Bee Raw

Bees need food. That's why our beekeepers harvest only excess honey, leaving the rest to maintain the vitality of the hive. But even if you’re not a beekeeper, you can still help! Planting bee-friendly flowers is one of the easiest and most beautiful ways to support the bees.

For some, urban rooftop honey is about as high altitude as it gets. But it gets even higher. And the higher it gets, the more difficult it is to pull off making and harvesting honey. Below, long-time bee keeper Jean Vasicek shares her high-altitude secrets and what she does throughout the summer and into the fall to keep her bees alive throughout the year.

Honeybees lives in a sophisticated, well-organized society. Colonies comprise a staggering 50,000 to 60,000 bees, each performing different roles in order to help ensure the smooth running, success—and life—of their colony. The lifespan of honeybees varies, depending on the role of an individual bee within its colony.

Let's take a look at those roles and what they mean for one of the most sophisticated and organized animals on our planet.

So-called "lower" organisms often show sophisticated learning abilities that aid their survival and reproduction. Bees and their relatives are especially good at learning the location and appearance of flowers.

How do they do this? The waggle dance.

Sure, you may not be able to set up hives on your roof or in your back yard anytime soon. But to save our endangered bees, you don't need to. Believe it or not, there are several other simple things we can do to help keep bees in our communities flourishing.

In recent years scientists have fretted over the future of bees, and although research has shed much light on the crisis, those in the bee business—from hive keepers to commercial farmers—say the insects remain in deep trouble as their colonies continue to struggle.

Yes indeed. Pure, unadulterated honey is by definition kosher. And Bee Raw's single varietal honeys are all 100 percent real, raw honey. Cheers to kosher honey!

The kosher status of our honey is certified by Rabbi Zushe Blech with EarthKosher, a certification agency that specializes in organic, green and sustainable foods. Rav Ha’Machshir Blech was formerly the regional director for the Kashrus division of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (the “OU”).

We recently sold out of our 2014 harvest of NY Aster flower honey. Ordinarily, once a honey is gone, it won't be available again until the next year's harvest. Single-varietal honey made from Aster flowers is harvested late in the season, usually September or even October. The 2015 Aster harvest might therefore not be available for purchase until November or even December. 

So, we thought we'd check in with Bruce, our Beekeeper

How do bees behave in the Spring? Well, in an ultra productive way—and with alot of flowers. Honey bees and flowers have a longstanding relationship. For millions of years honey bees have been pollinators of flowers and, thus, the plants producing the flowers have relied on bees.

How will your little actions contribute to a more sustainable future?

Powerful things come in small numbers. Take, for instance, the power of one seed. It doesn't take much for it to slowly grow into the plant it's meant to be. When it blooms, a bee arrives to the flower for its nurishment—pollinates it—then flies away to another flower. Each separate varietal of flower gives the bee a separate nutrient. The more flowers, the more well rounded and healthy the bee's diet is.