Where To Purchase Bees For Beekeeping (Ultimate Guide)

Beginner beekeepers often confuse “Where to purchase bees?“. My recommendation is to purchase bees for beekeeping from local beekeepers. Because bees from local beekeepers will have the highest survival capabilities and adaptability to your climate. If you can’t find local beekeepers in your region you can purchase or get help to get bees from local beekeeping associations, bee product suppliers, or from online beekeeping suppliers.

I bought my first nuc of bees from one of my local beekeepers. Over the years, I purchased bee nucs and bee packages from various sources, mostly locally. So, this post is going to guide you to get bees for honey farming from my own experience of purchasing bees for beekeeping.

Whenever anyone is about to start beekeeping, they can manage all the necessary things easily, except bees. They often get confused about where to source bees for beekeeping. Or where they can purchase bees to start their apiary.

I know finding the correct source to purchase bees is difficult. If you can follow my guide, you will be able to get bees for beekeeping from the right place.

 

 

 

How To Get Bees For Beekeeping (Free Vs Paid)

Well, you can purchase bees from local beekeepers, beekeeping groups, or associations, or online bee suppliers. You can also get bees for almost free of cost. Both the paid and free methods have merits and demerits in a few aspects.

 

 

 

Free Method to Get Bees for Beekeeping

The best way to get bees for free is by catching a swarm of bees. It is suggested that you shouldn’t approach a swarm if you don’t have experience in catching bees.

So, first, you have to learn how to catch a swarm of bees. When you are sure that you can do it, you can catch a bee swarm from a tree, walls, a mountain, or from other locations. 

You can also build a bee swarm trap to catch bees for free. You must know how a bee swarm trap works to successfully catch bees.

 

 

Paid Method to Get Bees for Beekeeping

This method is basically purchasing bees from a bee supplier. You can purchase a nuc of bees or a package of bees to install them in your beehive.

Some beehive package also includes a nuc of bees or a package of bees. When buying a beehive, be sure to check whether frames and bees, or a bee nuc, are included.

In the free method, you are not sure whether you will be able to get bees or not. This is why most beginner beekeepers purchase bees to start their apiary. I also started my apiary by purchasing bees from Digonto, who is a local beekeeper in my region.

 

 

Free Vs Paid: Which One Is Better

If you are a beginner, I would recommend that you go with the paid method. In the free method, there are several demerits, including the following.

• The swarm may contain varroa mites or other diseases.
• The swarm might be weak.
• Might not be suitable for your environment.
• If you can’t get the queen, the rest of the swarm will be useless.

So, as a beginner, you won’t have enough experience. So, you don’t know what type of swarm you caught.

Is the swarm strong or weak? Does the swarm contain any disease or not? Most importantly, can you identify the Queen?

The paid method also has a drawback, especially regarding bees’ adaptability. If you purchase bees that are not suitable for your environment, your entire effort will go in vain.

This is why you should get your first bees from an expert local bee supplier. Make sure to consult them about the species of the bee, whether the queen is marked or not, and most importantly, the adaptability to your local climate conditions.

When you spend time with bees, you will learn a lot about them. Thus, you can start catching bees during spring instead of purchasing them. Getting free bees will allow you to generate more gross income from beekeeping as costs are reduced.

 

 

 

Different Types of Bee Clusters to Purchase For New Beekeepers

There are usually 2 most common types of bees available for sale.

1. Bee Package: A package of bees usually contains only a large group of bees without any honey or any comb. Bee packages are similar to a bee swarm. So, you have to transfer them to a full-sized beehive and carefully handle them until they accept the hive.
2. Bee Nuc: The Nucleus of bees, or the nuc of bees, is a smaller version of a beehive. A bee nuc is produced by taking a portion of a honey bee colony from another established colony. A bee nuc contains a worker, drone, queen, broods, and comb. 

In most cases, both packages of bees or a bee nuc contain a queen in a cage. So, you have to decide carefully which one you should get.

 

 

 

 

Bee Package VS Nuc Which One Should Be Purchased

From my recommendation, a nucleus of bees is better than a bee package for beginners. Because in a nuc bees are already adapted to the beehive. They started building combs and storing honey. So, they will more easily adapt to their permanent beehive.

You have to carefully transfer all the frames from the Nuc to a sized beehive. Then start feeding them properly.

Package bees need to transfer in a beehive more carefully and as soon as it arrives. This needs some experience and more knowledge. Also, more care is needed to make the bees accept their new home.

This is why beekeepers who are about to start beekeeping should go with the nuc of bees. If you have proper knowledge and expertise, you can also go with a package of bees.

 

 

How Much Do Bees Sell For?

The price of bees depends on various factors, including region, type of bees, and type of cluster. In general, Italian honey bees cost around 200$. Whereas Carniolan honey bees cost 100$ to 150$.

This price is obviously different for different location bee suppliers. On average, the price range of a bee package or bee nuc is between 80$ to 300$.

 

 

 

Where To Purchase Bees?

There are plenty of different sources available to purchase bees for beekeeping. The most reliable option is getting bees locally. If you can’t manage locally, then go for other options.

 

Source 1: Local Beekeepers (The #1 Recommendation)

You can purchase bees from a local beekeeper, beekeeping association, or bee supplier in your region. The best place to purchase bees is from the local beekeeper in your own region.

 

 

Different bees are suitable for different environmental conditions. If you purchased bees from your own area, those bees are already adapted to your environment.

Purchasing bees from a local beekeeper also reduces beekeeping costs when estimating the cost for the first year. Because in this case, you don’t need high transportation costs, and the risk is also minimal.

Also, if you are having any problems after transferring the bees to a beehive, you can easily contact the bee supplier. To increase the chance of building a successful apiary, it is always recommended to purchase bees from any local beekeeper.

 

Source 2: Local Beekeeping Associations & Clubs

The local beekeeping associations and clubs can be handy if you don’t know any beekeepers in your region. Contact your local beekeeping associations and clubs. They will guide you exactly where to purchase bees locally.

 

 

Some local beekeeping clubs also offer a 10-20% discount on bees and beekeeping supplies for club members. If they don’t have bees for sale, at least they will provide you with guidance about purchasing bees safely.

Here is how to find your local club:

• Search on search engines like Google, Bing with the format “beekeeping association + [your state/county]”. Example: beekeeping association in New York.
• Search on Facebook using terms like: “beekeeping + [your state/country]”, “Beekeepers in [your state/country]”
• Look for forums and online beekeeping groups. Post directly asking question like: “Hi, I’m [Your Name] from [Your location]. Is there anyone involved in beekeeping and selling bee products in my region?”

Note: Stay away from scammers. Always meet the seller live and confirm he is a real beekeeper or renowned bee supplier in your region before confirming the order.

 

 

 

Source 3: Online Bee Suppliers (When Local Isn’t Available)

There are plenty of online stores available that sell bees to different regions. To purchase bees online make sure to clear everything from the bee seller. You must clarify the following things before purchasing bees online.

 

 

• Is the type of bees they are selling suitable for your environment?
• Their transportation system.
• What type of bees are you getting?
• Is the queen marked, active, and laying?
• Their feeding mechanism for the bees you are going to purchase.
• Assistance with the safe transportation of bees to the permanent beehive.

 

Source 4: Beekeeping Supply Stores (Regional Dealers)

Sometimes, local beekeeping supply stores can help you purchase bees safely, even if they don’t sell bees. The beekeeping equipment suppliers purchase equipments mostly from a real beekeeping organization or similar sources.

 

 

They might know someone who is selling bees. So, they can work like a delivery partner and pickup point for you to purchase bees.

You can contact your regional beekeeping supply stores to help you purchase bees from trusted sources. They can work as a communication channel between beekeepers in other regions and you. They might also help you purchase bees and ship them to you safely.

 

Quick Summary: Where to Purchase Bees

Here is an overall quick summary of purchasing bees from different reliable sources and getting free bees.

 

What My Years of Experience Says: Buy from a local beekeeper whenever possible. The relationship you build with an experienced local beekeeper during your first couple of years is worth more than any savings from ordering online. Start by contacting your local beekeeping association — they’ll point you to trusted sellers in your area.

 

 

Expert Tips On Purchasing Bees

I have more than 10 years of beekeeping experience. During this period, I have purchased different types of bees for my apiary from different sources.

Some of those do not go well for me. Some of them are also doing better than other types of bees purchased from different sources. This is why I would like to share with you some key considerations for purchasing bees for beekeeping.

• You must decide on the right type of honey bees to start your apiary. This is your first task.
• As a beginner, you should purchase a bee nuc instead of a bee package.
• Purchase bees from your local beekeeper or get help from local beekeeping associations.
• Follow the installation manual that the bee supplier provides you to install your bees in your apiary.
• Get clarification from the supplier about how you should feed your bees. You have to follow the feeding mechanism that the supplier used before selling the nuc.
• Carefully place the caged queen during installation.
• After installing the nuc in a beehive, leave them at least 10 to 14 days to adapt with the beehive. Don’t interrupt them for these days.
•  Be careful about winterizing the hive before winter.
• When purchasing bees online, you must use a safe transportation method.

Before purchasing bees, consult with the local beekeepers in your region. Ask them where they get the starter bees, how they care about their apiary, which type of bees they are using, how they treat bees in different circumstances, etc.

Your local beekeepers will provide you with the most suitable beekeeping guide for making a healthy apiary.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

 

 

Final Words & Helpful Resources

When it comes to the question “Where to Purchase Bees for Beekeeping?”, the first thing is purchasing bees from a safe and reliable source is crucial. So, it is always advisable to get bees from your local area. For any assistance contact the bee supplier and local beekeepers in your region.

If you need any help, you can comment below, too. I will try my best to help you. 

The following resources might be helpful for beginner beekeepers.

• 4 best beekeeping books to get knowledge about all the beekeeping basics for beginners.
• Resources to learn beekeeping from scratch.
• Purchase a nuc of bees from Beefriendsfarm.
• Purchase a 3-pound Italian honey bee package from Tractorsupply.
• S. Velardi, J. Leahy, K. Collum, J. McGuire, and M. Ladenheim, “‘You treat them right, They’ll treat you right’: Understanding beekeepers’ scale management decisions within the context of bee values,” Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 81, pp. 27-36, January 2021. Read the paper here.

• Learn nucs in beekeeping operation (Ask IFAS)