{"id":564,"date":"2014-11-13T12:09:40","date_gmt":"2014-11-13T17:09:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/?page_id=564"},"modified":"2026-10-31T09:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T13:28:16","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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My Local Honey Is All Gone<\/a><\/span>
\n——————-
\nMore Honey will soon be available
\nonce a new harvest is done
\nand then bottles will be
\nback at the self serve
\n“Honey Table”<\/a><\/p>\n

“Honey Table” status will
\n\u00a0always be posted on
\nthis page and here<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"US<\/a> Freedom is never Free
\nSupport beekeeping vets<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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Backyard Beekeeping in Naples, Florida…
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NaplesBees Apiary is a backyard apiary located in the Naples, Florida area. Managing bees in Southwest Florida is exhilarating and, with a little (???) effort, one can harvest honey and wax. Fourteen years ago, I became addicted to the fascinating hobby of backyard beekeeping and have successfully harvested 6,000+ pounds of honey and hundreds of pounds of wax over the years. Along the way, I learned, and continue to learn, new things about beekeeping. My goal with this website is to showcase what hobby beekeeping is and maybe generate an interest to get started yourself, so that it may help you enjoy something truly special and rewarding. It can surely be said that beekeeping is as much an \u201cart\u201d as it is a science! I hope you enjoy reading on this website about some of my Naples area beekeeping adventures and maybe even enjoy some local honey harvested with quality over profit\u2014something only hobby backyard beekeepers can truly do! Did you know? It takes almost 3 million flower visits for the bees to make a pound of honey. One teaspoon of honey is the life\u2019s work of twelve bees. The honey bee is the only insect on earth that produces food eaten by man, and honey is the only food on earth that does not naturally spoil. A hive will try to maintain its internal temperature in the mid-90s regardless of the outside temperature\u2014nature\u2019s thermostat, if you like it hot!
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\nCertificate of Beekeeping Registration for this beekeeper and this apiary is current with the Florida Department of Agriculture<\/a><\/span> as required under Florida statute 586<\/span><\/a> , and live bee removal authorized under Florida rule 5E-14.151, F.A.C<\/span>.<\/a> .
\nI am a member of the Collier County Beekeepers Association<\/span><\/a> and Bee Boyz and Girlz<\/a><\/span>, a Vietnam era U.S. Army veteran<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0 and……remember…….\u00a0
\n“Beekeeping age” can be fun!<\/span><\/a>
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Buyer Beware…..Did you know that most store bought honey is probably not real honey or is diluted with non honey additives<\/span><\/a>? Watch an informative video about fake honey here<\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Honey fraud<\/a><\/span> is a big big problem in the world, especially being caused by China.\u00a0 If you want the real honey buy it from a local area beekeeper or you may get this<\/span><\/a><\/span>!\u00a0 Read about our honey here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span>
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\nNaplesBees Apiary – Latest Activity Details:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

10\/4\/2026 – <\/strong>Watch a short video of the morning removals of the bearding bees protection sheets here<\/a><\/span><\/strong> that are used to overnight protect the bearding bees from the very toxic spray chemicals used by the Collier County Mosquito Control aircraft when they fly over the apiary location. <\/span><\/p>\n

6\/14\/2026 – <\/strong>First honey harvest of the year has been completed.\u00a0 Seven 5 gallon buckets of honey were able to be harvested (384 pounds).\u00a0 \u00a0Harvesting and extraction was done over a period of several days after setting up the air conditioned clean room extraction area. <\/span><\/p>\n

2\/4\/2026 –<\/strong> All the hives have really slowed down with the very cold days and nights that we have been having, including a few sub freezing nights.\u00a0 The many dead bees at the entrance on a few hives might indicate some hives did not survive the brutal cold.<\/span>\u00a0 An inspection of the apiary revealed one hive and one nuc to be a complete loss with thousands of bees dead.\u00a0
\nUpdate 2\/11\/2026:<\/strong> Unfortunately, further inspection on this date showed that another 4 hives did not survive the multiple freezing nights we recently had.\u00a0 All these hive boxes and frames have been removed from the apiary and cleaned up and stored for future use.\u00a0 Update 3\/22\/2026:<\/strong>\u00a0 Continued monitoring of the apiary’s hives…. it looks like the February freeze days caused a total loss of at least eight hives.\u00a0 Update 4\/3\/2026:<\/strong>\u00a0 The hives that survived the freeze are coming back (click here<\/a><\/span>) with exploding numbers as we enter the warmer days.<\/span><\/p>\n

9\/19\/2025 –<\/strong> The second honey harvest of the year was done.\u00a0 About 385 pounds of honey was able to be bottled. The “honey table” is well stocked with delicious amber shaded early autumn honey.\u00a0 There is even a little flavor and shade variation as the different hives can favor more of one flora over another, resulting in delightfully slight honey differences. Details here<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

8\/22\/2025 –<\/strong> Today, a check of the supers on the 20+ hives in the apiary was done.\u00a0 \u00a0Over 200 super frames of capped honey were counted, which simply means that another honey harvest will have to be done soon.\u00a0
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6\/1\/2025 –<\/strong> Thanks to the rains starting, the bees were finally able to get that needed nectar flow and then a good size early summer honey harvest was able to be done. Details here<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 \u00a0
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4\/13\/2025 –<\/strong> The apiary is getting busy with the coming of 2025 spring.\u00a0 The morning sun brings an explosion of bees coming and going from the hives as they warm up.\u00a0 The apiary is at maximum capacity with a few winter deadouts that were replaced with swarm catches or removals. \u00a0
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8\/1\/2024 –<\/strong> The August 2024 honey harvest is in!\u00a0 Lots of delicious medium amber honey was harvested from the NaplesBees 20+ hive apiary. The bees have been very busy despite the almost daily monsoon rains. Many frames of capped honey was to be had. \u00a0
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\n4\/25\/2024 –<\/strong> Warm days and cool nights are starting to bring out the hives’ activities with lots of foragers coming and going.\u00a0 A check on supers showed many had supers fully built out with comb and nectar beginning to fill up the cells.\u00a0 Capping of the cells is the last step after the bees have finished processing the nectar in to honey.\u00a0 Then and only then can honey be harvested in this apiary.\u00a0
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\n3\/22\/2024 –<\/strong> After a great 2023 beekeeping year, the 2024 gradual warming days are beginning to have the hives increase their numbers and flight activity.\u00a0 Most of my hives survived our cooler winter months without problems, but there were a couple of the older hives that became deadouts. Also a few of the younger hives had trouble maturing in to a sustainable hive or they simply abandoned their hive box for parts unknown. \u00a0 Sometimes you can do everything you think right and the bees just want to leave!!\u00a0 After 10 years of backyard beekeeping, there are still many bee mysteries to ponder, including\u00a0 “why did they leave?????”
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\n12\/6\/2023 –<\/strong> An early December harvest yielded about 197 pounds of light amber delicious honey with some of the multi colored harvested frames shown here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0
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9\/16\/2023 –<\/strong> Finally …….a beer<\/span><\/a><\/strong> made for all the backyard beekeepers out there…..Sometimes you just want to go where they know your name……..<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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8\/4\/2023 –<\/strong> NaplesBees had the largest honey harvest ever<\/a><\/span>!!!!\u00a0 About 852 pounds of delicious wildflower capped honey was harvested from the 23 hive apiary.\u00a0 It is just always amazing how the bees can surprise one with their activity when a nectar flow happens.\u00a0 Straight from the hive to the bucket and bottle within hours.\u00a0 Fully capped honey cells harvesting of nature’s pure honey…. it simply doesn’t get any better honey than this.
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2\/20\/2023 –<\/strong> The NaplesBees apiary hives are starting to increase their size as evident on multiple hives exploding with new foragers emerging and doing their figure eight location dance upon first emerging from the hive<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 They will remember their hive’s exact location to return to when they do their traveling for as much as 5 miles from their hive entrance. The audio heard in the video is the actual roaring sound the bees produce when hundreds are hovering in front of the hive entrance.\u00a0 It only lasts for a few minutes before the hive settles down to continue the normal coming and going of foraging bees.
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12\/8\/2022 –<\/strong> An apiary wide check of all the honey supers showed that the bees have been able to make some honey despite the devastating effects of local flora loss due to hurricane Ian winds, but the amount of honey is significantly less than normal.\u00a0 A second honey harvest for the year 2022 will probably not be possible, but, hopefully, one can be done early in 2023.\u00a0 I am always careful to leave enough honey for the hives’ own use during the cooler winter months as this is their main source of nutrition during this time period.
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10\/16\/2022 –<\/strong> The NaplesBees apiary hives survived the area 9\/23\/2022 hurricane Ian.\u00a0 A lot of the surrounding vegetation was stripped by the high winds, so the bees’ nectar and pollen may be in short supply for them for a while.\u00a0 But nature is resilient and life goes on.
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6\/28\/2022 –<\/strong> We did our first honey harvest<\/span><\/a> of the year and the honey is a medium dark amber color which is typical for us this time or year.\u00a0 When available, get a bottle of this delicious and healthful honey here<\/span><\/a> \u00a0 There was a nice newspaper article appearing about SWFL backyard beekeeping and the honey harvest here<\/a><\/span> .
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3\/30\/2022 –<\/strong> Removals and swarms are again starting the season off as very active here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

11\/4\/2021 –<\/strong> We did our second honey harvest<\/span><\/a> of the year and it was a good size harvest.
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9\/1\/2021 –<\/strong> There has been a lot of apiary bee activity in the last few months. The NaplesBees apiary is at 23 strong hives, which is the capacity here for space\/time\/energy!! Bees Boyz and Girlz<\/a><\/span> now has a new “holding” apiary for hives that need a home and can’t be kept here. The goal is to have a temporary place for hives with the intent for them to become a source for existing or future area backyard beekeepers.
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6\/11\/2021 –<\/strong> We did our first honey harvest<\/span><\/a> of the year.
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4\/12\/2021 –<\/strong> Removals and swarms are starting the season off as very active here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3\/23\/2021 –<\/strong> A limited number of established hives are for sale here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

11\/13\/2020 –<\/strong> We did our second honey harvest<\/span><\/a> of the year.
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8\/7\/2020 –<\/strong> We did a FUN removal of a large hive with the help of 4 young beekeepers. See pictures here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

7\/2\/2020 –<\/strong> We did our first honey harvest<\/span><\/a> of the year.
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6\/27\/2020 –<\/strong> The Bee Boyz and Girlz<\/strong> group did a live removal from a North Naples house roof.\u00a0 See details and pictures here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

6\/1\/2020 –<\/strong> Bee Boyz and Girlz<\/a><\/span> get together group formed.
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5\/19\/2020 –<\/strong> Short time lapse video showing a NaplesBees hive’s bees working together on getting rid of a rubberband used to hold comb sections in place! They work it to the edge and then it quickly falls off as bees gather their weight on the dangling end. <\/span>
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4\/17\/2020 –<\/strong> NaplesBees apiary is getting busy fast! Populations are growing as many nurse bees transition to become foraging bees. Watch full screen!<\/span>
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4\/12\/2020 –<\/strong> Easter Sunday morning swarm removal video here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>3\/11\/2020 –<\/strong> A very large hive was removed. See details and pictures here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

3\/3\/2020 –<\/strong> A very small hive was removed from a cypress tree. See details and pictures here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

2\/21\/2020 –<\/strong> A difficult but successful removal from a street Comcast box. See details and pictures here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2\/2020 –<\/strong> A small swarm on a tree trunk was removed. See a picture here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/2\/2020 – <\/strong>A beekeeping friend in Marco Island is keeping hives in a creative way at his waterfront house located on a canal.\u00a0 Notice in the right picture a couple hives with little weathervanes!
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Click here<\/a> for Older News from previous years<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Below are views of the NaplesBees apiary:
\nAugust, 2023
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NaplesBees apiary, August, 2023 . Click on picture for a lager view<\/p><\/div>\n

\nJuly, 2018
\n<\/span><\/strong>(click on the picture for larger view)<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nsome hive entrances face east and some face west<\/span><\/p>\n

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view looking left and right from the BeeCam1 stand<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Local Honey Is All Gone ——————- More Honey will soon be available once a new harvest is done and then bottles will be back at the self serve “Honey Table” “Honey Table” status will \u00a0always be posted on this page and here Freedom is never Free Support beekeeping vets \u00a0 Backyard Beekeeping in Naples, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-564","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=564"}],"version-history":[{"count":1632,"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8465,"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/564\/revisions\/8465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naplesbees.com\/staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}