Peggy DeSanto has been an RN for 38 years and has worked in chemotherapy, the ICU & the emergency room. She knows how precious life is. So as a beekeeper, she was devastated by the winter colony loss. Not willing to accept the high winter mortality rates, she sought out a solution.

This led to the creation of Hive Hugger, a product inspired by a mission & driven by science. It is a unique product in that it is based on the condensing hive approach. Peggy is quick to credit the innovative design to researchers like Etienne Tardif, Derek Mitchell, Tom Seeley, Bill Hesbach & Randy Oliver. She says, “they did the research, we just built a product based on what the science says we should do to protect our bees.”

The product won the ABF Best Innovation Award & was awarded the University of Minnesota SARE Grant. Peggy serves on the Board of Directors for the U of M Hobbyist Beekeepers Association. She presented at the Wisconsin Honey Producers Conference, hosted a breakout session at the Iowa Honey Producers Conference and presented at the Midwest Honey Bee Expo.

Recently, a beekeeping supply giant purchased her invention because it boosts bee survival rate to 90%.  GO, Peggy!!