Bee packages & nucs

Nucleus colonies are small colonies of honey bees that are ready to place into your empty beehive. A nuc consists of a queen, her bees, brood frames, and honey/pollen frames. Typically, there are five frames total and that's how our nucs are made up. This mini-hive contains all of the stages of colony life necessary to get the bees off to a fast and productive start.

Our nucs are local!  They are started the previous year in our apiaries and split in the spring.  Be aware that some local suppliers simply buy packages from southern sources and pre-hive them in April. This type of nuc is slow to build up and seldom performs as well as a nuc made the proper way. Be sure to ask how they make up their nucs before you place the order.

Because our nucs were started much earlier they are at full strength earlier in the season, usually April. This allows us to select only the nucs that are healthy, growing and ready to transfer to your equipment.

• All nucs include Italian queens (you can also special order a different strain).
• We give you five (5) frames minimum and we can sometimes sell you additional frames.
• The frames and comb are clean and new to ensure the best health possible.
• Nucs are packaged in sturdy ventilated corrugated boxes for you to transport home without fear of bees escaping into your automobile.
• Payment in full is required to hold your order.
• Please order early as stocks are limited.

Package bees are made by shaking bees into a wooden box that has two sides screened for ventilation. The box is about the size of a shoebox and holds about 3lbs of bees. There is a can of sugar syrup inside that holds the bees over for shipping and of course, there is also a queen bee who will head up the new colony when you in turn shake the bees out of the package into their new home.

We wish we could say that our package bees are local bees. We can’t say this because our New England weather doesn’t allow enough time to get our native hives up to full strength by April when bees are traditionally shook for sale. The only alternative is to by buy package bees from a reputable southern source.

Anyone can buy bees from the South and they will arrive by US Parcel Post. Or, you can buy packages from us! The advantage is twofold. First, we buy from trusted sources whose practices are in line with our own philosophies, and second, we go south and transport the packages on our own truck. Because we transport the bees they are on the road no more than two days and they never sit on a loading dock or some other horrible place as they wait to be moved by the carrier. We love the bees and take care of them all of the way home!

• All package prices include Italian Queens.
• Payment in full is required to hold your order.
• Scheduled pickup days may change depending on weather conditions in Georgia. You must pick up your bees when notified or risk degrading health as they hold over in the package.
• We will notify you about date changes by email. Be sure to tell us if you don’t receive email so we can make other contact arrangements.
• Please order early as supplies are limited.