Buying Bees

[coffin dodger]

Hi All,

As I have my hive (14x12 national) all set up and ready for occupation, I'm hoping to be in a position to buy a colony or nuc towards the end of this month. Given the unpredictable weather and the remaining bit of 'summer' that we may have left, do you think this is too late to be buying and giving the bees chance to really establish themselves for overwintering or would I be better waiting until next spring ?

Thoughts and comments would be greatly appreciated

Regards

CD

 

[Black Comb]

Personally I would wait.
End of July is not giving them a lot of time to build up.
If it dies over winter you will be gutted.

 

[justme]

Well, i was told May is the best month to start keeping bees. Seems to work. Probably need to order a nuc well before Christmas or even sooner to be sure of getting them then though.

 

[REDWOOD]

too late now but not impossible, save your money as you won't get a honey crop this year and will end up buying lots of sugar for their winter feed. Buy some more equipment and try to get 2 hives next year as beekeeping can be a lot easier with 2 or 3

 

[itma]

Just about any time is sub-optimal, according to some.

What, IMHO, is more important is where you yourself are starting from.
If you've done a course, handled other folks bees, etc, and got a suitable site for putting bees - then get on with it and stop messing around.
If not, then those shortfalls may be greater impediments than the time of the season.

Buy a couple of 5kg bags of sugar (to start with, and a feeder that you are happy with), don't think of taking off any crop this year, keep on top of the varroa, and both you and the bees ought to be well set for next year - when the weather simply must be better than this.

And be aware that you do need a second colony to give you self-sufficiency in spare parts (bees), and some spare kit beyond that - a nuc box at the very barest minimum.

 

[adrian wilford]

to add my bit, if its a 5 frame nuc i would buy a lot more than 5 kilos of sugar as the bees need something to draw out the foundation and fill it with stores, sorry but i use lots of sugar when building up nucs. my nucs take at least a litre of syrup every day. i built up 25 nucs early in the year and now in hives most of them are now in double brood, i think thats because i gave them loads of syrup. I once took a swarm on 31st Aug and got them through winter.

 

[Mickby]

Just about any time is sub-optimal, according to some.

What, IMHO, is more important is where you yourself are starting from.
If you've done a course, handled other folks bees, etc, and got a suitable site for putting bees - then get on with it and stop messing around.
If not, then those shortfalls may be greater impediments than the time of the season.

Buy a couple of 5kg bags of sugar (to start with, and a feeder that you are happy with), don't think of taking off any crop this year, keep on top of the varroa, and both you and the bees ought to be well set for next year - when the weather simply must be better than this.

And be aware that you do need a second colony to give you self-sufficiency in spare parts (bees), and some spare kit beyond that - a nuc box at the very barest minimum.

Nothing ventured...

 

[Hivemaker.]

I once took a swarm on 31st Aug and got them through winter.

Latest one i collected was 7th november,and they got through the winter and built up into a strong colony by early spring.

 

[Outlander]

Well dodger verdicts in and from what I can make of it, it’s a pull your finger out and get on with it, I think with lots of care and consideration you can do it so good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Andy Duff]

Well dodger verdicts in and from what I can make of it, it’s a pull your finger out and get on with it, I think with lots of care and consideration you can do it so good luck and keep us posted.

gets my vote.

2 hives needed really, it makes things easier.

Bonus you can go and feed them on Christmas day, a great excuse to escape the relatives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Got a nuc i made up two weeks ago and i'm picking up another on Tuesday; I'm not concerned the autumn now starts a lot later.
two of this year's hives are from a 5 and 6 frame nuc from a split I had to make middle of last August - just be prepared to get them winter fit and forget honey and they should make it through the winter with just a little TLC

 

[Black Comb]

Well Dodger the keyword in your question (to me) was buy.
Of course swarms and a split of our own then yes, worth a go, but a nuc at the end of July should be cheaper than a midMay one.

 

[protheroe]

if you get a nuc now and build it up for winter then your bees will be well away in spring.