# Anybody supplying small-sized nucs?



## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

I was keeping downsized bees on the 4.9mm comb up until I lost my last hive a few years back. Now I'm ready to start back up again, but the source of my originally small-size bees was unresponsive when I contacted them. 

I really don't want to go through the hassle of buying big bees and then gradually downsizing them, given that all my frames are outfitted with 4.9mm comb. If anybody knows of a supplier, I'd be grateful to get a name or two!

Either that or I'll just hop on a flight to Arizona and beg Dee Lusby to give me some of hers! Seriously, I'd love to go out there and interview her--love her research into this topic... but I guess that is an entirely separate thread!

Thanks!


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## JOHNYOGA2 (Sep 30, 2008)

Wouldn't that be terribly cost prohibitive???? 1 ticket there 20,001 little tickets home!!!! And how would they prove identity!!!! My God!! In one of my hives I've got 260 Linda's and 482 Cathy's and 716 Nancy's. After awhile, just saying good morning lasts until mid-afternoon!


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## Ardilla (Jul 17, 2006)

Don sells small cell nucs. I bought a couple a few years back - they were very nice. I still have decendants of those queens.

http://www.geocities.com/fatbeeman/


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

No no no, I mean go out there and _interview_ Dee, not go out there just to buy her bees! Although you are facetiously funny!


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Thank you thank you!


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## Reid (Dec 3, 2008)

SoylentQueen said:


> ....I really don't want to go through the hassle of buying big bees and then gradually downsizing them, given that all my frames are outfitted with 4.9mm comb. If anybody knows of a supplier, I'd be grateful to get a name or two!


Maybe I'm missing something here, but if you've got fully drawn 4.9mm wax comb won't you have fully regressed bees after the original packaged bee die out in 4 to 5 weeks? The queen should take to that comb just fine and start laying right away.
This is just like what some beeks are doing with 4.9mm HSC and "instantly regressing" their bees. But without as much fear of them absconding because of the plastic.
Check it out: http://www.beeuntoothers.com/regression.html
~Reid


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

With drawn comb of 4.9mm, regression seems like a very simple matter. Just install the bees onto the small-cell comb and let them raise the next generations of bees in small-cell comb.


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Ahhh, see, this is why I knew Beesource forums would be the right place to come. I haven't kept up with my reading and didn't know about instant regression--the last time I was keeping bees, beekeepers complained that it was a mess to put big bees on small cells. I shall read what you provide, and thank you very much for updating me.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

great name by the way (i wish i'd thought of it).

it's a little late in the season to start with a nuc, but we are planning to have some nucs available in the spring.

small cell, survivor stock (all our stock is either survivor stock of our own, or bees from don the fatbeeman that we got this spring). 4.9mm

we don't treat with anything (no chems, no essential oils, no sugar dusting, do drone trapping, no organic acids...nothing), so anything we have come spring will be survivor stock.

in fact, we do the farmers market in jp on saturady and tuesday...my wife will be there today, you should go talk to her. the market is in the parking lot behind bank of america on centre street, 12-3 (usually runs a little later).

there is a bit of a flow coming on here, so she won't have the observation hive with her today.

deknow


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

Dang, a small cell beekeeper here in JP? I am for sure going to go meet your wife. I wasn't planning to start up in the fall, I was just trying to find out where to get some bees so I could put in an order for this spring. I'd love to get a few nucs from you in the spring. I'll go talk to your wife today!


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Hi SoylentQueen,

I was going to suggest that you contact "deknow"...

Welcome to Beesource!

Joe

( I sent you the email about the movie over on Dee's site)


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## hipbee (Sep 11, 2009)

The HSC works because it is plastic, I tried regressing bees with some 4.9 fully drawn comb and the bees reworked the wax to about 5.2 in a week


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## SoylentQueen (Aug 31, 2009)

The more I read, the more I'm thinking of trying to catch some feral bees. At any rate, I'm going out to Dee's Oracle conference in March and hope by then to know from whom/where to get bees, as well as the setup (top-bar? unlimited brood nest? etc.)

At this point I don't want to get bees from anybody but a treatment-free keeper.


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## snarky (Oct 6, 2006)

I tried Dons (Fatbeeman) website and got a "Geocities isout of business" page;
Is Don still in business? Does he have a new site?
Does anybody know?

Thanks in Advance


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## hipbee (Sep 11, 2009)

his new site is FatBeeMan.com


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## snarky (Oct 6, 2006)

Thanks - I was following an old link


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

hipbee said:


> his new site is FatBeeMan.com


 
www.dixiebeesupply.com also points to www.fatbeeman.com ...


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