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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Meredith Friedrick <friema16 AT gmail.com>
  • To: "Starks, Walter" <Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu>
  • Cc: Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Getting first packages of bees
  • Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 21:29:25 -0400

I went to bee school through Bailey's in Raleigh this past spring and took (and passed) the written certification exam.  But since I don't have bees or equipment yet, I have had nil practical experience and really value OCBA and the expertise I've observed from everyone there.  I'm availing myself of every opportunity I can to be involved and learn.  I'm looking forward to getting bees in spring, but don't want to end up killing them! 

On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 9:08 PM, Starks, Walter <Walter.Starks AT facilities.unc.edu> wrote:
Verroa mites are always a problem and will be no matter what form you purchase your bees in. As for other diseases NC requires anyone selling bees to have their hives inspected. Here is a complete list of approved sellers- http://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/plant/apiary/documents/PermittoSell091114.pdf.

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this so far but Bee School is a very good idea if you haven't already completed one. I know OCBA will be having a short introductory class in November (I Think?) just so you can get a good idea of what you are getting yourself into. And a full fledged 8 week class in January (?).

______

Walter




Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 23, 2014, at 8:30 PM, Meredith Friedrick <friema16 AT gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for all of the good advice -- there is definitely a lot to think about. After reading the comments you all made, I'm more and more interested in purchasing nucs in the spring (I guess you have a reserve them in advance?) from someone local, but with nucs, don't you have to worry about potential introduction of diseases/mites? 
Meredith 

On Tue, Sep 23, 2014 at 2:22 PM, Michael Shepherd <mdshep2000 AT yahoo.com> wrote:
Dick Lippard with Queen Bee Honey Farm out of Statesville shakes out his local bees for packages as well as makes up nucs.  


On Tuesday, September 23, 2014 2:01 PM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:


Meredith,

Making bee packages for sale is a big business that requires a whole lot of colonies, a whole lot of queens, a whole lot of expertise and a whole lot of warm weather early in the year. I am not personally aware of anyone in NC who shakes their own colonies in order to sell packages. When you see package bees for sale in NC they typically have either been brought up here by the truckload from Georgia or, sometimes, they are second-hand bees no longer needed by someone who has taken them to California in February to pollinate almonds.

Instead, local bees for sale are in "nucs" (short for "nucleus colonies", or mini-colonies). The worker bees in nucs are always local, although the queen that comes with them may or may not be. Nucs come with several frames of drawn comb and brood, both of which provide a jump-start to a new colony. This is a real advantage of nucs, not the fact that the worker bees didn't go through the mail. But nucs aren't usually available until later in the season compared to packages. So as with most things in life, there is a trade-off.

Do note that the issues around local-raised queens versus through-the-mail queens don't really apply to packages of worker bees, or at least they aren't important compared to a host of other things that people should worry about first. The differences between starting with nucs versus starting with packages don't have anything at all to do with the provenance of the worker bees. Every single one of the worker bees you start with is going to be dead five or six weeks later regardless of where they came from. The queen, on the other hand, is the "engine" of the hive and can potentially last several years, so her health and condition are quite important.

So, it is worthwhile to give some thought about the source of your queens, but don't agonize over the source of the worker bees you start with. Choose nuc versus package based on your preferences and goals. Either can be purchased with or without a queen (or you can replace the queen at any time), so you can mix-and-match however you desire.

Randall Austin

On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 8:56 PM, Meredith Friedrick <friema16 AT gmail.com> wrote:
Here's a real novice question:

I don't have bees yet (don't have the hives yet either) and want to order some now for arrival in spring.  Through reading the posts on the listserv, I read that getting local queens is preferable to getting them shipped from long distances (due to travel and disruption, etc., I guess).  Is there such a thing as getting locally-raised packages of bees (with the queens) in order to keep from being shipped from a great distance?  If so, where can I get them and when should I order them?

Thanks in advance,
Meredith Friedrick

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Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/



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