Our method · Priscilla apiary
Data decides,not habit
We publish the numbers from our hive: that is how trust is built, season after season.
- Sensor data from the hive
- Pollen analysis for every batch
- Unpasteurised
- Bees without antibiotics
Transparency
A commitmentyou cancheck
For us, transparency is a way of working. We share the hive data so that whoever buys our honey can understand how it is made and choose with full knowledge.
Every change in weight, temperature or humidity tells something real: a bloom, a heatwave, the start of winter. It is the rhythm of the Priscilla hive, and a measurable record of how we look after it.
Traceability from flower to jar
For each honey we state which blooms it comes from and which area the nectar is from.
Colony wellbeing
We handle the bees as little as possible and only when needed. The sensor data tells us when to open the hive and when to leave it alone.
Ethical harvest
We remove the honey supers only when the hive's weight is above the reserve the colony needs.
Purity analysis
Every batch undergoes a pollen analysis: the floral origin is a laboratory result, not an impression.
Priscilla hive · 3Bee sensor
A yearinside the hive
From August 2024 to August 2025, measured by the sensor installed in the hive. Every peak and every dip matches something that really happened.
- Maximum hive weight
- 65.7 kg
- Minimum weight, at the end of winter
- 27.4 kg
- Brood nest temperature
- 10–34 °C
- Brood nest humidity
- 62–88%
Total hive weight
When the weight climbs quickly, a bloom is under way. The drop at the end of August 2024 is the honey harvest; the rise in 2025 is the new season.
Brood nest temperature
In summer the bees keep the brood nest close to 35 °C. In winter the cluster settles much lower.
Brood nest humidity
The bees fan to keep humidity between 60 and 80%, the range in which nectar ripens into honey.
Daily averages until December 2024, then one value per month. Source: 3Bee Hive-Tech sensor installed in the Priscilla hive.
The process
From nectarto jar
-
Foraging
The bees gather nectar from the blooms of the Conza Oasis – sulla, acacia and wildflowers – within about 3 km of the hive.
-
Ripening
For weeks the bees fan the nectar, lower its moisture and enrich it with enzymes. When they seal the cells with wax, the honey is ripe.
-
Cold extraction
We extract only capped combs, at room temperature. We filter lightly and never heat: the honey is not pasteurised.
-
Analysis and jarring
Every batch goes to the lab for pollen analysis, which confirms its floral origin. Then we jar it and seal it as a small batch.
The apiary calendar
We step inonly when needed
Spring
Growth
The weight climbs fast: the big blooms have begun. We step in to prevent swarming and give the queen space. Sulla opens the season.
Summer
Harvest
The brood nest stays around 35 °C, the right temperature for the brood. Acacia and wildflowers peak; we remove the supers only above the reserve threshold.
Autumn
Preparation
Flights decrease. Using the data we assess the winter stores and top them up a little, only if needed. Driving out the drones closes the season.
Winter
Rest
The bees huddle in their winter cluster and the graphs flatten. We don't open the hives: if something is wrong, the sensor tells us.
The training behind the honey
Why a PhDshowsin the jar
Francesco came to bees from university research, studying the biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems and the sustainability of food production.
A degree in Oenology and Viticulture, a master's in Agricultural Science and Technology, a PhD in Food Science. That training is why every choice in the apiary has a measurable reason.
Unpasteurised
Heat degrades the enzymes, phenols and aromas that define a monofloral honey. The scientific literature agrees on this.
Stationary beekeeping
Transport stresses the colony and changes the nectar it gathers. Our hives stay on a single terroir all season.
Pollen analysis
The purity of a monofloral honey is measured under the microscope, as the percentage of pollen species by species.
Monitoring
Hive weight, temperature and humidity, measured by the 3Bee sensor. Harvest decisions start here.