Nuc of bees

[Wardy]

Hi I am very new to bee kepping,that new i havn't got bees yet. I have recently been on a beekeeping course which i really enjoyed and learnt a lot, after the course i ordered a nuc of bees for next May but in the mean time i have joined a local bee keeping club but only been to one meeting so far. One of the members said that i should get my bees from someone local and not from the other person who lives about 20 miles away as the climate is different and those bees could bring in decease.Can anyone tell me who is right here?

Thanks Wardy

 

[B+.]

Hi I am very new to bee kepping,that new i havn't got bees yet. I have recently been on a beekeeping course which i really enjoyed and learnt a lot, after the course i ordered a nuc of bees for next May but in the mean time i have joined a local bee keeping club but only been to one meeting so far. One of the members said that i should get my bees from someone local and not from the other person who lives about 20 miles away as the climate is different and those bees could bring in decease.Can anyone tell me who is right here?

Thanks Wardy

Nonsense!
20 miles is nothing. Ignore people who try to pressurize you into doing what they want

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi I am very new to bee kepping,that new i havn't got bees yet. I have recently been on a beekeeping course which i really enjoyed and learnt a lot, after the course i ordered a nuc of bees for next May but in the mean time i have joined a local bee keeping club but only been to one meeting so far. One of the members said that i should get my bees from someone local and not from the other person who lives about 20 miles away as the climate is different and those bees could bring in decease.Can anyone tell me who is right here?

Thanks Wardy

Not the clown you spoke to that's for sure, looks like he's trying to get you to buy his, or his mates. Whereabouts are you that the climate is so unique - the top of Eryri?

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Ignore people who try to pressurize you into doing what they want

Politicians for example!

I would say that if you can get local bees from someone who knows what they are doing, that would be preferred. That's not always possible. If the bees you have been offered are from a decent beekeeper and they are decent bees and the beekeeper will answer a few random telephone calls from you asking for advice, then take the bees! There is no increase in disease if the colony is 1/2 hour away compared to around the corner.

 

[alfazer]

Unless there has been some known outbreak of a disease in the apiary or immediate area the nuc is coming from. (in which case they shouldn't be selling nucs), otherwise not a problem.

The "climate" thing is nonsense.

 

[PaulCarroll]

If you are member of a beekeeping club one of the other members may have an overwintered nuc you could buy. You would know your bees came from a reliable source and get some help setting up your hive. I that is not an option then I agree that bees from 20 miles away is no impediment to happy and successful beekeeping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SDM]

Nonsense!
20 miles is nothing. Ignore people who try to pressurize you into doing what they want

20 miles off Anglesey and youll be in a very different climate unless you are right by the coast. Everywhere else is up from here. There's probably 7 or 8 °c difference in average winter daytime temps.
20 miles on the island would make no difference at all however.

 

[domino]

If you are starting out you've made the right choice. The quality of a professionally overwintered nuc is likely to exceed a random nuc that's spent the winter in some dudes backyard.

If you're buying from a good nuc supplier you'll get a box packed with healthy bees and ready to go.

Good luck next year.

 

[Beefriendly]

How exactly is a professionally wintered nuc better than a "backyard" Nuc? Assuming both have been fed and treated for varroa?

 

[domino]

How exactly is a professionally wintered nuc better than a "backyard" Nuc? Assuming both have been fed and treated for varroa?

In this context one is made up by a professional the other is the product of some random unknown beekeeper.

 

[SDM]

How exactly is a professionally wintered nuc better than a "backyard" Nuc? Assuming both have been fed and treated for varroa?

Quality of stock and the rearing of the queen maybe. The likelihood that the professional will be able to quickly give product support in the event of a failed queen or some other issue. The professionals desire to protect his reputation(especially locally) . Not a guarantee of a better nuc but it might put the odds in the buyers favour.

 

[B+.]

How exactly is a professionally wintered nuc better than a "backyard" Nuc? Assuming both have been fed and treated for varroa?

At the very least, they'll have a young queen (2018 mated - marked Red). Young queens are less likely to swarm and should be in the prime of life ready to build a good colony.

 

[domino]

Quality of stock and the rearing of the queen maybe. The likelihood that the professional will be able to quickly give product support in the event of a failed queen or some other issue. The professionals desire to protect his reputation(especially locally) . Not a guarantee of a better nuc but it might put the odds in the buyers favour.

I need a sit down

 

[SDM]

I need a sit down

It was bound to happen eventually, lol

 

[Beefriendly]

In this context one is made up by a professional the other is the product of some random unknown beekeeper.

Yes, and I know the nuc business. And I'd be more suspicious of the "professional" beekeepers who sell nuc's in spring; many of these have not even been overwintered in this country. They are often bought in package bees with a bought in queen added them. A quick check she is laying and there is another nuc for sale.
Whereas a nuc produced by random unknown beekeepers, like myself, will be last years queen, marked and clipped, varroa treated and well fed for the winter. Having fewer nuc's to look after means more attention can be paid to them.
I'd be quite suspicious of anyone advertising nuc's in spring, unless they can give an honest full account of their background...something some professionals are quite bad at.
And even more so of anyone advertising in spring nuc's of "native black" bees.....these are often imports of dark Carniolans and/or Spanish bees. The tricks some of the "professionals" get up to to part you from your money is amazing.
Fortunately many of the larger professional outfits run an honest business and tell you exactly how their nuc's are made up. It's up to the buyer to figure out the honest from the misleading seller...not always easy.

 

[SDM]

Wow thats damming, i hope you report these nuc sellers you "knowl" about. Ive seen some for sale that fit your description or are last years imported production hive queens that are the split off when replacement queens arrive in MAY and sold off as overwintered nucs. But the people selling them didn't really fit the "professional " bill. And a general lack of information or contradictory information made them stand out, but i can only think of 2 sellers that ive spotted doing this.

 

[domino]

Whereas a nuc produced by random unknown beekeepers, like myself, will be last years queen, marked and clipped, varroa treated and well fed for the winter.

I'm curious if you think how you keep nucs is indicative of the average beekeeper you meet at a bee club?

 

[Beefriendly]

Wow thats damming, i hope you report these nuc sellers you "knowl" about.

To whom?.

 

[Beefriendly]

I'm curious if you think how you keep nucs is indicative of the average beekeeper you meet at a bee club?

If you meet them at a bee club they are hardly likely to fit your previous description of random unknown beekeeper.

 

[SDM]

To whom?.

BFA, Local association, trading standards.