Producers
Apiario Reserva Conchal
apiary · honey-production project · conservation and environmental-education initiative
Reserva Conchal / Conchal Mixed National Wildlife Refuge, Cabo Velas District, Santa Cruz Canton, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Apiario Reserva Conchal is a honey-producing apiary initiative at Reserva Conchal in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Created in 2020, it combines Apis mellifera honey production with pollinator conservation, environmental education, and queen-bee genetic improvement. The project brings together Reserva Conchal/FIFCO, Blue Zones Nicoya, and Mieles Nicoyanas.
About the Producer
A little history
The apiary was created in 2020 through a partnership among Reserva Conchal, Blue Zones Nicoya, and Mieles Nicoyanas. It is part of FIFCO’s hospitality division at Reserva Conchal. In 2024, the project introduced a second, larger apiary and an instrumental-insemination laboratory project.
How They Work
Beekeeping in practice
Apiario Reserva Conchal is a collaborative project at Reserva Conchal focused on sustainability, conservation, and honey production. Blue Zones Nicoya is a partner, while Mieles Nicoyanas manages the honey and collaborates on apiary development.
Reserva Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Reserva Conchal presents the Apiary as one of its on-site sustainability initiatives; FIFCO calls it the apiary located at Reserva Conchal.
Conchal Mixed National Wildlife Refuge, Cabo Velas District, Santa Cruz Canton, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
FIFCO reports that a second, larger apiary was inaugurated within the refuge in 2024. SINAC identifies the refuge's official location and characterizes its mangrove and surrounding forest ecosystems.
Guanacaste tropical dry forest
FIFCO reports that the project's colonies contribute to pollination of more than 70 hectares of tropical dry forest in Guanacaste.
Products & Specimens
What connects to this producer
Products listed by the Producer are kept separate from specimens held in the Collection.
Reserva Conchal multifloral honey
Floral source: Multifloral; public descriptions associate its sensory profile with the seasonal flowering of the Guanacaste tropical dry forest and note a subtle acidity attributed to mangrove pollen.
Documented origin: Reserva Conchal, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Origin detail: Locality
FIFCO states that the honey is obtained at Reserva Conchal. It further describes the project’s apiaries as pollinating tropical dry forest in Guanacaste. Reserva Conchal’s official sustainability page describes the honey as produced by the apiary, while FIFCO identifies it as honey obtained at Reserva Conchal; this supports a Reserva Conchal-level origin, not a broader inferred origin from a packaging or office address.
People
People connected to the work
- Alexander Duarte Responsible beekeeper for Apiario Reserva Conchal
Practices
How they work
- Honey production is paired with pollinator conservation and environmental education.
- Colonies located in unsuitable places within Reserva Conchal are relocated rather than destroyed.
- The project uses Apis mellifera colonies.
- The project developed a second apiary and instrumental-insemination work intended to control queen and drone genetic origin and improve disease resistance and adaptation.
- The honey is presented as 100% natural and variable with forest flowering cycles; a slight acidity is attributed in producer reporting to mangrove pollen.