SWEET BUZZINGS OF THE FINGERLAKES BLOG

Discover the fascinating world of honey bee vision, from five eyes to ultraviolet light, and learn why National Eye Exam Month is a great reminder to pay attention to our own eyes.

Learning to identify these insects can help replace fear with understanding. Some are important pollinators, others are excellent natural pest controllers, and each plays a unique role in our ecosystem. So let's take a closer look at some of the most common stinging insects you might encounter.

If you live in the Finger Lakes (or in the upper US and Canada), chances are you noticed it the moment you stepped outside yesterday and today. The air smells like a campfire. The sky looks hazy. The sun appears muted behind a veil of smoke.Like many of you, we immediately started thinking about the air quality and how it affects our health. But then another question popped into our head... If beekeepers use smoke to calm honey bees, what happens when the smoke is coming from

As discussions continue about making Standard Time permanent in the United States, many people are wondering how the change would affect daily life. But here at Fingerlakes Honey Company, our minds naturally wandered to a different question: What about the bees? Would honey bees get confused if we stopped changing our clocks twice a year? Would they wake up "an hour early?" Would they miss the flowers? The answer is both simple and fascinating.

For something so small, bees can stir up some very big emotions. For many people, the buzz of wings alone is enough to trigger anxiety, a quick step backward, or even a full sprint in the opposite direction. If that sounds familiar, you’re far from alone. The fear of bees, sometimes called melissophobia or apiphobia, is incredibly common.

Did you know honey bees help produce larger, better-shaped strawberries? Explore the fascinating connection between strawberries and pollinators, discover fun facts, and enjoy strawberry-inspired products and recipes from Fingerlakes Honey Company.

If you’ve watched Stranger Things, you’ve heard the term “hive mind” more than a few times. In the show, it refers to a dark, interconnected intelligence controlling creatures from the Upside Down — one brain, many bodies, total domination.It’s dramatic. It’s eerie. It’s fantastic storytelling. But what about real honey bee hives?

We are celebrating a birthday this week here at Fingerlakes Honey Company. Happy Birthday November 13th to Beekeeper Stacie! As we get ready to celebrate, we've been thinking about time- how it passes, how quickly seasons change, and what we can learn from the bees that share our world. Every member of the hive has its own life span, rhythm, and purpose. Together, they keep the colony thriving year after year, season after season. So let's celebrate by learning about the lif

Did you know honey bees had beards? Well, it's not exactly what you might be thinking, Coinciding with World Beard Day this Saturday, it’s the perfect time to explore this fascinating behavior, celebrate fuzz, on both bees and humans, and maybe give your own beard some TLC with our Fuzzy Bee Bee-rd Oil.

The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and the buzzing has officially begun here in the Finger Lakes. That means it's time to get outside, and also time to keep an eye out for our winged and sometimes stinging neighbors. From honey bees to hornets, the local air traffic is picking up, and so is the risk of an unexpected “hello” from a stinger.

A student at SUNY Geneseo contacted us back in February 2025 about a geography research study she was doing on apiaries and regional tastes of honey from the Finger Lakes region. We happily participated as one, we love to talk and learn about bees, and two, our co-owner and her daughter are both proud alums of Geneseo.

Today, we're donning our tiny beekeeper hats and diving deep into the buzzing metropolis that is a honey bee hive. Imagine a bustling castle, but instead of people, you have thousands of hardworking bees, each with their own role and purpose.

Let us take you on a behind-the-scenes tour of how we extract honey, ensuring each jar is filled with the purest, most delicious honey.

This weekend, we will find ourselves knee-deep in honey as we begin our much-anticipated Spring Honey Harvest.

Buzz into some tips on preparing your garden, attracting honey bees, and making your space a bee-friendly haven.

Imagine you are doing some gardening and suddenly hear what can only bee described as a roar of buzzing. You might notice what seems like thousands of bees flying around or maybe you see a large cluster of bees on your porch or a tree branch. Well, it's most likely a honey bee swarm- a bustling hive, teeming with activity, suddenly decides it's time for a change of scenery and go on an adventure. That's when the magic of swarming unfolds!