About Bees

Bees are traditionally sold in 3 different methods, below will cover these methods. You can then decide how you would like to acquire bees for your new hive. You can find a list of suppliers in your area that carry bees either Nucs or Packaged. Watch the video link provided below, for more details on how to put each method of bee in your hive.

Packaged Bees

Sold in measurement of pounds. Typically 3 pounds of bees is the standard in the industry. Packaged bees should come with 3# of bees, 1 mated queen, & 1 feeding supplement. Bees that are in packages should be transported and moved to their new home quickly. Packaged bees should stay in a cool well ventilated area until install. We recommend within 24 hours.

Nucleus (NUC)

Sold in measurement of how many frames are included. Industry standard is 5 frames as seen above. 3 Frames with brood and 2 frames of honey, along with a mated and laying queen. Bees that are in a nuc are from existing hives that have usually overwintered. Area beekeepers are usually found selling nucs in the local area. Bees in Nucs can overheat, consider this when transporting.

Swarm

Swarms like this are seen during the Spring build up, and can be found anywhere. These are great bees because they are free. Check with local governments and pet control agencies to be put on their swarm lists.