Hello, I am located in Clarkston and have our first flow hive! What have other midwesterners experiences been like in acquiring bees to occupy their hive. Where did you source yours from? I’m looking at local apiaries and farms that supply honey, hive materials, and other goods but I can’t find many that will provide a queen or colony.
Clarkson Michigan? or…
suggestion to search for your local beekeeper’s association/club : https://www.michiganbees.org/
Someone there would surely provide some local knowledge/supplies.
Learn learn learn. Start slow and document your findings. I use an app to log my inspections and make tasks to keep things routine.
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Good day.
This is a bit more than you asked for…
I am 3 years new to beehives. I started with a single hive trying to not spend much until I knew if we would really enjoy it and accept the responsibility. Ultimately, my reflection would be to suck it up and start with two hives, or make sure you know someone where it is convenient for you to regularly visit their hives, and/or convenient for mentor to visit you (I have neither) Without a second (hive) reference point for a new bee haver😉, there is nothing to compare too so it may cause confusion, frustration, anxiety forcing you to make rush/rash decisions.
I’d recommend:
- find a class at a local club or university that has classroom and lab time (may not be possible depending on time of year).
- Then also find a friend that has bees or find a mentor.
- Buy a pair of hives…if not willing to do that help whomever you find in number 2.
If you can’t do 2 of the 3, I’d pump the brakes before getting too happy with the throttle. Or don’t it’s your decision. JMHO.
As far as your bees, I’ve found them three ways:
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Online Mail order package. Pros: slow start get lots of time to learn and watch hive get started…much slower than a nuc, so you will learn at a much slower /digestible level. Cons, the GD USPS (we had a long feud over them not delivering the second package I ordered and then made me fill out a request and a long wait for refund when they brought me my package of dead bees after 3 week from the shipment plan). My picture not on the wall but they know my name is accurate.
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Buy a nuc from a local. This is way to go…you control the delivery all the way(and maybe make a local contact who is willing to help you…if not willing to help you find another local), and the nuc is bursting and ready to go into a hive…the nuc will explode and fill the first brood box and shortly thereafter the second brood box…really fast and pace seems incredible compared to a package that has no comb when you install. Con’s to me is you would miss seeing the hive development and learning to manage the comb and the hive inspections while the number of bees is much smaller. Learning to find queen with fewer bees. I think learn more with the package at a slower pace which aides in digestion IMO.
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Catch a swarm - this year caught my first swarm. I would compare this to a life skill a parent should teach their kids…like changing a tire or changing oil. If you already have hives, then I think this is more similar to a nuc especially if you can steal a couple frames. In terms of personal satisfaction, this rates higher than buying bees IMO.
We’ve (spousal unit and I do it as a team) go it alone for the most part due to our remote location…I have a friend at work that is good to compare notes with and a mentor that is remote for me from the class I took at university. Between those two and online resources we are learning. (Ideal is if you have time and proximity join a club and join activity with the club - lots of data points and problem solvers to help you). It would be very difficult without any aides or help…to me this is an apprentice / mentor type pastime. Very rewarding but it helps to have a sounding board that has more experience than none.
Good luck.
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Great suggestions above, but I have one more thought for you. It is a bit late in the season to be starting a colony, so you may find it hard to buy one from national suppliers.
Having said that, a local bee club may be able to sell you one, or even a full box if someone is downsizing. I would start there.
Otherwise, learn as much as you can and get on a list for next year. Many places have a waitlist from about Thanksgiving, and packages or nuclei become available in March to late April, depending on the weather.
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