About Twin Oaks

Welcome to Twin Oaks Apiary!

Thank you for visiting.  Whether you are interested in exploring beekeeping, purchasing starter colonies, queens, or products of the hive like honey or beeswax, or hosting a beehive at your business or home, we hope to be of service.

Twin Oaks is owned and operated by Ron Stilwell.  He manages about 100 colonies in a variety of settings around suburban Henrico and Richmond City.  Ron is a Richmond Beekeepers Association board member, responsible for educational programing, is a member of Virginia State Beekeepers Association, and is one of a handful of certified VSBA Master Beekeepers.  He is dedicated to furthering the cause and practice of localized sustainable beekeeping, where community-based beekeepers produce quality queens and bees for themselves and others, minimizing the need for importing inferior-quality, out-of-state queens and colonies.

Ron's interest in beekeeping piqued many years ago when traveling through Bavaria, Germany, sampling regional honey and engaging in fascinating conversations with seasoned apiarists.  Years later, his beekeeping journey began in earnest, when in 2013 he purchased a jar of local honey from an elderly Lakeside beekeeper.  Soon after, he purchased his first starter colony from local beekeeping living legend, "Bob the Beekeeper" Stapleton.  Now, as a retired health care chaplain, beekeeping is Ron's primary vocation.

Prior to the mid-1980’s beekeeping was a fairly simple endeavor.  Ron's great-grandfather kept a few beehives on his dairy farm in Michigan and his wife’s grandfather kept 40 colonies on his farm in modern day Czechia.  However, with the advent of globalization, the U.S. experienced the importation of honey bee parasites, predators, pests and diseases from Asia and Africa that have severely impacted the vitality and survivability of the European honey bee.  The rapid  loss of native habitat, the rampant use of herbicides and pesticides in rural and suburban settings, and climate change have further complicated the practice of beekeeping.  

These days, successfully sustaining a honey bee colony typically requires a commitment to formation and study, the support of a mentor, a community of fellow beekeepers, and not surprisingly, a willingness to sweat and work hard.  It might sound daunting, but it is possible.  

If you are up for the challenge, Ron can help you get started.