Moral Bees

Hi. I'm Michelle.

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I've been keeping bees on our family farm since 2014. My apiaries are located in the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina above 2,700'. I have a son, husband and mom who I love more than bees and wouldn't have the opportunity to do this without their love and support.

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The first few years were hit and miss. I became very skilled at climbing trees to bring down swarms. Subsequently I became proficient at setting bait hives. I use bait hives to catch my own swarms as well as collect local survivor stock in the area.

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A few years in I was very fortunate to be taken under the wing of Leigh Knott (5 Apple Farm & Podcast). She's been an amazing mentor, sharing knowledge, information and BEES. She's been a huge motivating factor introducing ideas to me bit by bit as I grew enabling me to get  better faster and do things I never imagined I could do. Every beek needs bee friends. Our friends, families and partners can only take so much bee talk!

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Early 2020 I was fortunate to be able to apprentice under Sam Comfort of Anarchy Apiaries for a couple weeks. Sam is one of today's most innovative beekeepers and breeders. His design, the "Comfort Hive" or "box hive" as he calls it is the simplest, cheapest method of keeping bees to date, bringing beekeeping back to the average person. Sam has also created a system of queen breeding that can be repeated on a weekly (7 day) schedule so he knows what he's doing every day of the year. As part a network of queen breeding friends I starting producing queens on a weekly basis for three years before having my daughter and settling on nucs and honey for a while. 

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As a member of the North Carolina Beekeepers Association I have completed the Certified and Journeyman Levels of certification and working toward Master Level. Toe Cane Beekeepers are my home club where I have held various positions over the years.