Beekeeping is both a science and an art

From the outside, beekeeping may seem like a simple craft: hives, bees, honey and seasonal work in the countryside. However, the closer you get to it, the clearer it becomes that courage or good equipment alone are not enough. It requires knowledge, patience, attentiveness and the ability to understand a bee colony almost as well as a person understands their own family.

That is precisely why beekeeping is both a science and an art. It is a science because every decision affects the bees’ health, the strength of the colony and the quality of the honey. An art – because not everything can be learnt from books: much of it comes only through experience, intuition and countless hours spent by the hives.

This article tells the story of how a love of bees grew from a single old hive into a modern apiary, why a beekeeper needs not only hard-working hands but also an inquisitive mind, and how living with bees changes one’s outlook on work, nature and people.

From the old hive to modern beekeeping

When it all started, no one, not even the twins themselves, believed that it would turn into a lifelong purpose and passion. Before they reached adulthood, the brothers brought an old beehive from their grandparents’ farm and caught their first swarm. Even then, they had the courage to deftly unhook the cocoon from the tree and move the worker bees into their hive. And so began, so to speak, love at first sight, which grew hive by hive. From frame to hive, the brothers do everything themselves. And you can tell that they are really handy from the sculpture of Bubilo, the god of bees and honey, which they have carved themselves in the apiary.

Beekeepers need not only hard-working hands, but also a head full of ideas to take beekeeping a step further. The brothers, who have turned beekeeping from a hobby into a craft and a passion in life, did not stop at the first hurdle, and they are still generating new ideas for Brothers’ Honey products today. And while there are no limits to improvement, the brothers’ apiary already boasts the latest equipment. After all, when you love hard, you have nothing to spare. Whether it is that love or a genuine belief and interest, the Brothers’ Apiary has become not only a modern apiary, but also a National Quality Honey. One thing is for sure: the road from the hive to the apiary has not been easy, but it has been very interesting and challenging, and the 150 hives are proof that all the effort has paid off. And most importantly, the beekeeping brothers can do what they love.

After nearly a decade of beekeeping, the brothers say they feel not only love but also respect for the bees and their work. We humans have a lot to learn from them – they work ‘to the bitter end’, that is, until the very end of their lives. The fruits of such labour deserve to be held in the highest regard. That is precisely why high-quality honey storage and packaging – from original labels to hexagonal jars that mimic the cells of a honeycomb – also contribute to the production of the highest-quality honey. It seems that everything has been carefully thought through. It is clear that a great deal of thought has gone into this and that the aim was to stand out. First and foremost, this approach is not driven by a commercial view of bees and their products. After all, happy bees produce honey that carries vibrations of happiness and positivity. And this significantly enhances the positive effects of honey and other bee products.    

Bees and beekeepers are like a family

When brothers interact with bees in a loving and respectful way, you first wonder and then admire. And indeed, in their hands the bees look like little loving balls of fluff, rising and falling with a gust of wind. Many of the brothers in the apiary have lost their fear of bees, made friends with them and even learned something about themselves. And the secret here is very simple. Bees are very similar to humans. They live in colonies where they take care of each other, have their own duties, their own character. Like mother, like family. So the secret of calm and cosy bees is high quality, selective, calm and good-natured queens who carry that meekness around the hive and pass it on to their offspring. Don’t be fooled – even the calmest queen will use her weapon if she senses danger, so approach them with the right attitude. Going to the apiary should be done, as they say, with a clear conscience and a clear head. Bees, like all animals, are sensitive to the vibrations we give off, so “as you call, so they respond”.

Beekeepers breed and select their own queens to ensure the quality of their bees, as well as importing queens from other European apiaries. To the uninitiated, bees may seem like simple creatures, but they are actually very diverse. These differences determine not only their behaviour but also the honey they produce, the content of pollen and other bee products, their resistance to diseases and parasites, their tendency to swarm, and other traits important to beekeepers. So, a good queen is half the battle when it comes to starting a colony. Young beekeepers (although you wouldn’t call them that given their experience) help anyone to build a thriving colony by selling their selected, fertilised queens.

It’s good to share

If you have the image of a wise beekeeper with a grey beard, we must disappoint you. The beekeeping brothers debunk many myths about beekeepers and willingly share their knowledge. Perhaps it is a mission of sorts – to bring people closer to nature, to dispel stigmas and unfounded fears about bees. And often, it is more courageous for young people to communicate with young people. That’s why the brothers teach the secrets of beekeeping to everyone, from kindergarteners to grandparents. Their educational sessions, where you can make a real wax candle, spill a toy, etc., are gaining more and more popularity and interest. Little ones are meticulously making candles and taking an interest in the life of bees. Who knows, maybe one day, as they grow older, they will start with one hive and contribute to the promotion of this very old craft.

The beekeeping brothers, who are never short of ideas, first share their latest ideas with family, friends and neighbours, then test them ten times and only on the 11th do they ‘put them to the test’ – with their customers. This is how the world discovered these honey delicacies – honey with freeze-dried fruit and berries. Loved and praised by customers, this product is suitable even for those who aren’t particularly fond of honey – when flavoured with fruit or berries, it becomes a sweet, fragrant, beautifully coloured spread. It is particularly popular with little sweet-toothed ones, whilst parents are delighted that their children are consuming less sugar and sweets. In a similar vein, beeswax candles have also seen the light of day; having initially delighted their closest friends and family, they now find their way into the homes of Lithuanians far and wide, spreading warmth and helping to nurture the family hearth. To add to the cosiness of the home, the brothers have even managed to make little wax Christmas decorations, which they have been using to decorate their own Christmas tree for several years now. They say the scent is indescribable. Adding to these creative ideas today are natural gumdrops, which have become one of the favourite ‘Brothers Honey’ products. There are rumours circulating that we will soon be seeing a natural beauty product, tested for several months by the brothers and some ladies. The beekeepers were in no hurry to reveal the other ideas swirling around in their heads and hearts. One thing is certain: they will not stop creating and sharing. As they themselves say, beekeeping is a craft about family and for the family, so they and their customers are one big family. And, after all, a family wants the very best – top-quality honey, healthy desserts, a cosy atmosphere, pleasant company and the feeling that you are welcome and needed.

If you ever go to a local fair and see faces that are warm and far too young (in the opinion of many) to be beekeepers, they are most likely to be beekeeping brothers. If your children tell you about interesting lectures about bees in kindergarten or school, it’s probably the beekeeping brothers. If you ever read an article about the love of bees, it might have been written by our beekeepers. Well, if not, when you want to warm up and drive towards Kupiškis, visit the Brothers’ Honey Apiary. Not only for the delicious honey, but for the sense of family that comes with even a short visit. “Brothers’ Honey is much more than honey. It is a message about family warmth and communication, mutual help, respect for bees and honey, love for Lithuania and for people.