ETA: Early May 

Description:

These very strong overwintered nucs come with 5 frames of bees and includes a young proven queens and lots of brood. These nucs are produced in the Okanagan region, around Armstrong.

The nuc box is the sturdy, ventilated Jester Nuc Box, and it is yours to keep.

In 2023, we brought in these nucs from Okanagan Honey for the first time, and were extremely impressed by their quality. We have ordered again with the expectation that they are among the best nucs that we can provide to customers, and we expect they will provide beekeepers a good chance at honey production and splits in their first season!

Note on Nucs in 2024:

We are shifting our focus from supplying BC nucs sourced locally in the lower mainland, to sourcing from more interior regions of BC (such as Lillooet and the Okanagan). The lower mainland has seen issues related to high overwinter losses, unpredictable weather, and high prevalence of disease and pests. These problems are much less intense in many other regions of BC.

We are also changing our nuc supply to focus on 5-frame supply, as opposed to 4-frame. We believe that this will help colonies rapidly build-up as well as be more resilient against poor conditions at the time of arrival, and as a result much more productivity and better colony health in the first year. 

The downside is a significantly increased final price due larger nuc size and high transport costs. However, we believe that customers will receive far more long-term benefits if they can start with earlier, stronger nucs, while still supporting our BC bee breeders!

 **Please note that unfortunately this year we will only be offering nucs for pick-up, due to a lack of capacity to accommodate shipping this year. We hope to resume nuc shipping in future seasons!**

How Pick-Up Works:

After reserving we will receive your order and contact information. As we get closer to the arrival date and get updates from our supplier, we will pass along those details to you and finalize pick-up dates / times. Typically we aim for pick-up during morning hours, so that the bees can be (1) safely sealed up early in the morning before they go out to forage, & (2) the bees do not have to spend too long inside of the nuc box, minimizing stress including chance of overheating.

Nucs do not need to be installed immediately. Nucs can be placed in the spot where they will eventually be hived into full equipment, and the nuc box opened and the bees allowed to fly. They will then orient to that location and will experience less stress and risk than if they are left sealed up. That said, it is always good to try to install a newly received nuc into a full hive within 2 days after receiving.

Reservations Include a $30 non refundable deposit  *

* This means that if you have to cancel your order, you will be refunded fully minus $30. This amount is considered your commitment fee. Please note that you must still give us at least 2 weeks notice of cancellation, or we may retain 50%-100% of your payment.

SKU: PB02-OKH-5F-JE