2026 3lb Package Bee Pick Up dates COMING SOON! Pick ups will now be on Sundays with the chance of early pickup on Saturdays!

Additional Information on our Over-Wintered Northern Bred 5 Frame Nucs

In order to offer the best and most consistent Nucs possible we make our Nucs from Over-wintered hives here in Central MA the day before they are scheduled to be picked up so that we know exactly what you will be seeing when you transfer them to their new homes. We monitor the hives closely coming out of the winter and then split the hive as soon as it grows strong enough to do so without negatively impacting the colony from which it is made.

When we make the Nuc/split the first thing we do is find the queen and mark her with the current years color (if she wasn't already marked with last years color). She is then set aside to allow the paint to dry while we decide which frames would be best to put in the Nuc. Our goal is to provide frames that consist of everything you would expect to see in a strong healthy colony (bee bread, honey, capped brood, eggs, and larvae). This usually consists of 3 frames of capped brood, 1 frame of food, and 1 frame with open brood and space for the queen to continue laying (these things are sometimes spread throughout the 5 frames). Once we have transferred the 5 frames into the Nuc box we release the Marked Queen into the Nuc and close it up once she crawls down in between the frames.

Prior to making Nucs, state apiary inspectors from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture must come by to inspect the hives we plan to make Nucs from in order to confirm that our hives are healthy. In addition, we check for visible signs of any issues throughout the year as well as when we are selecting frames for the Nuc and will not make a Nuc from a hive that we believe might have high levels of varroa mites, pathogens or signs of queen issues. 

We currently offer 3 queen options with our Nucs: Italian, Buckfast and Varroa Sensitive Hygenic Queens. We are hoping to start offering Carniolan Queens as well in 2026.

Due to our strict Nuc making process and guidelines we are conservative about the number of Nucs we offer for preorder and are usually sold out by April 14th. Additonal Nucs are usually available once we have confirmed all the hives are healthy and do not have a declining queen.

PLEASE NOTE: 2026 Pick Up Dates have not been confirmed yet. Our expected Pick Up Dates are listed below