About Us & our 3 areas of expertise

A bit about Natural Elements honey, Natural Elements Honey is a family run business. The business has three main areas are maintaining healthy bee colonies, providing beekeeping courses and support, and providing our own pure raw filtered honey.

• About Us

Healthy Bees

We raise strong and healthy honey bee colonies for new and experienced beekeepers. Whether you are just starting out or you want to increase your colony count with Strong/Healthy and disease free bee’s we have options for you. If you are purchasing the bees from the middle to the end of May we will bring in the queens from out of country for they have an earlier start. As soon as we get into June you have the option of getting some home grown queens that we have been using in our own hives and have been very happy with their genetics. All our hives are guaranteed to be good.

Beekeeper Training

Providing Beekeeper training/mentoring for beekeepers starting out or Beekeepers who want to take the next step and go commercial.

Honey Products

Honey and Honey products. We are focused on honey bee health and as a result we produce some of Alberta’s best honey and honey products.

All of our bee yards we specifically pick out the location with the bees in mind. Just like buying a house it is location, location, location. Picking locations where there is natural forage for the bees and planting extra plants for the bees to forage on is what we like to do.

The bee hives are located in secluded treed areas in the sturgeon valley. We have a pond (fresh water for the bees), over 2 acres of 5 different types of clover, and lots of wild flowers and fruit bearing trees for the bees to forage on. We don’t use chemicals on the plants and with the nectar sources being close and pesticide free we can have healthy colonies and a purer and more natural honey.

For the processing of the honey all the equipment is food grade(stainless steel). As we process (spin the honey out of the honey combs) the honey goes through a fine filter which removes any wax. As a result the honey is crystal clear. In this process we will never over heat the honey so that it will remain raw unpasteurized honey. We like to keep it simple. From the hive to the Jar.

FAQs

What is the temperature inside the hive?

Honey Bees maintain the temperature of the brood nest between 32 degrees celcius and optimally 35 degrees celcius. This way the brood will develop normally. When the temperature gets too high the bees will fan (ventilate) by fanning the hot air out of the nest or use evaporative cooling mechanisms. If it is too cold the bees will activate their flight muscles and when they all lightly vibrate their wings it creates heat.

Can there be more than one queen in a hive?

Most often 2 queens will fight, But

A honeybee hive can have more that one queen. Two are possible when an old queen accepts the presence of a new queen or if sister queens accept one another's presence. This is also determined by the decision of the entire hive, but one is really sure why the hives occasionally accept the presence of two queens (super rarely even three). Every year we find a double queen hive. In 2019 in one of our beeyards we found 2 queens in 1 hive. The hive was extremely strong. On the top box one queen was on frame 3 and the other queen was on frame 7. Interesting 1 queen was Italian and the other was Carniolan. We made 2 strong splits from the hive

What are the 3 types of Bees in a bee hive?

1. Queen

2. Workers (female Bees)

3. Drone (Male Bee) The role of the Drone is for mating of a virgin queen.

How many lbs of honey does it take for the bee to make 1 lb of wax

It take 5 to 7 pounds of honey to make 1 pound of wax (depending on which article you are reading). This is why when you are collecting honey keeping your existing combed frames and letting the bees re-using them, you will net higher honey yield.

How much honey does a bee produce in its lifetime?

A group of about 12 bees in their lifetime will produce a teaspoon of honey between them.

Natural Elements Honey is a family run business. We raise strong and healthy honey bee colonies for new and experience beekeepers. We provide Beekeeper training/mentoring so if you are in an urban environment or you want to go commercial we can help. We are focused on honey bee health, producing some of Alberta best honey and honey products.

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