Bonac Bees provides professional beekeeping services from Montauk, NY to Southampton, NY. We currently manage about 35 hives and harvest honey and other products from the beehives. Beautiful beeswax candles, surf wax, lip balm, and other hive products are handmade at our home, located close to Accabonac Harbor. This is where the name Bonac Bees comes from! We give bee-talks and demonstrations about honeybees to individuals, community groups and organizations, and schools from pre-K to college. We catch swarms and assist folks when they find a colony of honeybees on their property. Bonac Bees was created to help the honeybee, an animal vital to food production whose populations have been declining over the past decade. We manage honeybee hives in order to pollinate the planet, and when everything goes just right, we harvest sweet smooth honey for all to enjoy!
Bonac Bees helps people by helping the honeybee! You can thank honeybees for every two out of three bites of food that we eat. So more honeybees means increased food security for our community, and ultimately, the planet. My biggest challenge has been keeping up with the growth of the colonies throughout the year, and especially during the main nectar flow. Part of the challenge is having a large enough vehicle to transport all the equipment necessary to help build strong healthy colonies. I have been able to manage our colonies as they have grown in size and number. I am most proud that I have started and grew this business over the past few years with a unique business model, and I can see Bonac Bees doubling in size over the next 3 years!
I currently own a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with over 226.000 miles on it that I use for my beekeeping business! There is no heat, air conditioning, defrost, or radio. One of the passenger doors does not open, so I have to work through the window, and the other I can only open from the inside ! Recently,the “airbag” light has been going on, and when it does, none of the electric windows will open or close. I have to turn the car off and on a few times, unlock and relock the doors, and then the windows will work (weird, I know). By using the loan toward the purchase of a newer vehicle, I will be able to keep operations going without laying out the entire amount for a better vehicle. I also recently purchased a 12′ cargo trailer to store my equipment, and the Jeep can’t tow it! So, Id need to find a vehicle capable of towing the trailer when necessary.