Do my hives come with bees?

No. Currently, we are not offering the purchase of live bees. However, we can possible help you out with sourcing some from a local associations, so if you are interested and are struggling to for options contact us and we will see what we can do :)

So what are my options for getting some?

There are really 3 options for actually getting live bees in your hive:

• The most common method - You put yourself down on a Swarm List so you can get the next available swarm. This is natural process for a bee colony, and usually results in you acquiring local bees which is increases your chances of a successful colony and reduces the chance a disease spreading. The unwritten beekeeper code suggests the bees are usually given to the next beekeeper on the Swarm List for free, but it is courteous to reimburse you Swarm Collector for their troubles of collecting - petrol money and maybe a bit extra for their time.

• The unknown delivery - Packaged bees! Yes it is possible to get them sent to you in the post?! We have to admit here….we haven’t done this before either. Depending on who you ask, some will give you horror stories of damaged boxes and the unknown quality of the bees that are sent, whereas others swear by it. Really, it’s all a bit of a risk but it is the quickest way to guarantee bees for you hive, and the best method if you are trying to expand you colony numbers quickly. This method will cost £££s

• The kind friend - You may know a fellow beekeeper who is willing to give you bees, either one of their colonies or they are performing swarm control themselves to protect the health of their hives. If this is the case, you should be in good hands to get going straight away!

If you still have questions, please either use our Live Chat or Contact Us via phone or email - we are more than happy to help :)

What is a ‘Swarm List’?

Swarming is a honey bee colony's natural means of reproduction. In the process of swarming, a single colony splits into two or more distinct colonies usually because they have outgrown their beehive space or the worker bees want to replace the queen.

In this case, part of the colony will follow the original Queen en route to a new destination, stopping off at a place of their choosing first - this is where you may have seen common pictures of a ‘black ball’ of bees. Although it looks intimidating, don’t panic, this is the least likely period of time a bee would use its stinger! Call your local association to send out the beekeeper on Swarm Patrol to come and collect the bees. They will then go to the next local beekeeper on the ‘Swarm List’ to be housed.

So if you want a colony of your own - get yourself on your local Swarm List!