The principle operator of Honey Glen Apiaries is Michael Staddon who came to Salem, West Virginia with his family in 2003. He manages between 60 and 100 colonies of his own in Harrison County, WV with his wife Elizabeth, as well as around 100 to 150 colonies for Patriot Guardens in Nicholas County, WV.
The idea to start beekeeping came when the family consumed so much honey that they looked into beekeeping as a means of producing honey at a lower cost.
Early on, involvement with the local beekeepers association has been very beneficial and in 2007 he began helping educate new beekeepers at the annual Beginner Beekeeping school. As time went on, Michael began to see beekeeping as a potentially profitable business and launched Honey Glen Apiaries in 2012 with help from his family. The varroa challenge sparked interest in breeding bees for mite and virus resistance and survivability in our mid Appalachian region. Starting with the best mite resistant stock he could find, he was still disappointed in the mite susceptibility of these lines. After achieving control over the drone population surrounding his breeding yards, he saw marked improvement to the point that varroa is becoming a non-issue. Michael was president of North Central WV Beekeepers Association from 2013 to 2018, and served as secretary for the West Virginia state-wide association (WVBA) in 2014 and 2015. In 2014 Michael achieved master beekeeper in the WVBA Master Beekeeper Program. For two years he worked part time as an apiary inspector for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. His view that beekeeping is a stewardship of God’s creation is the foundational principle for his day to day decisions in the business.
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