Rappahannock Arboreal Raw Honey by Laughing Duck Gardens Apiary

Laughing Duck raw honey is the product of honeybees (Apis mellifera) gathering the nectar of flowers. It contains no added sugar, coloring, or flavoring. Laughing Duck honey is what the bees made, extracted from honeycomb, strained for wax and debris, and nothing added. We do not purchase honey from others to resell. What do you mean by “raw” honey? Laughing Duck honey is neither heated nor filtered. Although we strain it to remove visible debris (mostly wax & bee parts), it is not forced through a microscopic filter at high temperature. Honey that is heated and filtered is a very clear honey with few (or no) pollen grains. Why is the honey light/dark in color? The color of honey is influenced by several factors, the first being nectar source. For example, buckwheat and chestnut yield naturally dark honeys, but neither of those plants provide significant nectar for our bees during spring. Much of our nectar comes from Tulip Poplar (dark honey), but the next biggest sources are Blac