suffered some devastating losses in a short period of time. In 5 short years we lost both our mother and father to cancer, and then our youngest brother who was only twenty-five years old when he passed. The grief was extensive and we struggled to get through our days. The time spent at our jobs didn’t feel as though it mattered and we found ourselves “going through with the motions” without much processing.
One day Marisha came home from work and said that a little voice inside was telling her to “quit our jobs and become beekeepers”. Neither of us had ever been to an apiary, met a beekeeper or had social media; we didn’t know how explosive the industry was.
Our local park district was hosting a “new to beekeeping” class and there we learned about the most fascinating creature…apis mellifera, the honeybee.
That spring, after we installed our first package of bees, Marisha would spend hours watching them work. As time was spent in the bee yard, each day a new chunk of peace was found.
In retrospect, that little voice was God, Source, the Universe…guiding us where to go in order to connect with ourselves and to each other; leading us towards healing.
Our journey into beekeeping has brought us to a life that we never expected. We are very active in our bee community and Marisha serves on the Board of The Fox Valley Beekeepers Association.
The more we learned about bees, the more we wanted to know….they are absolutely magical and fascinating!
Every winter there seemed to be a disconnect between beekeeper friends who struggled to sell their honey and friends who didn’t know where to purchase it after the Farmer’s Markets had closed.
Part of our mission, besides doing good things for nature and for the earth, is to connect people. We want to educate people on the importance of bees and the amazing ways that bee products can keep humans healthy.
DID YOU KNOW?
Because we are obsessed, some facts we find fascinating!
FACTS ABOUT BEES
most hives have between 20,000 to 50,000 bees inside
honey never spoils and there is no need to refrigerate it
a honey bee can fly up to 15 miles per hour
one bee only makes about 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
one pound of honey is made by about 2 million flower visits
most pesticides and herbicides that people use in their gardens are harmful to bees
if you must use these products, please try to use organic brands
a bee can only sting once because its stinger is barbed and using it disembowels it
a queen’s stinger is smooth, and she can sting multiple times
honeybees pollinate 1/3 of the food crops consumed by humans
Bees are either queens, workers or drones:
- Queens – live about 2 years and lay the eggs for the whole hive
- Workers – are female and live about 5 weeks. In the winter, they live longer. Their jobs are to forage, create wax cells, fill the cells with honey and pollen, keep the hive clean, guard the hive and queen, nurse and feed the new larvae.
- Drones – are male and live about 2 months. Their only job is to mate with virgin queens from other colonies
FACTS ABOUT HONEY
Honey is typically sold by weight rather than volume and is heavier than water (the standard for “fluid ounces”). That is why one cup of water is considered eight fluid ounces, but one cup of honey will actually weigh 12 ounces. A half pound of honey is 8oz, a full pound of honey is 16oz and a 2lbs of honey is 32oz.
Honey that you purchase at a grocery store is often misbranded and contains additives and sweeteners
”Local honey” is considered 50 miles from your house…a bee can travel up to 5 miles in order to forage
Raw honey can contain clostridium botulinum, the bacteria known to cause Infant botulism. These bacteria are harmless to older children and adults. Never feed raw honey to a child under the age of 2
