Sweet Wings Honey Bee Farm

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Sweet wingS Honey Bee Farm in mooreSville

by Karel Lucander | photography by Lisa Crates BeLinda Marshall was working as a bookkeeper and her husband, Ricky, was racing cars when they bought their first beehive in March 2012. Ricky was just helping his church pastor pick up a hive when he came home with theirs. It was trial by fire. The first bee out of their hive stung Ricky on the eyelid. The next day, Sunday, through his swollen, black-and-blue eye he gave his pastor a look that said, “see what you got me into?”

“If you don’t think God has a sense of humor, just tell Him your plans and see how they change,” Ricky says with a chuckle.

That was the start of Sweet Wings Honey Bee Farm in Mooresville. Since then, he and BeLinda have been stung countless times. “You’re stealing from their pantry and rearranging their furniture, so they aren’t always happy.”

Located on 11 acres with a 3,500-square-foot honey house, Sweet Wings Honey Bee Farm also places 200 to 300 nursery colonies throughout the N.C. region—wherever landowners will allow them. “To be more productive, you need to move your honeybees around,” Ricky says. And this commercial operation seasonally ships some colonies to California almond farmers and Florida citrus farmers to help pollinate their nuts and fruit. After about six weeks, the honeybees are shipped back home.

Honey production depends on the crops, the year and the weather. Historically, Sweet Wings has 4,000-plus hives and reaps more than 250,000 pounds of honey annually. Honeybees are crucial to our domestic economy, accounting for $1.2 to $5.4 billion in U.S. agricultural productivity. They directly pollinate one out of three bites of food that you eat. More than 130 types of fruits and vegetables rely on these winged heroes, including lettuce, avocado and broccoli.

“If you like nuts and fruits in your diet, then you better learn to fall in love with honeybees,” Ricky says. Honey tastes great and provides many health benefits. But as Ricky says, “globally it is one of the top-three adultered foods.” So, the jar of honey that appears to contain U.S. produced may be mostly imported with product from places like China, Argentina and Taiwan—containing less than 1% of U.S. honey. And the “100% U.S. grade A” references a grading scale, not the source. The best way to ensure that you are getting pure, raw certified U.S. honey is to buy it locally and from a trusted source.

“Go visit your beekeeper and see the operation!” Ricky says. “It is important to know where your honey comes from.”

Every honey variant reflects what it is foraged from. Sweet Wings traditionally has Orange Blossom, Palmetto and Gallberry, and Christmas Berry (Florida); Spring Wildflower and Sourwood (North Carolina); and occasionally, Clover and Alfalfa (New York or the Dakotas). “Whatever I have on my counter is my favorite,” says BeLinda.

Get Sweet Wings honey at Brawley Garden Center, Lake Norman Butchery, Josh’s Farmers Market and other local merchants. Visit sweetwingshoney.com or call 704.904.6725 for details.