What Bees Should You Buy For the 2020 Season?

Buying bees can be overwhelming. Not sure what to pick? We are here to help! 

Hiveworld has a great line up of live bee products available to order for the 2020 season! We are also excited to offer a few new items this year too! All bees available to order online now! Check out our 2020 Bees video!

New for 2020 season! Hiveworld is offering mated and virgin queens in quantity. More info coming soon!

PACKAGE BEES – Typically available from April 7

Who needs bee packages? They are good for commercial beekeepers who have experienced losses and need to add bees to their hives. Also great for Warre and Top Bar hives. We do not recommend bee packages for new beekeepers just starting a new colony.

Where do we get our bees from?

Our package bees come from world renowned, StrongBee from Chile. They are well known for their excellent quality of bees, mated queens and shipping practices. Hiveworld is the Alberta distributor for Strong Bee.

What you get in a bee package:

• 1 KG (2.2 pounds)
• Approximately 7,000 bees
• Mated Carniolan queen bee.

Shipping is available through Canada Post while weather permits. We insure delivery to your door in good health. Additional insurance is available for purchase for 30 or 90 days.

Package Bees available for Pick Up in the following locations:

• Edmonton
• Calgary
• Red Deer
• Lethbridge
• Medicine Hat
• Some locations in BC too! (info coming soon)

5-FRAME NUCS – Typically Available from May 15

Recommended for new beekeepers and beyond!

Nucs are Hiveworld.ca’s signature product and are typically available from May 15th. Our nucs are established the summer before we sell them and are overwintered. In the spring they are monitored for normal development. Once the weather has turned in April, we watch 3 – 4 cycles of brood emerge and then make them available for sale. Nucs are shipped in special nuc boxes with enough ventilation to be shipped with Canada Post or be picked up by the beekeeper. Bees will do very well in the nuc box for up to 3 days in a well- ventilated space. 

All Hiveworld nucs are inspected by the Alberta Apiculturist to ensure the health of your bees.  All nucs come with our Seal of Approval attached to their lid and a certificate of inspection available at www.hiveworld.ca

 5-Frame Nucs include:

• Laying, marked Saskatraz queen (Saskatraz queens are hardy for our winters and have increased resistance to Varroa Mites).
• Capped brood (up to 6-8 sides)
• 8-10” diameter of brood on some frames
• Frames have brood, pollen, larvae, eggs, and honey stores
• It comes in a nucleus box and is yours to keep. You can use as a 5-frame nuc box later in summer to establish a colony. 

Available for pick up or we can ship it to your door! Shipping is available through Canada Post while weather permits. We insure them in good health to your door. Additional insurance is available for purchase for 30 or 90 days. 

Note: Insurance does not cover loss of queen, queen swarming or queen absconding.

10-FRAME HIVES With Three Options!

Recommended for new beekeepers and beyond!

New for 2020! This is a great product that has good value and timed right.

10-frame hives inspected by the Alberta Apiculturist to ensure the health of your bees.  Your hive will come with an aluminum seal and a certificate of inspection available at www.hiveworld.ca.

10 frame hives come with:

• Screened bottom board with tray for pest management
• Metal telescoping lid
• Inner cover with feeding hole and top entrance
• Entrance reducer
• 10 frames
• Laying, marked Saskatraz (Russian Hybrid) queen. Saskatraz queens are hardy for our winters and have increased resistance to Varroa Mites.

Option 1: 4 frames brood (April/May)

o  10 frames with 4 frames of brood

o  Available the earliest in the season, should grow well in summer and be good for overwintering

Option 2: 5 frames brood (May/June)

• 10 frames with 5 frames of brood
• If you want honey in first year, we recommend this option. The extra frame of bees is vital to overall development in spring. 

 Note: 4 and 5-frame nucleus’s need to be purchased in April or May. If purchased after May long weekend they may not develop sufficiently to give you the return on investment for honey or risk the possibility of not developing enough to survive the winter.

Option 3: 10 frames brood (June)

• 10 frames of brood and honey
• Immediately ready for second brood box and honey supers in July

Available for pick up in Edmonton only! ‘Bee’ware, 10 frame hives are heavy! They weigh around 70 – 80 lbs, so you need to be physically capable of lifting the box with the bees in it or have a helper. The bees are confined in the box upon pick up, once you set it up, you will remove the screens to let them fly. 

If you have any questions about our 2020 Bees, email us [email protected] or visit our Edmonton store, open Fridays and Saturdays 10am- 4pm Oct – Feb, Tuesday – Sat 10 – 6 pm March to Sept.

It's important to make sure any live bee purchases you make are certified by the Provincial Apiculturist. Also, remember, nucs purchased after June 15, have significantly less likelihood of building up to adequate strength to survive their first winter.  Learn more about this at Meet The Beekeeper or at a Beekeeping Course Near You.