We are now taking orders for nucleus colonies for the 2012 season. The nuc will consist of five frames containing brood, honey, pollen, bees, and a new mated queen. Please note that one frame may be partially drawn or offer empty cells for the queen to lay in as this is often necessary to prevent the formation of swarm cells. Nucs will come in a reusable wooden nuc box for $130 each. Most will be queened with Italian stock and some with local "mutt" or "survivor" stock by request. Marked queens are $5 extra or free with a $100 equipment purchase. We will have a very limited number available on medium frames and/or without the wooden nuc box for $120. We can also offer a limited number of nucs w/ carniolin queens by request.
Call or email early to secure your reservation for April/May 2012. Payment in full is due by March 15th 2012. Discounts are available for purchases of 30 or more. Don't delay, we will sell out!
5-frame nuc, deep frames, w/ wooden nuc box $130
5-frame nuc, deep frames, w/ cardboard nuc box $120
5-frame nuc, medium frames, w/ cardboard nuc box $120
We will also install your nuc in new equipment purchased from us for no additional charge and mark your queen for free with a purchase of $100 or more.
We will not be offering package bees in 2012. This is due to the difficulty in obtaining these early enough to ensure you the best chances of success. Please consider a nuc as they are worth the extra $. This is especially true if you are just getting started in beekeeping. In a nuc the queen is established and laying which reduces potential queen issues. Within a week or 2 the existing brood will quickly double the bee population. Unless you have existing drawn comb a package must start from scratch on foundation and the queen can not lay the first egg until some comb is built. From this point it is then 21 days before these bees will emerge and your bee population begins to increase. A package therefore is at least 4 to 5 weeks behind a nuc which can make all the difference in establishing a strong colony by mid to late summer. This doesn't mean packages will not work for you, just that you may have less challenges and faster potential rewards with a nuc.
QUEENS 2012 We offer hygenic Italian, Carniolin, and occasionally Russian queens produced from inspected apiaries from which we have had good results. Queen prices should range from $20 to $25 each in 2012 with discounts for 15 or more. Marking is $5 extra by request. Please order ahead when possible. Queens are typically available from mid-april through early September.
We will also plan to offer a limited number of our own Wild Mountain queens. Our apiary has been assembled from a wide variety of strains and sources including, but not limited to: Minnesota hygenic, Italian, Russian, Carniolin, Canadian Buckfast, and unknown strains removed from barns, houses, and "wild" bee trees. There are a lot of beekeepers in these mountains. This makes it difficult to maintain any particular strain without requeening your and your neighbors hives annually. We aim for as much diversity as possible and will be focusing on selecting queen mothers from our strongest, most productive hives which have proved their overwintering/survival capabilities for at least two seasons. We have several of our breeder queens entering their 3rd and 4th winter. These locally acclimated queens will be available on a limited basis from May on, $22 each, marking complimentary unless otherwise requested.
We are now taking reservations for April/May queens. Order in advance for early splits and requeening.
New World Carniolins $TBA
Hygenic Italians $TBA
Local "mutts" $22 each (available in May)
all rights reserved 2010 Wild Mountain Apiaries and Beekeeping Supply 875 Will Arrington Road Marshall, NC 28753 828.689.4095 wildmountainbees_yahoo.com
