Welcome to the site attached to my activity as a beekeeper, or erlezaina in Euskara. ‘Erle’ for bee and ‘zain’ for ‘one who takes care of’. I am therefore erlezain in the Northern Basque Country from great-grandfather to great-grandson, having hives in the same village of Labourd as my mother’s aitaxi.
Through this site, I hope to share with you my passion for bees and respond to your curiosity about their activities and production of delicious honeys.
The bees I work with are of varied species, ranging from very black bees (apis mellifera mellifera), to more yellow bees (apis mellifera caucasica).
The black bees are the ones that have been in the region the longest, and little by little they mix naturally with the yellow bees of Eastern European origin.
This diversity of species gives my livestock characteristics which will help it, I hope, to adapt to climate change and to face new threats such as the varroa, the hornet (Asian and European), drought to just name a few.
Having lived alongside them, bees have withstood the tests of history better than dinosaurs.
Bees produce different honeys depending on the nectars associated with each flowering.
In spring, the flowering of dandelion, willow and wild fruit trees, such as prunus, gives a slightly amber honey, a very full, velvety floral bouquet, with a tendency to crystallize.
If the weather conditions in May are favorable for beautiful flowering of Acacias, the honey produced by the bees is pleasantly sweet and of a beautiful light, translucent color. This honey may also contain a little hawthorn nectar, a shrub that flowers at the same time, and adds fruity notes.
As summer approaches, the flowering of buckthorn, bramble and chestnut coincide to give a rich honey, darker with slight notes of bitterness (from the chestnut), but rounded off by the sweet nectar of the buckthorn.
Then comes the time for the bees to stock up to get through the winter.
