Tristan Buchot

Being a beekeeper in the Pyrenees

Discovery and heritage
For families
Gastronomy

Local producers

Find out how Léa and Fabien radically changed their lives to exercise their profession-passion in the Hautes-Pyrénées. This fine example of professional retraining teaches us more about the workings of beekeeping in the mountains and gives even more flavor to the delicious nectar from our valleys...

Il était une fois ...

Gabizos Apiaries

One lawyer, the other electrician near Pau, nothing predestined Léa and Fabien to become beekeepers. The story began when Fabien inherited his uncle's barn which was used as a stable. While sorting in the latter, he then comes across an old hive. This is how the idea of embarking on thebeekeeping germinated in his mind.

The following Christmas, Léa slips a present for Fabien under the tree: a book on beekeeping profession. Add to that the context of a pandemic which was for many a booster of change, it was enough for the couple to embark on the crazy adventure of beekeeping, without experience in the sector.

Fabien then left his job to do an internship alongside a local beekeeper who taught him the tricks of the trade. At the same time, the couple remodeled this barn and decided to make it their place of life and work. In a few months, everything is ready!

Tristan Buchot

Léa and Fabien from the Gabizos Apiaries

FROM THE HIVE

in the jar of honey

Beekeeping is a profession-passion which requires time, patience and skill. Each hive has its own functioning, its own language, which the beekeeper must know how to decipher.

When you open a hive, there is a noise, and you know immediately if it's going or not. You can see very quickly from their behavior if they are doing well.

Fabian beekeeper

The bees

If they may seem impressive, bees are nevertheless one of the keys essential of our ecosystem. It is indeed thanks to them that plants reproduce, it is an insect, pollinator, very effective! The latter live in a colony in a hive where there is only one queen. It is she who guarantees the good functioning of the whole colony, it is therefore essential to choose it well! And that, Lea and Fabien understood it well. They studied the genetics of bees for a long time to find a species that would correspond to them.

This is how they set their sights on Danish queens, a calm species that adapts perfectly to the environment in which they operate. Their character combined with that of Léa and Fabien who have a gentle and friendly of their bees, created a beautiful harmony between them and a delicious nectar!

Tristan Buchot

Hives

While they started with around twenty hives, our two beekeepers today have nearly 400 hives made up of 50 to 000 bees and scattered between Arrens-Marsous, Lac du Tech and the Col du Soulor. In such an idyllic setting, it is therefore not surprising to learn that each hive can produce between 30 and 40 kg of honey per year.

Hives are divided into two sets. A lower part, composed of a frame with honeycomb wax that the bees supply with honey to feed themselves. The upper part is, likewise, composed of additional frames that are not essential to the survival of the bees and which can be recovered to extract the honey from the nectar of our mountains.

Tristan Buchot

The breeding

In order to develop their beekeeping livestock, Lea and Fabien now raise their own queens. This complex process allows them to improve the genetics of the bees present in the hives.

The first step consists of extracting the larvae from a hive recognized for its qualities productive or behavioral, this is called picking.
These larvae are then deposited in cupules before putting the whole thing in a cell in an incubator where they remain for 16 days.
After their birth, the queens are then marked with a dot on their backs before being inserted into an orphan hive. It's here birth of a new hive.

Tristan Buchot

Extraction

In the summer, the frames are filled with delicious honey, it's time to make the harvest. For this, the beekeepers then smoke the bees to calm them down and open the hives without risk. They then remove the frames and place them in the extractor. This removes the film of wax that covers the cells and rotates the frames quickly to extract the honey. Finally, it is filtered and ready to be potted, for our greatest pleasure!
To take a look at this exciting process, go to Book of Gabizos apiaries where visits are possible on request.

Tristan Buchot

Tristan Buchot

Tristan Buchot

Tristan Buchot

A Pyrenean nectar to savor...

But not only !

Next to their honey house, Fabien and Lea imagined a pretty shop made from salvaged objects mainly from the old barn. There are their jars of honey, honey candies, pollen, propolis and gingerbread.

If it is obvious that our taste buds will be delighted, they will not be the only ones! In fact, at the same time, Léa trained in the world of “cosmetology” and makes soap and lip balms made from honey. Pretty little beeswax candles are also there to illuminate your interiors. What discover bee products in a new light and honor the work of Lea and Fabien but also and above all, bees!
In summer, you may also encounter this couple of beekeepers on the marketArrens-Marsous and take the opportunity to stock up on good products in a warm and festive atmosphere!

Tristan Buchot

Tristan Buchot

Discover local producers

Meet Léa and Fabien

Il était une fois ...

in the jar of honey

The bees

Hives

The breeding

Extraction

A Pyrenean nectar to savor...

Snow report