Have you ordered your bees for a spring pick up?

[Patrick Laslett]

Buying you first colony of bees

A full colony of bees (Standard National) is 11 brood frames. In early Spring several frames in the colony should have a good sized patch of capped brood on them - say the four frames in the middle. The extreme outside frames on both sides of the box should be full of food. One side of one frame will be full of pollen (the 'wall of pollen'). The other frames will have stores, pollen, eggs and  brood, plus some empty space for the queen to lay in.

In the Spring a colony for sale should have a queen mated the previous year - so the queen is less than a year old. A healthy young queen that has come through the winter with a strong colony of bees should be your best bet for making an excellent crop of honey that season.

With any luck a colony headed by a young queen will not swarm - but this is not a given and many a young queen does head up a swarm. Whether they swarm or not is partly down to the beekeeper's skill and management.

So what price is a colony of bees in the spring?

Is it best to buy them just 'on the frame' and move the frames into your box or to buy them in the box they are already in?

Overwintered nucs are cheaper than a full colony - so Isn't that a better buy?

When asked about price I say £300 more or less for the eleven frames of bees and £200 more or less for a nuc of bees.

When you buy them in a hive then the cost of the hive will be added. If the nuc comes in a box then the cost of the nuc box will be added. If you want a nuc delivered to your door then the cost of transport will be added.

Which is best? A full colony or a nuc? All things being equal I think the extra spent on a full colony (If you can find one for sale) makes the better economic case. Simply you will have more bees to start with and they will make more honey.

Food for thought?

Happy beekeeping,

Yours,

Patrick