Raising Resilient & Adaptive Hives
We're building a relationship with bees rooted in curiosity, research, adaptation, and resilience. About 100 years ago, apiaries began to favor one species of bees: large, yellow, hyper-productive, docile bees. While these bees are easy to work with, they’re often overbred and susceptible to colony collapse. We are turning this practice around by raising genetically diverse bees instead!
Genetic Diversity
We work with diverse bees who express a variety of Varroa-resistant behaviors. And most importantly, they’re more resilient!
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Our queens are selected for Varroa Sensitive Hygiene, they are adaptive to our bioregions (Northeast and Southeast Coast of the US).
High quality queens can help move the industry forward, ensuring that the bees are equipped with the characteristics that safeguard their survival. Bees are more than a tool for pollination, they're a crucial part of our ecosystem.
Collaboration
In the same way that communication is crucial to honeybee health, our industry is stronger when we share information. Traditionally, it’s been hard to get established in the beekeeping industry without a mentor, yet good mentorship can be difficult to find. We've been lucky & privileged to study with Kirk Webster, Sam Comfort, and Jean Claude Bourrut to build our bee knowledge. Now, we are actively mentoring the next generation of beekeepers.
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At They Keep Bees we work to uplift the work of talented beekeepers in the field and to collaborate on research, education, and more. See some of our most exciting collaborative work here.
Want to collaborate, or invite us to speak or teach in your community?
We collaborate with other apiaries and farms, host events and courses, and share information.
Drop us a line here.
