Pollen and Nectar sources become scarce as days become shorter and weather cools in autumn. The activities within beehives slow as the season slows down. Queens lay less eggs, drones begin to disappear from the hive, and the bee population plummets. Remaining bees begin bringing in propolis which they use to fix up cracks in the hive that may compromise the hive in the coming winter.
But with the changing weather and dwindling bee population comes the best time of year to produce lip balm. Fall signals the end of the beeswax harvesting period. A wet, warm spring in the Catskills gave way to my best garden in 15 years. This has also held true for the honey bees in our area where populations continue grow each year.
Our peak beeswax/lip balm production season lasts from Labor Day to Halloween. Lip balm tube production itself goes strong until March and we produce throughout the year, but now is the time where we stock up on local fresh beeswax made exclusively in upstate New York. All of our lip balms contain local beeswax as well as organic shea butter and Vitamin E. Those are the only three ingredients in our original, unscented version. Our Organic Peppermint flavor contains only that ingredient in addition to the other three. Our Hemp Stick contains only organic, cold-pressed hemp seed oil additionally. And our Pumpkin Spice has three essential oils added for mild fall flavoring (Allspice, Cinnamon and Nutmeg).
All of these delicious flavors are available in a Variety Four Pack. My personal favorite is the Hemp Stick now because is literally the smoothest product I’ve ever used on my skin. This is the best time of year for us. Its a real treat to be producing inventory here in the Catskills Mountains. We get all of our beeswax from upstate New York beekeepers and all of the ingredients in our products are purchased from American businesses.
