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  1. Starting Out

Acquiring your bees

There are lots of place to find bees for your:

Purchase a nucleus hive.
A nucleus colony is a small working colony of around 10,000 bees. We can help you purchase a nucleus hive.

Purchase an established colony.
If you are a member of a local Beekeeping Association - you may meet someone who can supply you with a well established colony perhaps of 50,000 bees. This is a quick way of getting started but it is not for everyone. For a novice a large colony can be slightly overwhelming. Often building up a colony from a nucleus will give you time to get to grips with them.

Catch a swarm
Sometimes luck can play a part in starting out with bees. A swarm of bees may land in your garden or you may be given a swarm of bees from a friend. Starting out from a swarm is riskier than starting from either a full colony or a nucleus. You will not know the temperament, health or state of the queen when you start. This is a problem for both the novice and also the experienced beekeeper alike. There is an old saying for swarms: "A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly".

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Comments Leave a comment

Bees, 28 February 2021

If you are looking to purchase bees to establish your Omlet hives please feel free to order a 5 / 6 Frame Nuc from the leading UK supplier of bees. https://www.bshoneybees.co.uk

Norah, 27 December 2019

I have been around a local allotment bee hive which no one was committed to look after inc myself as it was some distance from my home i enjoyed starting to learn about the bees and think it is something that I would love to do in my garden (even although Im not keen on honey ????) I'm just not sure if there are any laws etc keeping bees in a domestic garden, my garden is not large but has very well established trees plants etc throughout all the gardens in the area a d my garden has a large koi fish pond so have supply if water..is there a book that you could suggest or a local group that I could discuss bee keeping with ...i live in the east end of Glasgow.

Sipa, 6 December 2019

We rear Buckfast bees for sale to other beekeepers, we are a long established and well respected business. Our bees are well regarded by customers and praised by bee inspectors. Nucs are available in Std National and 14x12 format on hoffman frames. All of our bees are bred to be calm, gentle and easy to handle with a very low tendancy to stinging whilst remaining productive. They produce no brace comb and very low propolising, this makes handling and inspections easier. for more info please contact us via our website : www.honeybeenucs.co.uk

Quintin, 10 June 2019

Dear Omlet, I need to buy bees again after having lost my colony a year or so ago. My hive is all se up and ready for the new bees. Do you still sell bees for delivery to my home address or where can I get these from? I live in Whiteley, Fareham, Hampshire. Many thanks. Kind regards Quintin

Platt, 19 September 2017

I wonder if you are aware that it is illegal to send bees to the Isle of Man? We have a dispensation from the EU. So if any one asks if they can have bees sent to the Island please put them off. Yours P Platt. Education Officer IOM Beekeepers Federation.