Last week our friend and collegue Fernando Soler from real estate called and asked for our assistance in removing a bee colony that had been established in a new home in the posh "Arrecife" neighborhood of the PUNTACANA Resort & Club.
A group of visiting students from Virginia Tech joined the Ecological Foundation and resident apiculturist, "El Rubio" in removing the colony and transplanting it to the Foundation headquarters.
The bee removal team arrives. 
Smoke is wafted over the colony to pacify the bees.
El Rubio removes the decorative ceiling to reach the colony. The Ecological Foundation doesn't do carpentry but we do renovations.
Don't try this at home! El Rubio is an experienced apiculturist with more than 15 years working with bees. He is looking for the queen bee.
Once the queen bee is identified she is moved on a comb to her new home. 
Pupilo works for the Ecological Foundation on the apiary project. He is learning the art of apiculture directly from El Rubio.
When the bees realize the queen has moved, they will gradually follow the queen and migrate to the new colony.
El Rubio gives the bees a hand in their move.
The colony has been successfully removed from the house, the residents are now bee-free. The Foundation will offer them one liter of free honey, but after that they have to pay like everyone else!
The colony has been successfully removed from the house, the residents are now bee-free. The Foundation will offer them one liter of free honey, but after that they have to pay like everyone else!
El Rubio moves the new colony to the Ecological Foundation apiary. The Foundation has been operating the apiary for over a year, using these "pests" to produce a delicious product: pure honey.
The Foundation has over 65 colonies all collected in the area and from private homes.
Once a month we carefully extract the honey from our colonies and bottle it for sale. We don't add any additives, chemicals, or colorants, our honey is 100% pure from the local forests of Punta Cana.
Visitors can buy Punta Cana Forest Honey at the Ecological Foundation from 8AM - 4PM or at our Farmer's Market in PUNTACANA Village every Saturday beginning at 9AM. All net proceeds benefit the Ecological Foundation's environmental initiatives. You can also schedule a visit to our apiary.
