Best source for bee packages?

[Duc Duck Doc]

Hi there! I'm brand new to beekeeping - 3 weeks into my first beekeeping class here in Chatham County, NC. I'm overwhelmed by the information available, most of which seems contradictory. First question: what is a good source of package bees with healthy queens? A local place gets Georgia bees, but a friend had 4 queens rapidly fail from them before turning to Bailey's Bees in Hillsborough. I know this topic has been addressed before, but I couldn't find a recent post. Thanks!

[Acebird]

For packages I think it is a flip of a coin.

[MikeyN.C.]

Duck, I'm sure iddee will chime in. There's a great place to get bees just up the road from you , outside Asheboro called Beez Needz.  They're great people to work with.

[cao]

IMO there is no "good" source of packages.  But I haven't had any luck with packages.  I would advise getting local nucs. 

[iddee]

As Mikey says, I recommend WWW.beezneedz.com. They are in driving distance from you and also have an outlet at the Country home and farm store in Pittsboro. You can get packages, nucs, and all supplies from them. They also have a field day every second Saturday of the month. There will be a speaker talking bees, experienced beeks answering questions, and a visit to the hives in good weather. It is free and there are snacks served at noon.

[MikeyN.C.]

Thanks iddee, didn't know about outlet. Was in pittsboro last week (dang)

[TheHoneyPump]

For your situation, Advice is to find and join your local bee club asap.  Ask others in the club for bees.  Get local stock and local queens.

If you were to be looking for 100's - 1000's of packages, that would be a different ball game.

[Haveuseen1?]

I have had good success with both and they both have advantages.  Around here Nucs are 175.00-195.00.  You can get packages for 125 pretty easy.  So if you are going to start two hives as nucs that would be 350-390.  You could get 3 packages for the same money.  You do get drawn comb with a nuc and that is a bonus.  One thing that I really appreciated was that from a package I got to see the entire process of the bees building up from nothing. I would go with whatever works best for your situation.  Plus it was a great call from the Post Office when my bees arrived.   Seems like I saw an ad in this months Bee Culture where small qtys of packages were around 100.00 before shipping.  You might could just pick them up for less.
For local nucs find out if it is a frame swap, a cardboard box, etc...  Is it a 4 fram nuc? 5 frame nuc?  Deep frames?  Medium frames?  You will be fine.

[van from Arkansas]

Duc Duck Doc: greetings.  Lots of good advice provided above.  I have 100% success with packages.  I provide frames of honey and a frame of brood.  The brood locks the bees in, they have never absconded on me.

A warning.  To me, I see almost every supplier, not all mind you, but most, advertiser GENTLE, HYGENIC, HONEY PRODUCERS, etc.  Some suppliers state Treatment Free.  Well I purchased some of those gentle treatment free, over wintered bees last spring.  One queen failed in August.  Those are the meanest dog gone bees.  I can?t even walk by those bees without getting stung, chased for 75 yards.  The supplier showed pics of himself working the bees without protection.  Further he advertised his line of bees goes back 50 years to his grandfather.  I was feed a bunch of falsehoods.

Well, the facts are: the bees are average honey producers, mean as yellow jackets and hygenic remains a question.

So be weary, don?t believe everything you hear.  There is a well advertised Apiary, on the web, in Arkansas that will take your money and tell you anything you wish to hear about bees.  I have to requeen these mean bees this spring as they present a threat to my family.

Wish you better luck than I had.

[MikeyN.C.]

Keep the hives happy in the bee yard, and you'll have a happy yard.

[Acebird]

A warning.  To me, I see almost every supplier, not all mind you, but most, advertiser GENTLE, HYGENIC, HONEY PRODUCERS, etc.  Some suppliers state Treatment Free.  Well I purchased some of those gentle treatment free, over wintered bees last spring.  One queen failed in August.  Those are the meanest dog gone bees.  I can?t even walk by those bees without getting stung, chased for 75 yards.  The supplier showed pics of himself working the bees without protection.  Further he advertised his line of bees goes back 50 years to his grandfather.  I was feed a bunch of falsehoods.

Unfortunately, not all beekeepers are honest.  They keep the calm ones for themselves and sell off their problems.  The newbie is at risk because he doesn't have a working relationship with the supplier.  Not having a good relationship is one thing that can make the hobby expensive.  That is where luck comes in.

[yes2matt]

Another note to recommend a local source, generally, and specifically to you, Keith at Beezneedz. He and Wally will take good care of you. Buying local, you support your local supplier in his endeavor and make a friend in bees, so to speak, whom you can call with management questions. Which is worth much more than the cost difference in a mail-order package. If you get some Waynes bees, you can subtract the cost of all the treatments, the vaporizer, the gas mask, etc and realize you're coming out way ahead $$!

[johnwratcliff]

Don?t buy packages. Find a local nuc Supply. Not nucs that are shipped in. You can find people in bc that raise nucs that are acclimated to your area. Much better buying experience and I believe you will have a better genetic line of bees