Have you seen the bee-costumed bikers, antennae sprouting from helmets?

It's the Beez Kneez folks, pedaling natural honey all over town. Each jar of that golden nectar represents a valiant effort to support pollinators, good food and healthy lives.

Kristy Allen launched Beez Knees several years ago when she agreed to deliver honey for her aunt and uncle's Bar Bee Ranch in Squaw Lake, Minn.

"I built a bike trailer to haul 100 pounds of honey and to help spark interest and make sales. It was fun to get around town dressed like a bee," she said at the Honey House headquarters in south Minneapolis. With financing from a successful Kickstarter campaign, she acquired the space and purchased needed equipment, such as bike-powered extractors, storage containers and bottles.

This year, with the help of co-workers and volunteers, Beez Knez produced more than 8,000 pounds of honey from local hives. "True to our mission, we're generating a steady income stream while educating people and advocating for bees," she said.

Beez Kneez honey varies in texture, taste and color, depending on the floral source and time of year. The first honey of the year comes from dandelions. It's as brilliant yellow as the flowers themselves, and it's thick and viscous with sharp, peppery flavors that work beautifully in savory sauces as well as sweets.

It's being showcased in the Third Annual Dandelion Honey Pastry Chef Challenge on April 13, when up to 10 pastry chefs will create desserts using dandelion honey as the only sweetener. The event is from 6 to 9 p.m. at Solar Arts, 711 15th Av. NE., Minneapolis. Tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door. To order, visit thebeezkneezdelivery.com/pastrychef3.

Beez Kneez recently added its Zip-Sourced honey, which reflects what's gathered from local neighborhoods. Along with its urban partners of backyard or rooftop gardeners, brewpubs, museums, restaurants and schools, Beez Kneez manages more than 80 hives along the St. Croix Valley.

It also launched Fleur de Beez honey-mustard, created by Miles Metzger and inspired by small-batch American mustards that date back to the 1900s. His most distinctive interpretation is the Halligalli Dusseldorf Hot Mustard, a blend of traditional German seasoning with the Creole spices of Louisiana.

Beez Kneez is offering a 14-week guided course in beekeeping at its teaching apiaries. And it's hosting the Healthy Bees, Healthy Lives Campaign that lobbies citizens to pledge to maintain pesticide-free green spaces (and notes that with a yard sign). The website also offers a new "Pollinator Patch Kit" featuring everything a gardener needs to keep bees well fed and busy.

Find all the Beez Kneez products at the Honey House or have them delivered to your door, via bike or mail, depending on location. Local food co-ops carry Beez Kneez honey and mustard, as do the American Swedish Institute, coffee shops and bike stores (where Beez Knees also has hives).

For more information about any of the Beez Kneez products, programs or events, check out thebeezkneezdelivery.com or visit the Honey House, 2204 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls.