Wannabee a beekeeper 3, The Bees

As a new beekeeper, your first colony is very exciting and therefore deciding on which option to go for requires a lot of thought.

I collect quite a few swarms during the course of a season, they are isolated from my working colonies they are treated for varroa and requeened.  For this reason I have always been opposed to beginners collecting swarms, as age of Queen, temperament of the colony and level of desease/varroa are all unknowns and not something that you should have to deal with as your introduction to beekeeping.

Do you purchase a Nuc ( nucleus), a mini colony ready to move up to a full hive, should it have a new season or late autumn overwintered Queen.  Top right is one of my stock 5 frame nucs, they will have starter colonies installed late in the year with a new Queen.  These are overwintered and form the basis of my earliest nucs and colonies. I also produce early nucs with current season Queens.   With a nuc a new beekeeper can grow in confidence as the colony expands, and if acquired early enough may produce a crop.

or

Do you buy a colony that has recently moved up from a nuc and is now on 6-7 frames of brood, very soon it is likely to require a Queen excluder and the first super, with the right weather conditions and a good flow it will be thinking about swarming.  Its a fast learning curve with this option, things move very quickly in the hive and the bees don't wait while you stumble over decisions.  A mentor who can help you through the first season is an essential.

or

Do you purchase a full working colony at its height. This is for either the brave or foolhardy, possibly both.  There will be 60-70,000 bees, 11 frames of brood, supers filling.  You would have to deal with probable Queen cells, artificial swarming and then uniting, no amount of book reading or course attending can prepare you for dealing with a colony in full flow on your own, it has to be experienced and for a beginner it would be daunting.


Wherever you buy your bees from, you should visit the apiary, at least once.  You should handle the bees you are going to buy, the actual colony.  The beekeeper you buy them from should be happy to mentor you through your first season or at least be at the end of the phone if you need help/advice.