Together with my partner Jolanda, I completed the basic beekeeping course of the Dutch Beekeepers’ Association in 2025. What began as curiosity about the life of bees soon grew into a genuine passion.
Every hive has its own story. The bees in the blue hive originally arrived as a swarm collected in Dordrecht. That was a special beginning, because a swarm is in fact a new bee colony looking for a suitable home of its own. This colony found a new base with me in Wijk bij Duurstede.
At the end of the beekeeping course I also received a Carniolan colony in a draw. This colony lives in the green hive. Carniolan bees are a recognised breed known for their gentle temperament and good spring development. For a novice beekeeper, it was a wonderful opportunity to continue learning with a strong and distinctive colony.
Something exciting happened in the blue hive in spring 2026: the queen disappeared. A bee colony cannot continue properly without a queen, because she provides the next generation of bees. To save the colony, I introduced brood from the green Carniolan hive. As a result, the original swarm colony in the blue hive also acquired Carniolan genes. This connected the stories of the blue and green hives.
I have since made a brood split, from which a third colony is developing. That is another valuable learning process: with existing brood, young bees and the right conditions, a new colony can grow. In this way the apiary continues to develop step by step.
For me, beekeeping is about much more than harvesting honey. It means observing, learning and moving with nature. Sometimes everything happens by itself, sometimes intervention is needed, and often you only understand afterwards what the bees had already been showing you. That is precisely what makes it so rewarding.
The name Aristaios comes from Greek mythology. Aristaios was the son of Apollo and the nymph Cyrene and was regarded as a protector of rural life. Practical arts such as beekeeping, honey production, olive growing and cheese making were attributed to him. That connection with bees, craftsmanship and the yield of the land made Aristaios a fitting name for my apiary.
With Aristaios I want to show where my honey comes from: Wijk bij Duurstede, and bee colonies that I care for attentively. It is not an anonymous jar of honey, but a product with a place, a story and bees of which I am proud.