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Nucleus Colonies (Nucs)

Our nucs (short for "nucleus colony") are usually available each spring around the first week in June, depending upon weather, queen availability, etc. Nucs are made up from the bees in our own apiary.

Due to provincial regulations, we are only permitted to sell them within the Province of New Brunswick, and we sell them on a "first come, first served" basis, with emphasis being placed on helping the beginners get started.

They consist of 2 frames of bees and brood, a laying queen, a frame of honey and pollen, and an empty frame for the queen to build on. The queens that we normally have available at that time of year would be Italian or Carniolian stock from Hawaii. Later in June we have queens available from Nova Scotia.

The 2009 price for a nuc is $135.00 (no tax is charged on bees), picked up at our location. Sorry, we do not ship nucs. We offer a $4.00 (each) discount for payment by cash or cheque. A non-refundable deposit of $25.00 each will be required around the first of April (will be refunded if we are unable to supply the bees).

Customers have a choice of how to receive their nuc:

  1. We place the bees in our wooden nuc box, customer transports them to their location and installs the bees into their own equipment. Our wooden box must be returned by the end of the season, and we reserve the right to charge a deposit on the box. Recommended for more experienced beekeepers who are able to transfer bees from one box to another.
  2. If customer has new equipment, they can bring it to us in early May, and we will install their nuc in that when the time comes. This would be the recommended method for first year beekeepers who have purchased equipment from us, or another supplier. (The beginner would then not have the task of taking their bees home and attempting to transfer from our nuc box to their equipment.)
  3. We can place the nuc in a cardboard nuc box, then only one trip is necessary for the customer. However, we are limited in the quantity we can make up in the cardboard boxes, as once made they have to be protected from the weather, and there is limited space. Also, there is an additional $11.00 (plus HST) charge for these boxes.

Sorry, we no longer make up nucs in customer's own equipment that has been used, as there is too much potential for disease transmission, and oftentimes needed repairs that takes our time to perform.

Bees have to be picked up in the cool part of the day, when all field bees are in, so we usually suggest 8:00 a.m. or 8:00-8:30 p.m., depending upon the weather. Bee "pickups" are arranged by appointment and are held on Monday through Saturday, not on Sunday.

We also have Queen bees for sale in season, as available.