Grandfather beekeeper Scottish man discovers missing hives grandfathers business rebrands opens hive businesses with brands. Maps shop buzz customer support report faq Estonia call loyalty honey terms blog Scottish delivery lookback find gifting register basket expand your horizons stay up to date news offers more countries please reach soon France.
Recently, after being lost or sold during a move away by his grandfather a decade ago, hives were found in the local quarry of Scots Ross Main. This unexpected finding kindled Main’s desire to keep bees and his new honey selling enterprise.
Ross Main has nothing but good memories of his beekeeper and gamekeeper grandfather, William. Main said he believed the bee colonies had been sold in 2007 after his grandfather died.
But a journey to the East Lothian quarry where his grandfather kept his hive led to a surprise catch. A few hundred meters down a rutted, half-overgrown trail. Main discovered an extant original colony living in a crumbling hive that had fallen into disrepair decades ago.
“Then, watching some more YouTube videos made me start beekeeping . I officially decided to move them out and keep them safe,” says Main. “Lyons learned the basics of beekeeping from an online course . YouTube videos walked him through the process of transferring bees from one hive to another. Their former guardians still had to don bee suits.
Main took over his grandfather’s lone hive and expanded it into a successful beekeeping business with approximately 100 colonies and five million bees after several years. These days, he is taking his honey off three times a year. And he selling it through farm shops under the label of Main’s Apiaries.
Main fondly recalls his beekeeping beginnings: “I was a little kid when I first started, and swarms scared the living daylights out of me. But I also thought it was really just fascinating. I started with a single hive but year after year it grew and eventually I made many new hives“
The more the colonies thrived, the more honey Main began to give friends and family members and discuss his beekeeping endeavors with others. Who also showed an interest. Just like that, in 2021 Main’s Apiaries was born.
In addition to selling honey, Main also provides beekeeping opportunities for wannabe hobbyists. He sells colonies to commercial enterprises which could benefit from having maintained hives on their site and a weekly hive maintenance service.
Main says, “Not just will this sort of diversity help my business, by providing hives to corporate companies we promote local biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem. These sharing-of-experiences projects took root from his grandfather’s first introduction to the mystical realm of bees. He says, “That I wanted to give some other people the same amazing experience that I had.”
A heartwarming story of how beekeeping fosters intergenerational connection in a time of crisis . And the timeless whimsy and ecological significance of these little insects.