Presentation

Picture of myself working bees

A warm summer's day back in 1981 my uncle's bees went swarming again. Now that wasn't so unusual, he used to climb trees this time of year with a language not suitable for printing. Since I had shown some interest for those little critters (turned the crank of the extractor), he figured it was time for me to have my own hive. When I was running a joinery, it was easy to manufacture some boxes and frames to put a swarm in.

That's how it started. Well, it could also be a genetic defect. I'm the 5th generation of beekeepers in the family.

The first years my beekeeping expanded naturally by way of swarming. With a growing number of hives I got a bit tired of climbing trees, and decided to learn about breeding and queen production.

Presently I have 500 hives, with Buckfast bees on Langstroth frames. My boxes are made from both styrofoam and wood. The styrofoam boxes are good to winter in. The wooden boxes are used for honey during summer.

A honey house with an Aussie made extracting line take care of the honey for me and other beekeepers I'm contract extracting for.

Per-Olof Gustafsson
Viksjölund
S-746 94 Bålsta
Sweden
Ph. +46 (0)70 7203436