Several people have been asking me over the years to buy my bees. Mostly because I started with some of the earliest strains of VSH queens and after a year or two of using those, I added even more VSH queens and squashed all the others. Every time I get a swarm, I squash the queen and let them requeen from one of my other hives brood. And basically what I have found out over doing this method for almost 6 years is that the VSH genetics seem to carry over. So even though the new queen does a mating flight to the DGA and gets bred by “only god knows what drones”, they seem to always have the VSH genetics high enough that in the last 7 years I have only treated for mites once. With that in mind, post-cancer treatment, I am at a place where I can sell nucs from my bees and using the select best stock I have. That means I am offering a pre-order method to purchase my bees now so you can pick them up in spring 2025.
Its probably easier if I just copy and paste the questions post I made on facebook, so here it is:
Q: can you ship them?
A: no, local pickup only. I would never ship bees because I can’t control the temperatures they would be exposed to and I have read horror stories from other beekeepers shipping bees. Even the big box bee stores make you pick up nucs in person.
Q: will you deliver and install them?
A: maybe, reach out and we can discuss
Q: when will they be ready for pickup?
A: everything in beekeeping is weather dependent, it could be as early as February (if next spring is like this spring). Historically it is usually late-April through early to mid-May, and I probably wouldn’t let anyone pick them up in February even if it was warm enough because there are some things that have to pass my own high standards and that generally takes a few weeks into warm weather to observe (laying patterns, build up, etc). I would honestly count on the historical time period as being more accurate but even that could be off a week or two depending on how rainy it is also.
Q: what if I can’t pick them up when they are ready?
A: they will be here when you are ready. But there is one thing, I can’t let them swarm which means if you leave them too long, I am going to have to manage the colony size which means removing fully drawn frames of capped brood and replacing it with an empty frame to give them space. So if you pick it up late, it could be in a period when they are drawing out a new frame. If you are concerned about this, I can pull a frame of brood from another hive to replace the newer frame.
Q: what payment methods do you accept?
A: I prefer, for your safety and mine, that you use paypal. I mean, lets face it, we are talking about paying for something that is months out and we aren’t promised tomorrow so use a method you can dispute if needed.
Q: how can I pay by paypal?
A: This link when clicked should say “Sharp Ridge Homestead – Spring 2025 5 Frame Nuc” https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/BLSQLM9CVNP7Y
Q: will I still need to do mite testing & treatments for your bees?
A: mite testing is a part of beekeeping husbandry. A good beekeeper will do mite testing regularly as part of their mite treatment program. Even though my bees historically have low mite counts at my location and don’t need treated because they can manage the levels on their own, it might be different for your location. For one, all of my bees have the “mostly same genetics” so even if they drift to a different hive, they are relatives but if you have hives with a high mite load that drifts into bees you buy from me, they could also have a high mite load. On their own, my bees can control a normal mite load but maybe not a mite load introduced by other bees that have drifted in. Also, mites could evolve over the next few months and nobody have VSH bees due to how they evolved. So many variables at play here. But I would certainly test for mites and I would certainly treat for mites if my test results warranted it.
Q: what exactly am I getting?
A: An over-wintered 5 frame nuc. I generally build nuc boxes from 3/8″ or 1/2″ plywood – if they lumber company is out of 3/8 or 1/2 plywood, I will use something of equal quality (covid2 could happen on an election year, you never know). So, you will be getting a nuc box, containing 5 frames (the 5 frames may have black plastic foundation but more than likely will be fully drawn out foundation-less because I hate plastic and so do the bees). A nuc box means nucleus colony so that means, mixed brood, obvious laying pattern, pollen and honey stores and a marked and laying queen. The queen will be over-wintered so Green for a 2024 queen. However, if that queen is not up to my own high standards, I will squash her and get you a queen that is up to my standards so she could end up blue for 2025. The nuc box will have a mesh screen stapled in place for transport and the lids duct taped to hold them in place but if you have a nuc transport bag, I’d suggest you bring it or buy them (I have a few and could loan you one but they are cheap on amazon, way cheaper than big box bee stores) https://amzn.to/4caNaHU One other thing I am going to mention, I estimate I will sell maybe 30 – 50 nucs but in the event that number climbs drastically then I will likely be forced to go to pre-made nuc boxes either cardboard or plastic, whatever I can buy on unplanned and short notice.
Q: what is the difference between an over-wintered nuc and a “regular nuc”?
A: outside of the obvious, the nucleus colony survived over winter on their own, they command a premium price because they are vetted. The person who creates the nucs can monitor them for any signs of queen not up to par, bees are vsh hygenic, they build up at an acceptable rate, etc. You can generally only get an over-wintered nuc from a local beekeeper, too much work involved for the big box bee stores who get all their nucs made same year.
Q: will you have extra nucs available?
A: So I have to make nucs for myself every year. I will always have nucs but they may not be an over-wintered nuc. That doesn’t mean they won’t be the same quality, just that I have had less time to monitor and work with them. But if you want to be sure you are getting an over-wintered nuc with my bees genetics, do the pre-order … that’s the entire reason I am doing this, to make sure you have a nuc with your name on it from my best select stock. Any other nuc I sell that isn’t over-wintered could literally come from a split from any beehive I have, a swarm I know nothing about, etc.
Q: will the price be the same next year?
A: nope, this price is only for pre-orders. Once I am unable to make nucs this year, the price goes to market value which is currently $250 for vsh bees and around $200-225 for others.
Q: will you give refunds?
A: The entire reason I am doing this the way I am and at the discount I am doing it is because more times than I care to admit over the years, someone has told me they wanted me to do something for them or make something for them and then I waste all that time getting whatever done and the person suddenly doesn’t want it anymore because they changed their mind and I am out of all of that time and sometimes expenses. With pre-orders, I think someone who pre-orders and pays for something is more than likely to not skip out on the deal. If you place a pre-order and then decide you don’t want bees and I have already made up your nuc with your name on it, I hope you have someone who wants bees because no refund….i am still doing the service you requested and most of my time was already spent in building the boxes and frames and populating it with bees plus the expense to purchase the lumber and time to make the nuc. If you know someone else who would buy your bees, have them pay you not me. But that doesn’t mean no refunds ever. As an example, If I take a ride on the bike and some drunk driver hits me head on and kills me, you will get a refund if you are not getting what you ordered. The difference in these example stories is, I couldn’t deliver on the service you ordered so that means you get a refund. Another example you would get a refund, lets say this winter is the worst winter in written history and it gets down to negative 400 degrees for all of winter and come spring all the bees are dead in all my nucs and beehives, then yes, you will get a refund. I can assure you, all of us peons might have died over winter but the banks and government will still be operating as normal but I would not be able to deliver on what you were promised so that means you get a refund.
Q: how long can you make nucs to be over-wintered (which really means, what is the latest I can make a pre-order)?
A: well, that is also weather dependent. I usually start right after honey extraction around 4th of July and can usually successfully get everything done in July and early august with a little room to spare. But I would suggest not waiting until the last minute because doing these in a higher volume means more trips to the lumber company and they don’t usually stock a whole lot of 3/8 or 1/2″ plywood. A few things can happen, they run out of plywood and the queens don’t get properly mated or we get a cold front and the queen doesn’t get properly mated or the queens barely get properly mated but don’t have enough time to build up sufficient numbers to over-winter. To make it easier, I will put a hard stop on all pre-orders have to be made by Aug 24th. If by chance you do a pre-order and the queen doesn’t get properly mated or have enough time to build up, I will refund your money because again I won’t be able to deliver what I promised you.
Q: If the queen doesn’t get mated or build up in time, could I just swap with a spring split for the same price?
A: no, this discounted rate is only for over-wintered nucs.
Q: i want to get into beekeeping but don’t have a hive yet. I plan to get a hive later. Should I pre-order these bees now?
A: I can tell you this, beekeeping is very fast paced. If you know for sure you will already have a beehive built, sitting in its permanent spot, awaiting bees, you already have a local beekeeper to use as a mentor, and you already have all the other equipment too, then yes you should pre-order the bees. But if you are one of those people that procrastinates and waits to the last minute to get your hive set up and ready or if you are one of those people that is living paycheck to paycheck and doesn’t have a lot of disposable cash then I would not. Beekeeping equipment is an expensive investment (one hive and all the equipment you need to get started is going to set you back $1,000 plus easily) but a new beekeeper really needs 2 hives so that’s $2,000 plus right out of the gate. The bees will be OK in a nuc for a short period of time in the spring, like a week or two without size management but longer than that and they will swarm because they ran out of room. If you can’t install the bees the day you pick them up, most beekeepers would usually set the nuc on top of the new beehive and open up the opening so they can start to orient and forage and then transition them to the hive below but that really only works for a few days. But if you don’t have the hive built yet and you aren’t sure where the hive will be, or you don’t have a mentor to guide you, its gonna turn into a mess for you as a new beekeeper and the bees might not make it because of you.
You can also scan this qr code if that is easier for you:
