Where to get bees for a hive

Swarm clusters land on a structure near their original hive location, while scout bees leave the cluster in search of a new hive location. It is in this stage that swarms can be captured and used to populate an empty hive. Swarms are ready to start building comb in their new home immediately.

Swarms are local to the area they were found in. They are guaranteed to have survived the winter in that climate, and were a strong enough colony to split in early spring. This method of obtaining bees aids in the goal of propagating strong genetics for local honeybee populations. We have had the greatest success with bees caught from swarms in our apiary and find that swarms fare better than bees trucked across the country in packages.

For more information on swarm catching , watch this helpful video. When scout bees find a suitable hive location, they return to the cluster and direct the swarm to the new hive location with the waggle dance. Once the swarm reaches their destination, the first worker bees on the premises gather at the entrance and fan their nasonov glands, releasing scout pheromone to direct the rest of the bees into the new hive. This pheromone resembles the scent of lemongrass oil , and beekeepers can use small amounts of the oil in their hives or in swarm traps to lure in a swarm.

Check out these books for more information about how swarms find new hive locations, and about setting swarm traps. Honeybee packages are screened boxes that contain a single inseminated-queen in a cage, and 3 pounds of worker bees about 10, individuals. Search form Search. Members Join Now. Are you looking to buy bees? Here are some tips: Decide what type of bees you want to buy. When beekeepers extract honey from hives, the comb is easily left intact, though beekeepers sell honey comb as well.

Honey Bee Behavior. What Do Honey Bees Collect? What Do Honey Bees Eat? Honeybee Pollination. Difference Between Honey Bees and Wasps. Honey Bee Sting. Call Residential Commercial. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.

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