Winter Is Coming

As fall descends in great whooshes of cooler air and loose leaves, the bees begin to slow down their natural honey production for the year. Right about now in the beekeeping world, everyone is weighing their hives to predict honey production, mixing their sugar water feed for over winter, and in general prepping their apiaries for the coming cold months.

At Mad Russian Apothecary, we are not immune to the necessities of autumn beekeeping – we just take a different approach, one that we feel keeps our hives healthier, contented, and (knock on wood) alive for the spring bounty.

One of our largest differences is that we do not feed our bees. Quite simply, we allow our bees to eat their own honey. Gasp! As Alex so often explains to curious customers, we believe it’s better for them to reap their own rewards for seasons of hard work. Why buy your groceries at Whole Foods just to give them away and eat McDonalds instead? Sugar feed is just that: Plain ol’ white sugar mixed with a few essential oils. It offers none of the nutritional benefits of real raw honey; how could we possibly feed our bees garbage while we steal and profit from their nutrients and diligence?

The simple and honest answer is that we would never. Bees know how to be. As ethical beekeepers, we happily allow them this benefit. It’s why our honey tastes better. It’s why we haven’t bought bees since we started, and it’s how we’ve only ever lost a few hives and have been able to grow our apiary many times over from where we started in 2020. Sure, our growth has been slow, but it’s also been steady and hardy. Natural living isn’t just a line we say; it’s one that we live -- proudly.

So, as we welcome the beginning stirrings of fall and the coming winter, we are proud to advocate as the custodians of our hives. Yes, we do prep the ladies for winter (winter beehives are all female; they kick the males out) – and New Hampshire ain’t a kind place when the temperature dips into the negatives for days on end. Wouldn’t you feel a whole heck of a lot better when the dampness in your nose freezes on contact, when it’s too cold for your breath to even make white puffs, to know that your bees are alive, well, warm, and eating their best nutrition?

To each their own, but we sleep better during those long winter nights knowing that we have done the best for our hives. And THAT, my friends, is how you prep your bees for winter.

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