Our Bees

At Alchembee, we only raise Russian honey bees. This species of Apis Mellifera comes from the Primorsky Krai region of Russia, and the strain was brought to the US originally back in 1997. They were brought to the US in an effort to curb the massive decline in bee populations caused by parasitic mites and other diseases. Mites are one of, if not the biggest, threat to bee populations. Although there are many dangers to our favorite insect, the varroa mite specifically is one of the leading causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. Russian honey bees, however, are more resistant to the mites, and will actively attack them, where other honey bee species simply ignore them or try to flee them until it's too late. This aggression towards pests extends to tracheal mites and small hive beetles as well, two other known pests that plague our honey-making friends.

The Russian honey bees, on average, meet and exceed standards for honey production. In our direct observations the Russians proved more industrious and hardy to the weather conditions that would cause other species, such as the Italians and Carniolans, to stay inside and wait it out. The Russians, however, tend to continue flying, pollinating and producing their honey and respective products during these times without pause. While we don't get exceptionally cold winters here in the South, winter in general is a dangerous time for bees and as you might expect, the Russian honey bees handle this better than their counterparts as well.

Here at Alchembee, we do not keep our bees in the traditional wooden hive boxes as most beekeepers do. We use apimaye hives, which many beekeepers are finding to be the best of the best in terms of survivability, and functionality for a hive. Apimaye hives are made of food grade plastic, are insulated, have built in mouse guards at the entrance, controllable entrance reducers, top ventilation that can be opened, closed, or even made into another entrance, and built in feeders for the winter. These hive boxes do not rot or mildew, or require repainting, they are already insulated and allow the bees the ability to better control their hive temps as needed for summer or winter. We firmly believe in giving them the best environment to not just survive, but to thrive, and we believe that they likewise will make our environment the best it can be.

When you buy products from Alchembee, you're not just supporting a local beekeeping family, but also ensuring that the local community gets and maintains the best bees, and pollination that one can have. We are trying to raise the standard of bees, and by extension the local fauna, so that everyone can continue to thrive in harmony in our Southern garden paradise.