# Sweet Mountain Honey



## SugarDaddy

I purchased 2 three pound boxes of worker bees and two queens from Ray Civitts at the above named business and received two boxes of mixed workers and useless DRONES in both boxes. and the queen containers were both split by the use of large staples to attach them to the inside if the boxes... Needless to say the drones kept the workers too busy from keeping their fat butts fed, to build any cells. After 6 days the Queens were so tired of this, so they both swarmed and left... I called the seller, who was too busy to talk to me but after two days the female who answered my third call and said that "The boss says he would have to see this to do anything about it"... I' m more than a bit upset about this treatment and notified them that I will personally NOT recommend them to any of my beekeeping friends... Anyone else having this problem???


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## The Honey Householder

LOVE IT!!!! 

This is why I require 6 years of BEE HAVING, before I sell my big fat boxes of bees.:v: 

Good Job Ray!!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Banemorth

I ordered three packages from them when I first started. Two were absolutely wonderful and not sure what happened with the other. I ended up with laying workers. I probably caught the queen between frames or something. Great communication and great bees. No complaints. 

A lot of what you said doesn't entirely make sense. I've never heard of a package swarming in six days? Are you saying they absconded? Also I don't think I've heard of a package that doesn't include drones.


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## Ravenseye

Not sure if I understand your post. 

- Is it Sweet Mountain Honey or Mountain Sweet Honey? Can you post a link to their website?
- Can you give more detail? A question has been raised about drones and I certainly expect some drones in my packages. What exactly is the drone problem?


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## Rader Sidetrack

Ray Civitts is the owner of 'Mountain Sweet Honey', as one can see here:
http://mountainsweethoney.com/about-us/

And this is what their website says about their Italian packages ...


> Our bee packages are grown in Georgia. The bee package includes a screen box, sugar water container, approx. 3 lbs. of [HIGHLIGHT]bees which include nurse bees, forager bees, guard bees, and drone bees[/HIGHLIGHT]. The queen bee will be in a queen cage. The queen bee is a mated queen.
> 
> http://mountainsweethoney.com/bees/


It sounds as though the bees absconded. By any chance, do those hives have _open screened bottoms_?


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## NorthMaine

Sorry to hear you have had problems with your bees.

I purchased packages from Mountain Sweet Honey this year and am quite happy with them. I am in Northern Maine so it took quite a while for them to get here via USPS from Georgia (long distance you know). When I received my packages this year I was surprised at how very few dead bees, so few I could literally count them if I had wanted to (I didn't but estimate under 50 from all the boxes combined). I know, that's probably more a result of the temperature and the treatment by the USPS workers who handled them over their long journey but when you are only seeing a few sporadic dead ones after almost a week in transit I was quite happy.

The queen cages have slits down the sides obviously made via a saw blade, I believe this is what you are referring to as split down the side. Look closely and I think you will find that is an intentional groove meant for ventilation as it opens up a slot into the 3 round holes that are drilled to make the opening where the queen is, of course mine were mostly filled in with wax as the bees built honeycomb all around the queen cages by the time I received them.

Remember too that they tell you when ordering to take a picture of anything that is wrong with your packages and let them know immediately attaching the pictures. Maybe that's what you refer to about him wanting to see it to do anything about it. 

I never had to call Ray about my packages as I was quite happy with my purchase so I can't tell you what it's like talking to them on the phone.


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## CardsBees

I purchased 3 packages from them last year or the year before and all three did well, delivered on time as promised etc.


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## SugarDaddy

Yes! We had screened bottoms. What does that mean? Am I missing something here?


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## Dan the bee guy

SugarDaddy said:


> Yes! We had screened bottoms. What does that mean? Am I missing something here?


Join date of 2010 only 10 post have you done anything to learn how to keep bees?k,


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## Banemorth

See this thread. http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...TN-New-beekeepers-with-screened-bottom-boards


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## SugarDaddy

Yes! I was an active member of the Preston Beekeepers Association for 7 years and President for 2 and VP for 2. We started with two packages which grew to 5 hives in 3 years and 8 hives in 6 years. Two winters ago we lost them all, due to a record cold spell which gave us 45 below wind chill for over 48 hours...


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## Dan the bee guy

I find it very cute when someone says they lost there bees from record cold. I'm in northern Wisconsin bees don't die from cold.


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## dlbrightjr

I purchased two from him last spring full of mixed workers, drone, with a queen. Very happy with them. As I have stated in other threads I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. They were laying machines. I grafted from one of the queens this year. I've sold a few nucs this last week to people that have kept bees for decades, but, while talking to them realized they did not no even the basic about keeping bees. I think you need to probably look closer to home SugarDaddy. Live and learn. I wish you the best of luck.


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## Rader Sidetrack

SugarDaddy said:


> Yes! We had screened bottoms. What does that mean?


The thread that _Banemorth_ linked in post #10 covers the open screen bottom issue with new packages fairly well. Not every package installed with an open screened bottom absconds, of course, but enough do that its smart to always close off the screen when installing a package.


A longer term issue is whether it is appropriate to keep a screened bottom closed on a permanent basis. There are a _variety of opinions_, of course. More info here: http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?336212-Screened-bottom-boards


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## Richard Cryberg

Dan the bee guy said:


> I find it very cute when someone says they lost there bees from record cold. I'm in northern Wisconsin bees don't die from cold.


I agree.


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## SugarDaddy

Cute? The fed decided to supplement my loss financially but failed when they offered me $100.00 and I told them to shove it. I lost the hives and most of the foundations to wax moths. We were not prepared for the weather change from warm fall weather to unreal frigid temps and still had the screened bottom boards... We had clusters of bees about the size of a soccer ball. Frozen solid clear through to the queen... At 75 years old I couldn't respond quick enough...


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## The Honey Householder

Why would the Fed pay you for your mistake???? My bees dead every year should I get a check because I don't TRY and keep my bees alive.:scratch::scratch:


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## SugarDaddy

They came to our club meeting and notified us that due to extraordinary weather conditions they were offering start up cash through the local Farm Bureau if we would fill out request forms and copies of receipts for our losses. About 10 members submitted paperwork but since I didn't have current receipts for my bees they only paid me $50.00 each, for two boxes which they said was a fair price. I told them to shove it but they said that it was already in my bank account. Since I had already decided to put our home on the market, I didn't use it...


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## dlbrightjr

Wow.


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## The Honey Householder

SugarDaddy said:


> They came to our club meeting and notified us that due to extraordinary weather conditions they were offering start up cash through the local Farm Bureau if we would fill out request forms and copies of receipts for our losses. About 10 members submitted paperwork but since I didn't have current receipts for my bees they only paid me $50.00 each, for two boxes which they said was a fair price. I told them to shove it but they said that it was already in my bank account. Since I had already decided to put our home on the market, I didn't use it...




:digging::digging::digging:


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## nediver

lol 

This is great. 

Seems the Fed is the Sugar daddy. 

I hate when I get packages with drones before there are drones in my area. It means I have to actually think about grafting. I mean I'm feeding those fat drones.


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## Kcnc1

Bought a package of bees and a mated queen from Mountain Sweet Honey that was delivered march 20th, 2017. So far I am very happy with them. I know it's early, and I'm new to this, but as of now I would use them again.


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## allan

I bought 1 package from them in march 24,2017 and now i have a 10 frame box and 2 nuc boxs full of bees.
I would buy from them again


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## NorthernIllinoisPlumber

Thanks for the feedback about this company. I want to try a new vendor next season, so I will order some packages.


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## ericweller

I used them 2 years ago. I pre-purchased Carnolian nucs from them. After countless emails to find out when the nucs would be available, I finally found out in late-June that they "lost" all of their Carnolians hives. They offered their Italian nucs which I mistakenly said I would take. The nucs were so weak and poorly populated, they died that summer. I don't recommend them. They have since changed the name of the company to Beekeeping USA.


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