Nucleus Colonies (NUC) honeybee hives for sale – Harmony Hollow

MAY 2018 – Harmony Hollow has added nucleus colonies (NUC) to the line of products available.  NUCs are a “starter” colony that include a mated and egg-laying queen of known Italian genetics, several frames of eggs/larvae/brood, at least one frame of resources (nectar/honey/pollen) and a frame with foundation for the bees to draw fresh comb onto.

NUCs are $200ea for the 2018 season.   These bees will be provided in a waxed cardboard NUC box – ready to transfer to your permanent woodenware.

Pickup of colonies is by scheduled appointment at:

• Wolfsong Farm near Forney, Texas
• Locust Grove Sanctuary in Farmersville, Texas
• Zentopia Acres in Ponder, Texas
• If reasonable distance – we can arrange for delivery – and I can install into your readied woodenware – for a $50 delivery fee.   In all cases – purchase and pickup/delivery needs to be personally scheduled.

Care for your NUC:

After purchase, you will need to carefully move the frames of bees to your prepared woodenware for them.  This can be 8-frame or 10-frame boxes.  The safest way is to pick one of the outside edge frames that is either empty, or has the nectar/resources on it to remove and place first.  Then the other frames can be pulled away separately and placed into their full size hive body.  Watch each frame closely for the queen, and the brood frames for freshly laid eggs as well as various stages of larvae and capped brood.

It is highly suggested that you also have a feeder available for the bees.  Internal frame feeders, or a feeder that sits on top of the brood box for the bees to access from inside will reduce robbing from other hives or colonies in the area, and will encourage the bees to draw wax on the additional frames in your hive and maximize the population (and their hone/food stores) before entering the next winter.  Reduce the entrance down to an inch or so to further reduce any robbing activity from feeding your bees.  Sometimes placing a robber-screen or some blockade in front to the entrance will discourage robbing activity.

Note:  This is a livestock/NUC hive purchase only – and does not include “mentoring” or consultation on how to manage or care for honeybees.