The world is home to 21,000 species of bees — and more are discovered every year.
North America is home to 4,000 species, including bumblebees, carpenter bees, and leaf cutter bees. They come in colors ranging from rich hues of yellow to vibrant blues and greens.
Crystallization is a natural process. Raw and unfiltered honey will crystallize due to variants of time and temperature. That is partially how you know it really is raw and unfiltered honey. The honey is still delicious and edible.
Unlike honey bees, 90% of native bees live solitary lives. They don’t live in colonies, build hives, make honey or wax, and or form swarms. About 70% of them nest underground, and the remaining 30% nest in cavities or holes in wood or hollow broken stems.
To de-crystallize honey, simply place the container in a warm water bath. Be sure that the water covers 60-70% of the container. The water should not boil or simmer, be careful not to over-heat it. You will see the honey gradually change back to liquid. The honey will de-crystallize and become pourable. Remove the container from the water bath when all the honey has de-crystallized.
According to the 2020 Honey Bee Colonies report from the USDA, honey bee colonies lost with Colony Collapse Disorder symptoms on operations with five or more colonies saw a 76 percent increase from the same quarter of 2019.
Our raw and unfiltered honey is not pasteurized or processed, helping to retain all its vitamins, pollen, enzymes, and nutrients.
There is a single Queen, who can lay eggs for several years.
Male drones are responsible for the fertilization of new queens.
To prevent crystallization, store honey at room temperature in an air tight container. It is not necessary to store honey in the refrigerator. Please note, if you live in a cold climate, your raw honey shipment may crystallize during transit.
Out of the 20,000+ bee species on earth, seven are recognized as honey bees within the genus Apis.
Honey bees are considered super-organisms due to their complex social systems and dynamic, tight-knit interactions with one another and their environments.
A colony numbers in the tens of thousands of bees, 90 percent of which are female worker bees who maintain the hive and population.
Honeybees in particular play a huge role in agriculture, contributing over $15 billion to the value of US crop production.
Raw honey is intrinsically kosher.
Honey bees are known for their production of honey and beeswax, as well as the large role they play in the pollination of plants and flowers.
Without Bees,
We’d Lose:
100% Almonds
90% Apples
90% Onions
90% Blueberries
90% Cucumbers
90% Carrots*
*Source: Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder, Renee Johnson, Congressional Research Service 2010.
Bees pollinate one-third of the food we eat.
From apples and squash to buckwheat and coffee, bees are responsible for pollinating most of the fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts that are essential to our diets.
